Weekend Report: Pancake Party!

On Saturday morning,* my roommate and I hosted a celebratory Pancake Party in honor of National Pancake Day, the completion of the required language exams, the purchase of a griddle and real maple syrup, and just general awesomeness. I am struggling here to list reasons to have a pancake party, mostly because I can't think of any good reason NOT to have a pancake party.

Pumpkin Walnut Chocolate Chip Pancakes

We whipped up two base batters: buttermilk and pumpkin, and purchased an assortment of additions: walnuts, pecans, bananas, chocolate chips, and blueberries. 

As our classmates walked through our door, dazed by their recent encounters with foreign verb conjugations, tricky script (Вы читаете России? Я не), and unfamiliar sentence structures (ດ້ວຍຄວາມຊື່ສັດ, ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບໍ່ຮູ້ຫຍັງນີ້ເວົ້າວ່າ, ແຕ່ວ່າມັນເປັນຄົນລາວ?), we greeted them with a brand-new griddle -- Pumpkin or plain? Pick your toppings!

Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes.

Roommate Rachel (wo)manned the griddle and flipped pancakes for a few hours. Clearly A LOT of pancakes were consumed, along with gallons of orange juice and coffee. Aka, a morning well-spent!

Text from Rachel: I just bought a griddle,
we're having a pancake party!

Pancake parties are SO easy and always a winner (really, who doesn't like pancakes?). I made the Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes, and my roommate made her mama's Buttermilk Batter -- so buttery! So light! So delicious!

An unexpectedly awesome combination for you to try: pumpkin, banana, walnut. Pumpkin and banana go shockingly well together, for serious.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes 

Adapted from Mother Thyme

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Make a well in the middle and add in the wet ingredients.
3. Stir until smooth. 
4. Let the batter sit (anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight).
5. Preheat your griddle to 350 degrees.
6. Scoop about 1/4-1/3 cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. 
7. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side. 

Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• approx 1 tbsp of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 stick butter, melted

Directions:

1. Mix the flour and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Stir in the wet ingredients.
3. Preheat your griddle to 350 degrees.
4. Scoop about 1/4-1/3 cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. 
5. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side. 

*Apparently Weekend Reports come on Wednesdays now...alas I do as the homework gods command...

Pumpkin Oatmeal

I'm a little bit sad because this hurricane we appear to be having means that I did not go backpacking in West Virginia this weekend as planned. However, I did get today off of work, so I suppose it's not a total loss! (Disclaimer: As off now this storm is pretty minimal. I hope everyone has a happy hurricane, and if something terrible does happen I am sincerely sorry for the flippant tone of this post. Peace, love, and rainstorms.)

So here I am at home on a Monday, nothing major to accomplish, and nowhere to go (the Metro is closed). It's just like snopocolypse/snomageddon/snoverkill of 2010!

What happens when you're stuck at home? TV! Reading! FOOD!!! It recently came to my attention that SpeedyKate has never experienced Pumpkin Oatmeal. Which means there are probably a lot of people out there who have not experienced the hot and flavorful pumpkin-y goodness that is this breakfast (/lunch/anytime) meal. 

It's like a hot satisfying bowl of pumpkin pie. Oh wait, that sounds weird...but trust me it's good! And adding pumpkin is SO HEALHY! It's a vegetable, with a billion times your recommended vitamin A (that's an exaggeration, but close enough), vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants. Basically, this is SUPER OATMEAL! 

SpeedyKate just made what can best be described as a vat of pumpkin oatmeal. We ate some, and the rest is now tupper-wared and frozen, ready as an easy to-go breakfast for those days that a morning run goes too long/picking out clothing takes too much time/oversleeping that necessitate bringing breakfast to work.

 

We have decided that oatmeal is like eggs but more extreme -- as in, everyone is very particular about how they like it. Thick or soupy or chewy or mushy? For this reason, I am not going to tell you how to cook your oats (I like mine on the mushy well-cooked side, a bit soupy but definitely not watery). But I will tell you what to put in them!

The first time I made pumpkin oatmeal I didn't like it at all -- turns out I didn't add enough sugar, so it just tasted squash-y. If something seems not so delish, I recommend adding more sweetness. 

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Serves: 2 (multiply times however many servings you want)

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup Trader Joe's Multigrain Hot Cereal (a mix of rye, barley, oats, and wheat), or old-fashioned oats
• 2 cups water (approximately)
• 4 tablespoons pumpkin puree
• 2-3 teaspoons sugar (brown or white)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger
• dash of cloves
• dash of allspice
• dash of salt
• 1/4 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

1. Prepare your oatmeal as you normally would, either on the stovetop or in the microwave.
2. When your oatmeal is almost done, add in pumpkin, spices, and salt. 
3. Add in sugar and taste -- you may need to add more sugar, depending on your preference.
4. Add in raisins and enjoy with a hot cup of coffee!

