Showing posts with label pumpkin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pumpkin. Show all posts
There are loads of pumpkin pie recipes out there, but very few which are sized just for one! I found one the other day on a blog called One Dish Kitchen and I was very keen to try it for myself.
It looked delicious, and I happened to have pumpkin leftover from when I baked the spiced chocolate pumpkin cake recipe last weekend. I wanted to use some of that up. I froze the rest.
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Pumpkin is one of those things which actually freezes very well. I divide it into small plastic tubs and pop 1 cup of pumpkin puree into each one. Tightly sealed they will keep for quite a while in the freezer.
You never know when you will need a cup of pumpkin. Its great for in soups, casseroles and bakes. When you live all by yourself as I do, you need to be quite practical when it comes to things like this. I hate waste and my freezer is my best friend.
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The idea of a pumpkin pie sized just for one really appealed to me. I quite like pumpkin pie but would struggle to eat a whole pie all by myself.
When I was a child pumpkin pie was my least favorite of all the pies, although I used to eat it anyways. Because it was, well, pie. And beggars can't be choosers!
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When it came to dessert at Thanksgiving every year, it was always Pumpkin Pie. That was it, so if you wanted dessert, you ate pumpkin pie. I ate it begrudgingly because it was dessert and it was pie.
Happily, as an adult, I have come to really enjoy pumpkin pie. It all started in the UK when I couldn't get tinned pumpkin. You never really know what you are going to miss until you can't get it anymore.
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I remember being so excited when I discovered tinned pumpkin in the grocery store over there one day. I quickly snapped about 6 tins of it, and lived happily ever after, lol.
My boss at the manor used to bring back tinned pumpkin whenever she went to America on business or holidays. They always had pumpkin soup for Thanksgiving and the key ingredient that was used for that was tinned pumpkin.
My first Thanksgiving in the UK I wanted to make a Thanksgiving dinner for the missionaries and I ended up making them a sweet potato pie because I couldn't get pumpkin.
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Anyways I was really keen to make this pie. I adapted it to use both North American and British ingredient measurements. I weighed it all out as I was making it.
It worked out perfectly. I did add some vanilla extract to the filling because for me, a pumpkin pie should always have vanilla.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE PUMPKIN PIE FOR ONE
The usual suspects, with the exception of the crust. This one has a graham cracker crust instead of a pastry crust.
For the crust:
- 1/4 up (35g) graham cracker crumbs (can also use digestive biscuit crumbs or gingersnap crumbs)
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 TBS butter, melted
For the filling:
- 3 TBS granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large free-range egg, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup (70g) tinned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) cream
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It is recommended that you use a 10-ounce ramekin to make this pie. It should measure 4 inches in diameter. The size of the dish you use really matters.
Too small and the pie will be too deep and will take much longer to cook. Too large and the pie will be too thin and cook quicker. Neither of which is ideal.
This is the perfect size for this particular pie. I used a 4-inch round cake tin that I got on Amazon. It actually comes in a set of two and is perfect for making smaller sized layer cakes.
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HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN PIE FOR ONE
Its really simple actually. Starting off with the proper sized dish is the main thing, and the rest is relatively easy to do.
Preheat the oven to 350*C/180*C/ gas mark 4. You will need a 10 ounce ramekin 4-inches in diameter, or a small 4-inch wide, deep cake tin. Spray with some nonstick cooking spray.
Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter for the crust in a small bowl. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the baking ramekin/tin firmly.
Bake for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool while you make the filling.
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For the filling mix together the sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a small bowl.
Add the pumpkin puree to the beaten egg along with the sugar/spice mixture. Beat together well.
Whisk in the cream and vanilla.
Pour the pie filling over top of the baked crust.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes until set. A knife inserted near the center should come out clean.
Cool completely on a wire rack. Top with whipped cream to serve.
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And that's it in a nutshell! It was really delicious and I am quite happy adding this to my repertoire of recipes for one or two.
