Friday, October 5, 2012
Ideas :)
Please feel free to leave me comments, baking questions or things your would like a formula for!
Fall in love with Fall!
As Fall approaches excitement fills the air. The leaves are falling, breezes are cool and brisk and best of all it's time for Fall baking! Bust out the cans of pumpkin, all those delicious spices, comforting recipes, turn on your oven and get ready!
Whether it's muffins, cake, cookies, pastries or savory baked goods I love them all. Fall is such a great time to add a lovely richness to your baked items and have it completely justified. Two of my favorite items to include in my fall and early holiday baking are applesauce and pureed pumpkin. They help to impart incredible moistness, extra nutrition with much less fat and depending on how you utilized them: wonderful flavor.
One of my favorites is simple and delicious pumpkin muffins. Although most good formulas do require some oil or butter I love the fact that using the pumpkin will help decrease the need for it. With a spice blend(commonly referred to as pumpkin pie spice,) you can get an amazing pumpkin flavor and a muffin created especially for those crisp fall mornings with your favorite cup of coffee or tea.
Below is a formula I have modified over time and tweaked a bit. Time for some good old fashioned baking!
2 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1 can unsweetened pumpkin (15 oz. can)
1 c. sugar
1 stick of butter (melt and cool)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (if you don't have it you can use extract but you won't get as much flavor)
I use regular all purpose flour for this formula. It has just the right amount of gluten to get a good texture but not so much as to give you a tough muffin. Make sure you purchase unsweetened pumpkin. If you buy pumpkin pie filling they have already put spiced and sugar in it and your muffins will not turn out right. As far as spices go I like to get mine from Penzeys. You can order them online or go to one of there shops if they have one near where you live. As far as the cinnamon is concerned, I love Penzeys Ceylon Cinnamon. It has a milder flavor with slight citrus undertones that I love! My sister prefers Penzeys Viennese Cinnamon which is stronger in flavor. Either works well, its up to you: the chef! If you are unfamiliar with vanilla bean paste it is amazing stuff! They basically take the vanilla bean pods, scrape out the seeds and put them in a bottle for you. You use the same amount you would extract but since it is not alcohol based you don't end up cooking it out of your food.
Line 12 standard size muffing cups with the paper of your choice. I like to use foil lined ones to preserve the look on the outside but it is totally up to you. You'll want to get your oven heating at 350. Unless a recipe stated otherwise you always want to preheat it before you start. This helps to insure even baking and that the necessary reactions happen at the right times. Also I always suggest an oven thermometer. It is crucial in baking to always know what temperature your oven is at and that it is accurate! In order to get the best product possible you want to make sure your equipment is working.
Whisk together all of your dry ingredients. That includes: flour, soda, powder, all your spices, and your salt.
In a separate bowl combine your pumpkin, sugar, the butter you already melted and let cool, your eggs and yummy vanilla bean paste! Once you have mixed that until it is smooth carefully fold that into your flour mixture. Portion out into each muffin cup. Scoop accordingly, you will get 12 from this recipe.
Put into preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes. Test with a cake tester or toothpick. When it comes out clean they are done! Let cool on a wire rack for a few minutes, serve warm or cool. Enjoy!
If you'd like to mix the flavors up a bit you could add chopped, toasted nuts, chocolate chips, a yummy streusel topping on them, the sky's the limit. Okay not really, but have fun!
Whether it's muffins, cake, cookies, pastries or savory baked goods I love them all. Fall is such a great time to add a lovely richness to your baked items and have it completely justified. Two of my favorite items to include in my fall and early holiday baking are applesauce and pureed pumpkin. They help to impart incredible moistness, extra nutrition with much less fat and depending on how you utilized them: wonderful flavor.
Below is a formula I have modified over time and tweaked a bit. Time for some good old fashioned baking!
2 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1 can unsweetened pumpkin (15 oz. can)
1 c. sugar
1 stick of butter (melt and cool)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (if you don't have it you can use extract but you won't get as much flavor)
I use regular all purpose flour for this formula. It has just the right amount of gluten to get a good texture but not so much as to give you a tough muffin. Make sure you purchase unsweetened pumpkin. If you buy pumpkin pie filling they have already put spiced and sugar in it and your muffins will not turn out right. As far as spices go I like to get mine from Penzeys. You can order them online or go to one of there shops if they have one near where you live. As far as the cinnamon is concerned, I love Penzeys Ceylon Cinnamon. It has a milder flavor with slight citrus undertones that I love! My sister prefers Penzeys Viennese Cinnamon which is stronger in flavor. Either works well, its up to you: the chef! If you are unfamiliar with vanilla bean paste it is amazing stuff! They basically take the vanilla bean pods, scrape out the seeds and put them in a bottle for you. You use the same amount you would extract but since it is not alcohol based you don't end up cooking it out of your food.
Line 12 standard size muffing cups with the paper of your choice. I like to use foil lined ones to preserve the look on the outside but it is totally up to you. You'll want to get your oven heating at 350. Unless a recipe stated otherwise you always want to preheat it before you start. This helps to insure even baking and that the necessary reactions happen at the right times. Also I always suggest an oven thermometer. It is crucial in baking to always know what temperature your oven is at and that it is accurate! In order to get the best product possible you want to make sure your equipment is working.
Whisk together all of your dry ingredients. That includes: flour, soda, powder, all your spices, and your salt.
In a separate bowl combine your pumpkin, sugar, the butter you already melted and let cool, your eggs and yummy vanilla bean paste! Once you have mixed that until it is smooth carefully fold that into your flour mixture. Portion out into each muffin cup. Scoop accordingly, you will get 12 from this recipe.
Put into preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes. Test with a cake tester or toothpick. When it comes out clean they are done! Let cool on a wire rack for a few minutes, serve warm or cool. Enjoy!
If you'd like to mix the flavors up a bit you could add chopped, toasted nuts, chocolate chips, a yummy streusel topping on them, the sky's the limit. Okay not really, but have fun!
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