 See? SO EASY!

Cake of the Week: Pumpkin-Ginger Bundt Cakes with Browned Butter Glaze

This past weekend the pumpkin cravings hit me hard. It feels like everything good about fall here in DC: crisp cold morning, sunny warm afternoons, skirt and scarf and no jacket necessary kind of weather. Basically the perfect time of year for a hot cup of coffee accompanied by a spicy pumpkin-y baked good. Yessssss.

Saturday afternoon/evening I turned up some music, put on my apron, and made something delicious that I've been eyeing all week -- Pumpkin-Ginger Bundt Cakes with Browned Butter Glaze.

There are some people who do crazy things like not eat sweets before a race. Clearly I am not one of those people. I’m not saying I won Sunday’s race because of these bundt cakes…but correlation vs. causation = potato vs. potato, right? (No that is not right. But in this context I’m going with it.) Basically, these were great the night before the race, and even greater the night after.

There’s something almost cake donut-y to the texture, and the slight crunch of sugar in the Browned Butter Glaze might be my new favorite thing. At first I wasn't sure if I just thought they were awesome, or if they actually are that good, but LLC confirmed that "no, they are that amazing" as she enjoyed one with her breakfast coffee yesterday.

I think the awesome light-but-dense texture of the cake (I know that’s a oxymoron, but if you try them you’ll know what I mean) can be attributed to all of the beating time – seriously, that butter and those eggs didn’t know what hit them! – and subsequent careful folding to keep it all from going flat and over-mixed.

My love of all things pumpkin has been well-documented on Eat Run Read, but I think this is my favorite pumpkin cake/cupcake recipe to date!

As the original recipe warns, be sure to thoroughly grease and flour your pans! You don’t want to lose any of these babies to sticking. I have a silicone mini bundt pan (sidenote: it feels weird calling it a “pan” when it’s essentially rubber), which makes it easier to push the cakes out (since you can actually turn the pans inside-out).

Pumpkin-Ginger Bundt Cakes with Brown Butter Glaze

Adapted from Une Gamine Dans La Cuisine
Yield: 6 mini bundt cakes plus about 12 medium-sized cupcakes (or one large bundt cake) -- I tend to make very small cupcakes, so I ended up with 6 mini bundts and 18 cupcakes.
Printable recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (that's 1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 4 eggs, separate the yolks and the whites
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups dark brown sugar 
• 1 1/2 cup unsweetened pumpkin pureé 
• 1/4 cup of canola oil

For the glaze:

• 4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar 
• 2 Tablespoons whole milk (or half & half) 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 6-well mini bundt pan, and line a 12-muffin/cupcake pan.  
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg; Set aside.
3. In a large bowl with a beater(or a stand mixer fitter with the paddle attachment), beat the butter on medium speed until creamy (about 3 minutes). In  1/2 cup increments add the brown sugar, beating well after each addition and scrapping down the bowl as necessary. Once all the sugar has been added, beat everything together on medium speed for 3-4 minutes.
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg yolks and beat on low until incorporated. Add the pumpkin pureé and oil, and vanilla, and beat until smooth.
5. In a separate medium-sized bowl, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form (if you’re using the same eggbeater, wash it before doing the egg whites, otherwise they won’t work). 
6. Now switch to a large rubber spatula. Fold in about 1/3 of the flour mixture. (How to fold: Cut down through the center and bring the heavier mixture back up to the top. Think down-across-up-and-over. Turn the bowl as you are doing this. Do not stir!) Keep folding until the flour has disappeared. Repeat with the remaining flour. 
7. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
8. Spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan and muffin/cupcake tins. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake pan from the oven and place onto a cooling rack. Let the cakes sit in the pan for 10-15 minutes, before inverting onto a cookie rack to finish cooling. 
9. Cool completely before adding the glaze. 

For the glaze: 

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Once melted, increase the heat to med-high and cook until the butter turns brown (about 5-8 minutes). You will know when the butter is ready by it's nutty fragrance and brown-tinged bubbles. (Do not walk away! There is a fine line between browned and burnt!) 
2. Pour the butter into a bowl and add the powdered sugar, salt, and milk. Quickly whisk until blended and smooth (it hardens fast). Immediately drizzle the glaze over the cakes and muffins. 