Its a very generous pie actually. If you are small eaters I actually think it would feed two people. In any case it is very tasty, especially with some squirty cream on top!
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Some other small sized desserts you might enjoy are:
DEEP DISH CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE FOR ONE - This decadent dessert is so dangerous that you might even want to share it rather than eat it all on your own. Crispy edged and gooey centered. This is best eaten warm and I have a personal preference for vanilla ice cream with this, rather than anything else.
MEXICAN CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES - This delicious dessert sports the Mexican flavor addition of ground cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne for a tiny bit of heat. Gooey centered, it is xcellent served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Recipe makes two single servings.
Pumpkin Pie for One
Yield: 1
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 50 MinTotal time: 1 Hour
Everything you come to expect in a traditional full sized pumpkin pie in a rich and delicious single serving pie for one.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1/4 up (35g) graham cracker crumbs (can also use digestive biscuit crumbs or gingersnap crumbs)
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 TBS butter, melted
For the filling:
- 3 TBS granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large free-range egg, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup (70g) tinned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*C/180*C/ gas mark 4. You will need a 10 ounce ramekin 4-inches in diameter, or a small 4-inch wide, deep cake tin. Spray with some nonstick cooking spray.
- Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter for the crust in a small bowl. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the baking ramekin/tin firmly.
- Bake for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool while you make the filling.
- For the filling mix together the sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a small bowl.
- Add the pumpkin puree to the beaten egg along with the sugar/spice mixture. Beat together well. Whisk in the cream and vanilla.
- Pour the pie filling over top of the baked crust.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes until set. A knife inserted near the center should come out clean.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Top with whipped cream to serve.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
This cake I have baked today comes from a baking book by Yossy Arefi entitled Snacking Cakes. Simple treats for anytime cravings. I was wanting to bake something pumpkin, but I was also wanting to bake something different.
This cake looked interesting. Chocolate and pumpkin are flavors that go really well together. Chocolate and spice work well. Pumpkin and spice work well. I felt the three would work really well together. I was not wrong!
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It is thoroughly studded with sweet and decadent chocolate chips. Which is not a really bad thing. I love biting into a cake and then having my teeth hit the rich creaminess of a chocolate chip. You can use either milk or semi-sweet.
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I don't know why I bake chocolate desserts. They are notoriously difficult to photograph and make them look decent. Why is that???
I apologize for the poor looking pictures of this cake. I am not a professional photographer and so I didn't really know how to make them look as delicious as this cake really is. Please don't let them put you off!
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I know that anything with chocolate is going to photograph very badly and yet I will still bake chocolate things. I must be a sucker for punishment, lol
Or I am just a glutton who can't get enough chocolate. You take your pick! Sucker or glutton. I am content either way. Maybe I am both! haha
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WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SPICED CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN CAKE
Simple baking cupboard ingredients plus some tinned pumpkin puree. Tis the season for pumpkins and spice and all that!
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 cup (230g) pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) light olive oil
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup (45g) unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup (85g) chocolate chips
For the glaze:
- 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
- 1 TBS pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 1 TBS whole milk (or as needed)
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch cayenne
- pinch ground cloves
- pinch salt
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True confessions here. I did not have Dutch Process cocoa powder. I just used ordinary cocoa powder. Dutch cocoa powder tends to have a much deeper color than regular cocoa powder and so if you use it your cake will be darker in color.
Another true confession. I think I actually left the milk out of the cake batter? Say what! I know! But in writing it up I could not remember putting it in. My cake turned out fine however, so maybe I did and just can't remember doing so. Yes, its one of those days.
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Another true confession here. I cut the glaze ingredients in half for my cake. I am trying to cut back a bit on sugar if I can and felt that half the glaze would be sufficient. I think that was the right choice for me.
In the book the author suggests an alternative topping. For a loaf cake mix together 1 TBS granulated sugar along with 1/4 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne. Sprinkle this over top prior to baking.
