Holiday Cooking!

I love this time of the year.  Not for the weather necessarily and certainly not for the time that the sun goes down, but because of the cooking and baking opportunities.  With the holidays around the corner, I get to begin digging through my recipe archives and searching for new dishes that I can make for family and friends.  Between the actual holidays themselves and pre-holiday get-togethers, I have been getting my fix!

Here's the thing, I definitely cook a little bit differently for others than I do for myself.  That pumpkin pineapple bread that I made the other day was delicious, but it certainly wasn't a light and fluffy bread that one might expect from that sort of recipe.  Because of all my healthier substitutions (and possibly really old baking soda??), the bread turned out very moist and dense, and looking back, I think the icing would have been way too much.  Brendan and I loved it, but I do get how that might not be for everybody.  So when I am cooking for a party or other people, I tend to follow recipes to a T so that they come out as intended.  Besides, when I am cooking a recipe that makes two loaves and a pan of mini muffins for myself and one other, I can't have the full-fat, full-calorie version sitting around.  I do not need cake for breakfast (because believe me, I was eating that bread for breakfast).  But when I will eat one slice at a dinner party and leave the rest, a little indulgence is just fine.

I attended a Southern California sorority alumni Thanksgiving dinner party last night at a sister's house in Santa Monica.  I was assigned dessert, and not knowing people's preferences, I put together two dishes.  The first was a pumpkin gingerbread with spiced icing.  I doubled the recipe so that Brendan could try it, and it was a success!  The molasses really added a deep flavor to the gingerbread and really said "fall" to me.  It was also a much lighter textured cake, due to no substitutions and maybe new baking soda (I swear, I'm always buying this and it's always expired).

Pumpkin Gingerbread Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups (200 g) all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup dark molasses
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 Tbsp water

Icing:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tbsp milk (as needed to thin to desired consistency)

 Preparation:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray standard size loaf pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a medium bowl (I used my Kitchenaid mixer), mix together pumpkin, melted butter, sugar, molasses, eggs, and water.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients, scraping down sides if necessary.  Mix only until incorporated.
5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes (I took mine out at 50), or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Gently run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert to remove.  Let cool on a rack.
7. To make the icing, whip butter with mixer until smooth.  Add half of the confectioner's sugar and blend well, scraping sides as necessary.  Add in the vanilla and pumpkin pie spice.  Add in remaining sugar and blend until mixed.  Add milk, if needed (mine did not).
8. Once gingerbread has fully cooled, spread on the icing and serve!