Printable recipe. 

My kitchen counter as I take pictures/prep cupcakes to bring to work. 

I originally planned to half the recipe, but then in my singing-along-with-ZBB daze I totally spaced and added all the baking powder. Oh well! No harm in having extra cupcakes to take to work and share with the people I like!

Cake of the Week: Pumpkin Streusel Pancakes

My home is kind of a scary place when it comes to food…and by that I mean there is a lot of it, most things involve buttercream, and I don’t have to do anything except appreciate and lick the frosting off my fingers.

If I lived there full time, this would probably become an issue (and by that I mean I’d have to buy bigger pants). But since I only go home once in a blue moon, it’s instead a perfectly acceptable vacation from reality and venture into the realm of all-desserts-all–the-time. 

The tour guide on this sugar vacation is, of course, Sister1. She bakes and I eat. And then I let her and her husband mock me for my whipped cream consumption. Trust me, it’s a win-win. 

One morning over Thanksgiving break, she decided to make us pancakes (us = me, Sister2, my dad and mama, and Geoff - the aforementioned husband). But not just any pancakes – Pumpkin Streusel Pancakes. 

They were absolutely insane. Because not only are they pumpkin pancakes (yum), but they have a cinnamon streusel cooked into them (double yum), and then, because we are intensely awesome eaters, we slathered them with cream cheese spice frosting, syrup, and whipped cream (quadruple yum to the max!!!).

Sister2’s recipe is based on this one from Two Peas & Their Pod, but with some modifications (noted below in pink).

Pumpkin Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the cinnamon streusel:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

To make the pancakes: 

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup milk (Sister2 used buttermilk)
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 large egg (Sister2 used flax egg substitute)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. First, make the cinnamon streusel. In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Mix together with your hands or a fork, until you have a crumbly mixture. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Set aside. 
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg, pumpkin, canola oil, and vanilla extract. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and whisk until combined.
4. Heat a griddle or pan to medium low. Coat with cooking spray. Drop 1/3 cup of batter onto heated skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon streusel. Cook on the first side until bubbles begin to form, about 2-3 minutes. Carefully flip pancake over and cover very generously with cinnamon streusel. Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Continue this process to make the rest of the pancakes.
5. Serve pancakes warm with maple syrup and butter. (As previously mentioned, we did it up and used frosting and whipped cream…be prepared for the ensuing sugar coma…it’s worth it.)

Pumpkin Hummus

It's only a matter of hours until Thanksgiving! I hope you're ready...I know I am!

If you need something to bring to a party, or think your own feast might need a little spicing up, make this Pumpkin Hummus. It's a great seasonal dip -- it's savory, just slightly pumpkin-y, has some of the usual pumpkin pie spices, but also a little kick. (I know, it sounds weird, but trust me, it's really good and insanely easy.)

Pumpkin Hummus

Ingredients:

• 2 cans chickpeas, drained
• About 3/4 of a 15-oz can pumpkin 
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 shake of cayenne pepper

Directions:

• Put all ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth. (I said it was easy, didn't I?)
• Serve with toasted pita bread, carrots, etc.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Cake of the Week: Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Christine, Jess, and I exchange recipes a lot. Every day a flurry of emails fly through the interwebs, bringing tidings of what we’re currently eating/wish we were eating/want to make soon.

• Last night I had the best pizza ever…
• OMG I want this cake…
• Did you see the new Serious Eats list?
• This is you in sandwich form…
• This is you in cake form…

Etc. etc. etc.  

So when we recently convened in NYC, clearly we had to put our words into actions and actually make something together.

After a burst of brainstorming and internet browsing, we settled on making my Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (previous experience here), but this time filling them with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. Genius. 

The small amount of chocolate and the tanginess of the cream cheese made the filling taste like a chocolate malt, which went fabulously with the super light and slightly spicy whoopie pies. You must make these.

We baked the pies, matched them up, and filled them. Christine’s husband pointed out that they look like little hamburgers, so for purely aesthetic blog photography purposes we dusted them with powdered sugar.

And then we tested. Liberally.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (from Brown Eyed Baker)

3 cups all-purpose flour


2 tablespoons cinnamon


1 teaspoon baking powder


1 teaspoon baking soda


1 teaspoon salt


1 teaspoon ground ginger


½ teaspoon ground nutmeg


1 cup granulated sugar


1 cup dark brown sugar


1 cup canola or vegetable oil


3 cups chilled pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)


2 eggs


1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (Jess original recipe)

8 oz cream cheese (one block) at room temp.

