Friday, October 10, 2014

A Little Bit of Fall


I can't believe it's October!  Why?  Because our days are warm and sunny and there isn't a hint of that nippy autumn air that I so love.  With such warm days I haven't felt compelled to do much baking but yesterday the girls and I wanted a little something to accompany our afternoon tea.  The pumpkin scone recipe I recently came across looked like it was just the thing, however, it only used 1/2 cup of pumpkin so I scoured my other recipes to see what I could bake with the rest of the pumpkin in the jar.  Oh, did I come up with something wonderful!  Texas pecan cake.  Umm.


If you are hankering for a taste of fall, these recipes will fill the bill.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Scones
2 1/2 C flour
6 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 C butter, cold, cut into chunks
1/2 C pumpkin puree (or other winter squash)
3 T heavy cream (or milk)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Thick Glaze
1 C powdered sugar
2 T milk

Pumpkin Spiced Glaze
1 C powdered sugar
2 T milk
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
pinch cloves
pinch ginger

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

For the Scones:  In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.  Cut in butter (with a pastry cutter).  Add the pumpkin, cream, egg and vanilla.  Stir just until a soft dough forms.  Knead 4 or 5 times or until the dough comes together well.



Pat the dough until it is about 1 inch thick.  (I pat it in a circle).  Cut wedges in the size of your preference.

Place scones on a baking sheet and bake for 14 to 18 minutes or until done.  Allow to cool on a wire rack.

For the Glaze:  Stir the ingredients for the Thick Glaze together until smooth.  Spread over cooled scones and allow to set for about 10 minutes.  Stir together the ingredients for the spiced glaze and drizzle over cooled and frosted scones. 




Texas Pecan Cake
1 C butter, softened
2 C sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 C butternut squash, pureed (I used pumpkin)
3 tsp. vanilla extract
3 C flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 grated coconut
1/2 pecans, chopped

Glaze
1/4 C butter
1/2 C pecans, chopped
1 C brown sugar
1/4 C cream, plus a glug (about 1 T)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a Bundt pan.

For the Cake:  Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs beating well after each addition.  Add the squash (or pumpkin) and mix well.  Stir in the vanilla.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and mix well.  Fold in the coconut and pecans.  Spoon into the prepared pan and bake for 50 or 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes then turn out onto a cake platter.



For the Glaze:  Melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the pecans and stir for 1 minute.  Add the brown sugar and cream and bring to a boil.  After glaze comes to a roiling boil stir constantly for 2 minutes.  Take off heat.  Allow to cool then drizzle glaze over cooled cake.

NOTE:  I like this cake best without the glaze!  Just slice in small pieces and butter - out of this world!

4 comments:

  1. Are the measures of coconut and pecans 1/2 cup each? If so, would using a full measure of pecans and no coconut work? Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. I found a similar recipe (to try to answer your question). The measures for coconut and pecans were 1/2 C each. I think you could make your substitution with no problem

      Em.

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  2. Enola,

    Now both of these recipes sound really amazing, thank you for sharing. I need to try these :)

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  3. I made these for Rooster & the crew yesterday...the only thing I did different was add a dollop of sour cream into the scone's wet ingredients because DH doesn't like anything dry. LOL! They were a HUGE hit here...thanks for another great recipe from your cozy kitchen in the shouse!!

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