I think I would have personally enjoyed this more than the glaze. A bit of heat. A bit of sweet. A bit of crunch.
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HOW TO MAKE SPICED CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN CAKE
I know I say it all the time, but its true. A very easy cake to throw together.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf tin. Line with baking paper leaving an overhang at the sides for lifting out.
Measure the brown sugar and eggs into a bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until light and foamy. Whisk in the pumpkin puree, oil, milk, cinnamon, salt and cayenne until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and soda together. Stir this into the wet mixture to combine thoroughly. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Pour into the prepared loaf tin, smooth the top over.
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Bake in the preheated oven got 55 to 65 minutes. When done a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean and the top should spring back when lightly touched.
Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the glaze, whisk all of the ingredients together to give you a nice smooth drizzle icing. Spoon this over the cake and allow to set before cutting into slices to serve.
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If you are a fan of Mexican type of chocolate cakes then you will really love this cake. It packs a lovely bit of spice and some heat from the cayenne, which is totally optional by the way.
You will also love the creamy bits of chocolate studding the cake. I know I do.
If you wanted to you could skip the pumpkin glaze and do a chocolate one in its place. If I make the cake again, and I probably will, I think I will do a chocolate glaze.
For a quick and easy chocolate glaze whisk together 1 cup (1030g) icing sugar, 3 TBS sifted unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 TBS very soft butter and two to three TBS of boiling water until smooth and pourable. Pour over your cake and allow to set before slicing.
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PUMPKIN, ORANGE & CRANBERRY BREAD - This pumpkin bread recipe makes the best pumpkin bread ever and that is all down to my mother-in-laws secret ingredient, which is frozen orange juice concentrate. Yes, frozen orange juice concentrate. This was not something I could get in the UK either, but it was an ingredient that I learned to adapt. This adds a lovely touch of orange flavor.
PUMPKIN STREUSEL CAKE - A dense and spicy pumpkin Bundt cake with a ribbon of brown sugar streusel running through it. Delicious!!! This smells heavenly when it is baking. You have been warned!
Spiced Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
Yield: Makes one 9 X 5 X 2 inch loaf cake
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 65 MinTotal time: 1 H & 15 M
This is a lightly spiced cake, packed with plenty of chocolate. Its moist from the use of pumpkin and sports a lush pumpkin glaze.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 cup (230g) pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) light olive oil
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup (45g) unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup (85g) chocolate chips
For the glaze:
- 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
- 1 TBS pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 1 TBS whole milk (or as needed)
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch cayenne
- pinch ground cloves
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf tin. Line with baking paper leaving an overhang at the sides for lifting out.
- Measure the brown sugar and eggs into a bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until light and foamy. Whisk in the pumpkin puree, oil, milk, cinnamon, salt and cayenne until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder and soda together. Stir this into the wet mixture to combine thoroughly. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour into the prepared loaf tin, smooth the top over.
- Bake in the preheated oven got 55 to 65 minutes. When done a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean and the top should spring back when lightly touched.
- Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, whisk all of the ingredients together to give you a nice smooth drizzle icing. Spoon this over the cake and allow to set before cutting into slices to serve.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
I discovered a totally amazing cooking page a while back called Feeding a Loon. Kris and Wesley are a really sweet pair of guys who love to cook together in their kitchen. I find them incredibly entertaining and could watch their You Tube videos for hours. (I would love to have their kitchen instead of my 12 in-square space to work in!)
They posted this incredible sounding pumpkin bread a week or so ago and as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to bake it myself. The Loon just made it sound so incredibly good with his oohs and aahs. If you have never watched one of their videos you need to. Why these guys don't have their own cooking show is a mystery to me!
The recipe uses Butterscotch chips, which are not an easy ingredient to find here in the UK, but I did have a few precious bags in my freezer and I cracked one open just for this. I hoard North American ingredients such as this like gold because they are so hard to come by. If I ever end up using them, it's because I am baking something that I think will be totally amazing.