½ cup butter at room temp.

2 cups powdered sugar

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 tablespoons milk (as needed)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, the dark brown sugar, and the oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.

4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

5. Use a small cookie scoop or a large spoon to drop a rounded, heaping tablespoon of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.

6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, making sure that the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. The cookies should be firm when touched. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.

For the frosting:

Using a standing or hand-held mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar, chocolate and vanilla and beat thoroughly. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a smooth spreadable consistency.

Assembly:

Match up whoopie pies that are about the same size. Spread frosting on one side, sandwich them together, and enjoy!

These would be great to make and bring to a Thanksgiving potluck type of situation - they travel really well. Plus, of course, everyone will LOVE them!

Cake of the Week: Spiced Pumpkin Latte Cake

Every October people go crazy for pumpkin lattes. They're like a bizarre seasonal drug – every coffee shop carries a version, and suddenly the question is, Have you had your pumpkin latte yet? These caffeinated concoctions fall somewhere between a guilty pleasure, religion, and addiction. Devotees praise the latte’s deliciousness, while simultaneously bemoaning the effects on bank accounts and waist-bands nationwide.  They’re expensive and high calorie, but 'tis the season, right?

Clearly, being myself and doing what I do, I took the beverage inspiration and turned it into a cake. Spiced Pumpkin Latte Cake. Yes.  

Saturday afternoon I was feeling lazy. I started a run but aborted mission about 3 minutes in (it just felt awful), and walked back home.  After a brief sit-up session I decided that it was dance-around-my-kitchen-and-bake time. Aka my favorite time.

I cranked up Pandora to Kenny Chesney (believe it or not, sometimes I listen to music other than ZBB), closed my door in the interest of minimizing the Mollie-singing my roommates would have to experience, and started baking. 

I saw this Pumpkin Spice Cake recipe on Not So Humble Pie a couple weeks ago. It’s super simple and doesn’t require any odd ingredients. But be warned: it makes a ton of cake. I made three layers and the finished cake was so huge that it didn’t fit under my cake-dome. I wish I’d measured it in inches, just to be able to report back…but let’s just settle for gi-normous and call it a day. 

My one addition is the most important part – one capsule of finely ground espresso mixed into the batter. The resulting cake isn’t super coffee-y. It’s more subtle, much like a pumpkin latte. If you like an extra shot in your latte, by all means add another tablespoon of espresso to this cake. 

And the frosting…oh the frosting. SO FREAKING GOOD. My usual cream cheese frosting is half cream cheese, half butter. But this recipe is half cream cheese, half whipped cream. It’s light and not overly sweet and absolutely divine. Seriously, I dipped my finger into the bowl and the heavens opened up and angels started singing. True story. 

Spiced Pumpkin Latte Cake

yields or 3 8" or 9" cake rounds

• 3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground nutmeg (I cheated and used the usual grocery store ground nutmeg. It would probably be even better with freshly ground, but I'm just too lazy.)
• 1 cup golden brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 cups canned pumpkin puree (This is slightly more than one can - most are 15 oz - you'd be fine using one can.)
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 capsule or 2 1/2 tablespoons finely ground espresso powder

Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare two 8" or 9" round cake pans with a light coating of non-stick spray and then line the bottoms with parchment. Or you can spray and flour them. 

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Once sifted, give it a good mixing with a whisk to ensure everything is evenly distributed and then set aside. 

In a second large bowl, add the brown sugar and a third of the pumpkin puree. Combine the two with a spatula, pressing firmly to ensure there are no rogue lumps of sugar.  Once lump free, add the remaining pumpkin and oil. Blend with a whisk and then add the eggs, one at a time, stirring with the whisk to incorporate after each addition. 

Add the dry ingredients a third at a time, blending after each addition. Add the espresso powder. 

Divide the batter between your pans and place into the oven on a lower-middle rack.  Bake for 40-45 minutes until risen and firm to the touch. 

Let the cakes stand in the pans on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Then unmold onto the racks and turn right-side up to cool completely. 

Ms. Humble's Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Yields enough to frost a 8" or 9" double layer cake. 

• 1lb (16oz) cream cheese, softened but still cool
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup cold heavy cream (use the ultra heavy 40%+ cream if you can find it)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Sift the powdered sugar and add the cream cheese to the bowl of your mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat them thoroughly until fluffy and completely smooth/lump free. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream to nearly stiff peaks, then add the whipped cream into the cheese mixture, scrape down the sides of your bowl and quickly and briefly beat to combine. Do not over beat.

