Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

Posted by - Laura Loves Cakes

I was quite intrigued by a cake with pumpkin puree in as I've never baked with pumpkin before so I thought I'd give it a go.

The recipe for this cake also includes nutmeg, cinnamon, buttermilk and soft dark brown sugar, so overall along with the pumpkin the resulting cake was really moist. It also wasn't overly chocolately and the nutmeg and cinnamon gave it a nice warm flavour. It was slightly reminiscent of a ginger cake.

I used tinned pumpkin puree which you can get from Waitrose or even Amazon if you can't find it in the supermarket. If you've got the time or inclination you can also make your own pumpkin puree using a recipe such as this one.

Inbetween the cake layers is a tasty orange cream cheese frosting, you can find the recipe here. I really like the frosting and would certainly consider using it with other cakes. To make sure my cake wasn't wonky I also levelled the two bottom layers using a cake leveller which you can see above.

To finish off the cake I made some chocolate leaves which you can see in the second picture. They provided nice decoration and also added to the autumnal feel of the cake. The recipe for the cake and frosting can be found on the Country Living website.

This Chocolate Pumpkin Cake is my entry into this month's Calendar Cakes...and no surprises for guessing that the theme is Halloween!If you're making a Halloween bake in the next couple of days then we'd love for you to enter it into our Calendar Cakes challenge. Calendar Cakes is hosted jointly here at Laura Loves Cakes and also by Rachel over at Dolly Bakes. Rachel is hosting this month so check out the details here.

Frightfully Delicious Chocolate Cupcakes

Posted by - Michelle Sturges

• I have not participated in the Have the Cake Challenge in a few months, but when I saw it was pumpkin themed, I had to do it!  I love this time of year with the pumpkin recipes and Halloween themed goodies!

I found this recipe on the Very Best Baking website.  They have such yummy looking stuff.

My granddaughter, Samantha had spent the night after the whole family watched the original "Halloween"movie.  The next morning, I asked if she wanted to help make cupcakes and she yelled "YES!"  I think she was excited!  She loves to bake with Grammy.  My daughter and the rest of  her family came over later.  She and her son, Austin helped to decorate the cupcakes.  I think for the decorating, I put orange food coloring in the icing and helped spread on.  The two of them did the rest.

The recipe was easy to do.  The chocolate and pumpkin blended great together and it was not too much a pumpkin flavor, just enough.

Frightfully Delicious Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 12/ cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin (libby's 100% pure pumpkin)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
3 large eggs
1-16 oz container prepared white frosting
Halloween decorations
 Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Paper-line 20 muffin cups

Microwave 1 cup morsels in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 1 minute; stir.  If necessary, microwave additional 10-15 second intervals just until morsels are melted.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.  Beat sugar, pumpkin, oil, milk and eggs in larger mixer bowl until smooth.  Beat in melted chocolate.  Stir in flour mixture.  Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling 2/3 full.

Bake for 22-27 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes; removed to racks to cool completely.  Frost cupcakes and decorate.

My daughter, Kelly, decorated these.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Posted by - bakingaddict

It's October which means Halloween! On my recent trip to America, I bought a can of pumpkin puree and assorted Halloween goodies. Yes I know you can buy this in London but it's quite expensive here. Anyway, I was quite excited to bake with it as I've never used it before and I remember seeing this recipe on our recent Secret Recipe Club reveal which I'm also a member of.  It was on So Tasty, So Yummy's blog who in turn got it from Loving Life.

What can I say? Everyone loved it! It was delicious and moist, almost like a carrot cake with the spices but with a different texture. My kitchen smelled amazing when I baked this! I have to make this again even if I have to buy expensive pumpkin puree. Or perhaps they'll go on sale after Halloween? :) 

 My well travelled slightly squashed can of pumpkin puree 

 gorgeous colour! 

 ready to go in the oven 

 fresh from the oven 

Recipe adapted from So Tasty, So Yummy (I reduced the sugar amount and chocolate chips and it turned out beautifully) 

250g plain flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

225g butter

225g sugar

1 eff

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

300g chocolate chips 

• Preheat oven to 180C. 
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.  
• Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. 
• Add pumpkin puree. 
• The mixture will appear curdled - don't worry! 
• Reduce speed to low and add in dry ingredients. 
• Finally, stir in chocolate chips.
• Spread batter evenly in  a baking tray.
• Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool completely before slicing into squares.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Blondies with White Chocolate Chips and Dried Cherries.

Posted by - Meg from Sweet Twist of Blogging

I just love how bloggers get obsessed with pumpkin in the fall. There are so many different uses and they all just look so delicious!   I can't get enough so I am super excited to see what else gets posted on Have the Cake this month.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Blondies with White Chocolate Chips and Dried Cherries. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped dried cherries

Icing:

• 1/4 cup butter, room temp.
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, room temp
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup sifted confectioners sugar (give or take)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter a 8 inch square pan. 

2) In a medium bowl, add flour, cornstarch, baking powder/soda, cinnamon and salt. 

3) Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl or mixer bowl and beat until creamed together.
4) Add pumpkin, eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. 

5) Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix on low until almost combined.

6) Fold in chocolate chips and dried cherries.

7) Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake for 30 minutes,  outside will be starting to brown on edges and tooth pick will come out clean. 

8) Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Cut into squares and serve.
9) Make the icing : In a large bowl or mixer bowl beat together butter and cream cheese.  Add sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and beat together until just combined.  Adding more sugar if you want a stiffer icing.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted by - Dorrie

I am always trying to hide vegetables in my kids' food - they are pretty picky and not willing to eat more than about 5 vegetables.  I often slip pureed cauliflower in with their pasta and have been known to throw pureed butternut squash in their quesadillas. 
As such, one of my favorite cookie recipes, not just for the sleight of hand but also for the cakey texture, is a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe I found years ago.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies:  (makes about 4 dozen cookies)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mix together:
1 15 oz can pureed pumpkin
2 cups of sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs

Then add:
4 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
12 oz chocolate chips

Put on greased cookie sheet - spaced 2 inches apart and bake for 12-13 minutes.

I began mixing the recipe while the kids were taking their nap so that by the time my daughter came down to help, she had no idea that she was happily making chocolate chip cookies with pumpkin in them:

My gooey helper

After the cookies are baked they produce a lovely, cake-like cookie (with no pumpkin taste) that will easily fool anyone into eating more than a few!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

October Challenge: PUMPKIN

Posted by - Rena

It's October! It's only fitting to make pumpkin our flavor of the month. The challenge is to make a dessert that includes pumpkin. One of my favorite cakes is a "fake cake" which mixes a box of vanilla cake mix with a can of pumpkin puree. I know it's cheating but it's so very delicious!

Have fun with your pumpkin challenge! I can't wait to see what you come up with.

September Challenge: Cheesecake

Posted by - Rena

I almost forgot what day it is! I can't believe it's already September 1st! Time is flying by.

Our challenge this month is cheesecake. I'm shocked we haven't tackled this one before. I saw a photo on Pinterest this week which sparked my interest in trying to make cheesecake from scratch.

We used to live near an Italian diner when I was little. My mom loved Italian style cheesecake while I was a NY cheesecake kind of gal. Curious to see what your favorites are. I just bought a canister of matcha powder so I think there is a green tea cheesecake in my future.

Happy Baking!

photo from MarthaStewart.com

August Roundup

Thanks to everyone for the lovely anniversary wishes and thanks for participating in the chocolate challenge. 

Makin' Whoopie... Pies, that is...

Posted by - Dorrie

First, congratulations to my beloved friend Rena and Have the Cake on the blog's three year anniversary this month.  Who among us knew three years ago that the blog would become this big, this popular (and that I would participate so little)? Sorry about that Rena!

But this month, with an open-ended challenge of anything chocolate, I found time to participate, went for it with gusto and made Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pies with Chocolate Ganache filling.

Whoopie Pies are not something I know much about, as this is not a food served much here in the Rocky Mountains, but we have some close friends who are natives of New Hampshire who did grow up with this treat.  They recent gave me a book by Viola Goren, aptly titled "Whoopie Pies" and kindly told me that I was a good enough baker to be trusted to recreate them.

As with all sea-level baking recipes, I made a few high altitude adjustments in order to save myself the disappointment of sunken cavities in the centers of the cakes.  6,000 feet high in the Rockies is a wonderful place to live, but not to bake, unless you know how to fix sea-level recipes.  The moisture (sugar, oil, eggs, etc.) must be reduced in a few places to allow for the lack of oxygen up here.

Below is the original recipe with my high-altitude adjustments noted:

Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pie
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 oz. butter (1 stick) at room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar (reduced to 1 cup for high altitude)
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream (reduced to 3/4 cup for high altitude)
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet (or sheets) with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder in a bowl and set aside.  In a stand mixer beat the butter and sugar with the paddle attachment until light.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.  Slowly add in the dry ingredients until well blended and then add sour cream and chocolate chips (I used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips).

Drop the batter onto the previously prepared baking sheets, ensuring at least 2 inches of space between each.  Bake for 7-10 minutes, testing for the cakes to spring back from a gentle finger touch in the center.

Allow to cool before filling.

Chocolate Ganache Filling
10 oz coarsely chopped dark chocolate
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tablespoons butter

Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan and remove from the heat immediately.  Pour the cream over the chocolate and butter in a bowl and allow to stand for about 1 minute.  Stir or whisk until the mixture is smooth and shiny.  Set aside or put in the refrigerator to cool and firm up until spreadable.
Spread the ganache on the flat bottom of one cake and press another on top to make sandwiches.

Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pie with Ganache Filling

If you're like me, then make every attempt to hold off eating one until you've had a square meal that involves plenty of vegetables, fail miserably and eat one while the ganache is still a little warm.  And then have another for dessert, because you're the chef and you deserve a little Whoopie! for your Whoopie Pie.

Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Posted by -colleen

Chocolate Chip Cookies are my all-time favorite cookie so I will try just about any recipe in my search for the best one. It's been a while since I've posted for Have the Cake, but this month's challenge presented an excuse to try another variation!

I have been finding tons of recipes on Pinterest and this particular one caught my eye last week:

http://tendercrumb.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-favorite-chocolate-chip-cookie.html


The author's description made these sound too good to be true so it seemed like a no-brainer. Sadly, they are not my new favorite. I didn't do my usual recipe-tweaking (replacing butter, oils, sugars, etc) and stayed mostly true to the post. The only change was the amount of chocolate. 2 pounds seemed like too much. I was was wrong. I ended up with a lot of plain cookies. Also, this recipe makes A LOT so be prepared! I still have some dough to bake up in my fridge!

Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Makes twenty-six 5-inch cookies or 8 1/2 dozen 1 1/4-inch cookies
Ingredients
1 pound unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.
- Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies.
- Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Here's my take on these: They were too buttery and probably could have used more brown sugar. The texture was perfect but the taste was just not quite right. I brought them to work and people loved them so I guess it was just me.