I would be so mad at myself if I wasted this precious commodity on something blah. I am ever so glad I took a chance and baked these however. They ended up being totally amazing! I was so pleased. Look at the scrumminess of those butterscotch chips!
I buy my Butterscotch chips here. When you see the cost of them, you will understand why I treat them like gold. Other than that I rely on the good nature of friends to send them to me. With the price of postage these days you can bet that doesn't happen very often, but I am very grateful when it does! I do think that fudge baking bits that are readily available here in the UK would work just as well.
Tinned pumpkin is much more readily available here in the UK now. I got mine at Ocado, but you will find it in a lot of grocery stores these days. When I first moved over here to the UK it was as scarce as Hen's teeth!!
I did make some changes to the recipe which I felt improved it somewhat. I used Vanilla paste instead of vanilla extract. I wanted a real vanilla oomph to go along with that butterscotch flavour of the chips.
Kris and Wesley use only nutmeg in their loaves. I decided to add some other spices. I cut down the amount of nutmeg and added cinnamon, cloves, allspice and ginger. Oh boy . . .
You should have smelled this when it was baking. I was sitting on the sofa oohing and aahing about how delicious it was smelling! My house smelled like a little bit of heaven on earth if I don't say so myself.
Mine took slightly longer to bake than theirs did. About a quarter of an hour longer. I also thought it was browning a bit too quickly in my oven so I threw a sheet of tin foil loosely over top. Everyone's oven is slightly different.
That's why it pays to keep an eye on things when they are baking. Don't be afraid to test and if you don't think something is done, pop it back in for a bit longer. Rather that than have a loaf that is partially raw in the middle. Been there, done that . . . not good.
Just look at those little tunnels of butterscotch . . .
Don't they look amazing? Mmmm . . . Mmmm . . . Mmmm . . .
I'm with the Loon on this one. It is amazingly tasty.
The hardest part of this is waiting for it to cool enough to glaze, and then waiting for the glaze to set! Oh I am sure you are going to absolutely fall in love with this!
Yield: Makes 2 (9X5) loaves
Butterscotch Pumpkin Bread
This is the most amazing pumpkin bread I have ever baked. Makes one to keep and one to free or give away!
ingredients:
- 145g white vegetable fat (Crisco, Trex or White Flora) (2/3 cup)
- 509g cup caster sugar (2 2/3 cup)
- 4 large free range eggs
- 1 (425g) tin of pumpkin puree (not pie filling) (15oz tin)
- 1/2 TBS pure Vanilla paste
- 156ml water (2/3 cup)
- 470g plain flour (3 1/3 cups)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 354g butterscotch chips (1 1/2 cups)
For the glaze:
- 130g icing sugar, sifted (1 cup)
- 2 TBS melted butter
- 1 TBS whole milk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
instructions:
How to cook Butterscotch Pumpkin Bread
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter two (9 X 5 inch) loaf tins and then line with baking paper, leaving an overhang so that you can lift it out when done.
- Cream the shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy in a very large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the pumpkin, water and vanilla paste.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices. Stir into the creamed mixture, then stir in the butterscotch chips. Divide the batter equally between both loaf tins, levelling off the top.
- Bake for 1 hour to 1 1/4 hour until risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre of the loaves comes out clean. Check when it is about 3/4 done and if you think it is getting too brown, cover loosely with a sheet of foil.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for half an hour in the pan on a wire rack, then lift out of the tin and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. This will take several hours.
- Once the loaves are completely cold, whisk together the glaze ingredients to give you a smooth drizzle icing. Drizzle decoratively over the loaves. Leave to set completely before serving.
- Serve cut into thick slices. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
This would make the perfect Neighbour gift for Christmas. In fact I gave the second loaf that I baked to my next door neighbour on the day. She fell in love also.
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