Assemble your cake by trimming any humps off the top of the cake and place trimmed side down on your serving platter. Tuck strips of parchment under the cake to protect the platter during frosting, if desired. Dollop a generous amount of frosting onto the first layer-and smooth into an even layer, about 2 cm thick. If you're going for three layers, repeat with the second layer. Then frost the entire outside of the cake. 

To store, keep refrigerated for up to five days.  Keep the cake well covered to prevent it from absorbing any odors while in the fridge. Allow to stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving. 

Cake of the Week: LLC's Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Cake for breakfast is frowned upon, but luckily muffins are the ultimate cake loophole. And Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins incorporate an extra decadent cheesecake component that makes me swoon, just a little bit. 

If you sit down at the breakfast table next to your roommate/spouse/mama with a slab of frosted awesomeness I guarantee that someone will say something.

But if you sit down with a muffin, you’re just a normal person starting your normal day. (No matter how decadent, a muffin is a muffin, and I will not let anyone convince me otherwise.)

These muffins are an LLC creation and they are divine - pumpkin-y and spicy, with a cream cheese filling and streusel on top.  LLC doubled the spices, making them taste almost ginger-bread-ish with a pumpkin twist.

Friday night she delivered a tin-full to my apartment, and I’m not going to lie…I ate 2 a day (breakfast and dessert) until they were gone. She’s got to stop doing that to me! My life is so hard…

I feel slightly less cake-for-breakfast-guilt because she made some substitutions to health-ify them: whole wheat flour, applesauce, less oil, etc. But don't let that fool you - these muffins could qualify as cake and I'm a-okay with that!

LLC’s Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Makes 24 muffins For the filling: 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 1 cup powdered sugar For the muffins: 3 cups whole wheat flour 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 3 large eggs 2 cups sugar 1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz) ½ cup vegetable oil ½ cup applesauce For the topping: ½ cup sugar 5 tablespoons flour 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces Directions: To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours. The mixture will still be somewhat soft but firmer. (I did do this, because of Abby's description of needing another set of hands when she tried to do a recipe like this. I'm not convinced that it was very necessary because the cream cheese didn't get much firmer. I think whipping it together and putting the bowl in the fridge or freezer while you do the rest would be sufficient.) To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. (Clearly I didn’t use an electric mixer but whatever) To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. I always get inpatient here and mix it together with my hands so that it looks like the texture of wet sand. I know you aren't supposed to do it this way but I'm impatient. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill until ready to use. To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. You want to put the cream cheese lower than you think because it will rise a lot during the baking process. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. I like them warm, cold, and room temperature.

Cake of the Week: Pumpkin Pancakes

I went to a very small elementary school with just one teacher per grade. That meant that everyone knew exactly what to expect each year, especially those of us with older siblings. I knew that Mrs. Mullins made her 3^rd graders stay in at recess if they didn’t finish the homework, that Steve was the coolest 5^th grade teacher in the world, and that Mr. Paul took his students to 6^th grade camp. Mrs. Wright’s 4^th grade class was arguably the best year ever – students went on an overnight on the C.A. Thayer, and the class made Pumpkin Pancakes on Halloween.

Since that fateful year, I have loved pumpkin pancakes with a love unparalleled by any other breakfast food adoration. Pancakes are my absolute favorite kind of cake (bold statement, but I stand by it). This is their Eat Run Read debut, mostly because I rarely have the patience to take pictures before I dig into a plate of light fluffy syrupy deliciousness.

I like all kinds - blueberry, whole wheat, chocolate chip, etc. etc. But pumpkin pancakes are the best of all worlds because they’re spicy and pumpkin-y and go ridiculously well with real maple syrup, toasted walnuts, and dark chocolate.

I made these for a house brunch, and I’d say they were a smashing success.

Pumpkin Pancakes (adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
•  pinch of ground cloves
• 1 cup milk
• 6 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)
• 1 dark chocolate bar, chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, salt, nutmeg, and a pinch of ground cloves.
2. In a separate bowl, stir together milk, pumpkin puree, melted butter, and egg; fold mixture into dry ingredients. 
3. Mix in toasted walnuts and dark chocolate pieces.
4. Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat (unless you're using a non-stick skillet - in that case no butter necessary); pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side. 

Yields: 8 to 10 pancakes

I wish this picture were better focused on the chocolatey awesomeness inside these pancakes, but unfortunately I had urgent business to attend to and was unable to get a better shot. 

(That 'urgent business' may or may not have been eating the pancakes. Could you have waited???)