Really Good Pumpkin Bread

Dave is getting seriously spoiled this week. TWO pumpkin baked items in one week. We had cream cheese and pumpkin puree left over from the Maple-Pumpkin Stack Cake so I whipped up a loaf of this last night (halved the recipe). I absolutely love when I have all the required ingredients already in the pantry. That doesn't happen often! 

Published September 1, 2012.  From Cook's Illustrated.
Canned pumpkin puree often lends a raw, metallic flavor to pumpkin bread. We cook down the puree to eliminate those off-putting flavors. Instead of dirtying more dishes, we mix the quick bread right in the pot, adding cream cheese and buttermilk for their tangy flavor. A quick-to-assemble topping adds texture and keeps the loaf from getting soggy the next day. 

The test kitchen’s preferred loaf pan measures 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches; if using a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, start checking for doneness five minutes early. Makes 2 loaves.

TOPPING 
5 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
 
BREAD 
2 cups  all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 (15 oz) can unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed  light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 ounces cream cheese , cut into 12 pieces
4 large eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped fine (optional)

1. FOR THE TOPPING: Using fingers, mix all ingredients together in bowl until well combined and topping resembles wet sand; set aside.

2. FOR THE BREAD: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pans. Whisk flour, baking powder, and baking soda together in bowl.
 
3. Combine pumpkin puree, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook mixture, stirring constantly, until reduced to 1½ cups, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove pot from heat; stir in granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and cream cheese until combined. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until no visible pieces of cream cheese remain and mixture is homogeneous.
 
4. Whisk together eggs and buttermilk. Add egg mixture to pumpkin mixture and whisk to combine. Fold flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until combined (some small lumps of flour are OK). Fold walnuts into batter. Scrape batter into prepared pans. Sprinkle topping evenly over top of each loaf. Bake until skewer inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let breads cool in pans on wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove breads from pans and let cool for at least 1½ hours. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Maple-Pumpkin Stack Cake

"I have no words for this." Dave 

I quartered this recipe and made one giant piece for Dave and I to split last night. I let it under-cook by just a tad so that it was very doughy and passed on the pecans - just how we like it.

For an impressively tall cake that combines two of our favorite fall flavors, we started with four layers of tender, moist cake reminiscent of pumpkin pie, thanks to canned pumpkin puree and a jar of pumpkin pie spice. We sandwiched fluffy whipped cream sweetened with real maple syrup between the layers and topped the whole thing off with crunchy toasted pecans. From Cook's Country, October/November 2012

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups sugar 
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs
15 ounces canned pumpkin, unsweetened
1 ½ cups heavy cream, chilled
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup pecans, toasted and chopped

FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, then flour pans.
 
Whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat sugar, butter, and eggs on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add pumpkin, and mix until incorporated. Slowly add flour mixture and mix until only few small flour streaks remain, about 30 seconds. Spread one-fourth of batter (about 1 cup) in even layer in each prepared pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 12 to 14 minutes.
 
Let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert each cake onto large plate, peel off parchment, and reinvert onto lightly greased rack. Cool completely. Reprep pans and repeat with remaining batter.
 
TO ASSEMBLE: Using dry, clean bowl and whisk attachment, whip cream and maple syrup together on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Place 1 cake layer on cake plate or pedestal, then spread one-fourth of whipped cream (scant cup) evenly over top. Repeat with remaining cake layers and whipped cream. Sprinkle pecans on top and serve.

Pork Green Chili

A little something about Colorado: Everything here is smothered in green chili and it's delicious. Hatch chilies, specifically, are a big deal here and right now just happens to be harvest season. In my relentless pursuit to be a tied and true Coloradan, I'm making a big pot of this tonight. 

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1" cubes
1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup flour
3 vine tomatoes, peeled and chopped
8 roasted, peeled and chopped Hatch chilies

1 jalapeno, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup chicken or beef broth

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven. Add pork and cook until lightly browned. Drain off most of the liquid from the pork. Add onion and garlic and stir with meat. Add flour and stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes, green chiles, jalapeno, salt, pepper, and sugar and stir to incorporate. Add broth and lower heat. Cover pot and simmer for 2 hours until meat is tender.

Serve with flour tortillas.