Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

My dear friends in America. You know how important pumpkin spice everything is to the truest of basic chicks and if you're in New England, you know very well that pumpkin spice is the sign that fall is upon us. It's the beacon for chunky sweaters, knee-high boots, black puffy vests, plaid, apple picking and beautiful foliage.

My dear friends in the UK. I've probably done a poor job explaining the religion that is pumpkin spice and why it's so sad that it's lacking in my life here. You say "but you can wear chunky sweaters and plaid and knee-high boots and black puffy vests while apple picking here, what's the problem?". The problem is you can stick a Christmas tree in your living room and wear red and green in July but it doesn't make it Christmas! The same goes for pumpkin spice. You can wear your Boston-fall-finest in England and step on a stray leaf but it's just not the same!!!

 

I've spent the last month looking for canned pumpkin. I know it exists here. I've seen it on the bottom shelf of the 'American' section of the Tesco. But for some reason, when I truly desire it, I can't find it. And now, I have a pumpkin problem. Behold! Pumpkin! And miracles of miracles, this country has finally realized the market of expats obsessed with pumpkin spice and they have given us: Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal. Rationally, I know this is normal oatmeal with sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves BUT it's the principle of the matter. I fell into the marketing trap and purchased the Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal. Because when it comes to fall, I'm as basic as they come.

 

There have been a number of pumpkin recipes gracing this blog (and many others) over the fall years but this is a first! Because what's more basic than pumpkin spice? Brunch. And so, we have pumpkin spice brunch for one, on the balcony, overlooking the pseudo-foliaged park. Because I will make fall a thing!

 

This recipe made 6 palm-sized pancakes and were perfect with a little maple syrup. No eggs or butter required either! Flour, spices, baking powder and a little bit of brown sugar are mixed in one bowl. Pumpkin and milk in another. They come together to create a beautiful orange batter which is cooked in a lightly oiled frying pan to make pancakes. The end. 

 

Recipe

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salte
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup milk

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through sugar). Add more or less cinnamon or nutmeg as you like.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the milk and pumpkin puree.
3. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and stir to combine until you can  no longer see any flour.
4. In a lightly oiled and heated pan, cook the pancakes as usual. They may not have as many bubbles as normal pancakes so check the bottom after a few minutes and flip until cooked through.
5. Top with maple syrup. You could also add pecans or chocolate chips to the batter for extra flavor.

Protein Waffle for One

I love waffles. Growing up, my dad would make big Belgium waffles on Sundays, complete with Cool Whip, strawberries and a hefty side of bacon. Doused in syrup, it was a kid's dream. For my birthday this year, I decided I wanted a waffle for breakfast but felt guilty just thinking about the loaded version of my youth. So I did some research (aka: trolled Pinterest) and found a recipe for protein-packed waffles.

This waffle recipe was extremely easy which is good because trying to make complicated breakfast first thing in the morning is dangerous. It also had the perfect amount of batter for one full waffle without making a ragged edge or over-flowing the waffle iron.

A ripe banana, two eggs, almonds and protein powder are blended in a food processor. The end. That's all. Pour into your waffle iron (mix in blueberries or chocolate chips if desired) and cook to perfection.

I used chocolate protein powder because chocolate but you could pick your favorite!

Recipe

• 1 ripe banana
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup protein powder
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Handful of blueberries or chocolate chips, if desired

1. Preheat your waffle iron according to its instructions. 
2. In a food processor, blend the banana, eggs, protein powder, almonds and vanilla.
3. Gently stir the fixins into your waffle batter.
4. Lightly grease the waffle iron and pour batter into the center and allow to spread evenly.
5. Cook until golden brown.
6. Top with fresh fruit and maple syrup!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Does coffee cake always have a cinnamon topping? Does that mean the term 'cinnamon coffee cake' is redundant? Then I shall be redundant. There are few things I can distinctly remember the first time I ever ate them, coffee cake being one. It was 2nd grade. I have no idea why we had coffee cake at school but we did. I also thought one could only have it when coffee was around (ie: served with coffee) but I'm glad that was an incorrect assumption.

I made this for my coworkers and clearly I need to keep this recipe handy. Such phrases as "the best baked good you've ever made" were thrown around. Fightin' words. This was the first time I ventured to make coffee cake and it was a lot easier than anticipated. This shall become a staple.

As always, room temperature butter is creamed with the sugar and eggs before adding the dry ingredients. The batter is thicker than cake batter, almost velvety. But don't forget the secret ingredient: yogurt. Originally, this was sour cream but I like using Greek yogurt better. In part because it's healthier but I also think it gives cakes and breads a better texture.

My initial plan was to put this in a bundt pan but ultimately decided on a 9x9. Half the batter goes in before putting a layer of streusal down. This will give the center a nice cinnamon swirl. The rest of the batter is laid on top before being topped with the remaining streusal. The topping is made of melted butter, sugar, cinnamon and some flour. All things delicious.

The cake bakes for about 30-40 minutes or until a skewer in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting into pieces but definitely try a piece warm. Heaven!

Recipe

Cake

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Streusal 

• 3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 pan and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine all the dry ingredients for the streusal. Mix evenly before adding the melted butter.
3. Use a fork or pastry cutter to mix the streusal until it's crumbly. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
5. In a large bowl, place the stick of softened butter. Using a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter until smooth.
6. Add the sugar to the butter and continue to mix until fluffy (which is basically combined and smooth).
7. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar mixture until combined. Also add the vanilla here. 
8. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the yogurt to the butter-sugar-egg mix. 
9. Pour half of the batter into the 9x9 pan. Top that layer with a layer of streusal. If you want to be fancy, you can use a knife to spread the streusal in a swirly pattern throughout the cake batter.
10. Pour the remaining batter on top of the streusal layer and top with all remaining streusal (how many times can we say 'streusal'?).
11. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer placed in the center of the cake comes out clean.
12. The cake will deflate slightly as it cools. Allow to cool a bit before cutting into pieces and serving.

Pumpkin French Toast with Apple Cider Pumpkin Butter

For most people, this is just another Monday but fortunately for me, it's a day off! Long weekends are perfect for sleeping in, coffee dates and brunch. This weekend was full of brunches for me, one with blogger friends and one with day-to-day friends. Even though brunch is a breakfast-lunch hybrid, I always assume brunch food to be things like pancakes, waffles, eggs and general breakfast foods.

 

The first weekend brunch was more of a lunch but man oh man was it delicious. We went to Del Frisco's in Burlington and were treated to samples from their appetizer, entree and dessert menu.

 

While each menu varies by location (slightly), this Del Frisco's is designed to be more family friendly. I must say that their flatbreads and Philly cheesesteak egg rolls were definitely family friendly but sophisticated enough for adults that it didn't feel like a standard family place like Friendly's. And save me from myself, those Philly cheesesteak egg rolls were amaaazzzziiiiiing.

 

Lucky for my waistband, the portions were smaller than standard menu items. The dessert options included mini coconut cream pies and adult milkshakes, also miniature. I thought the coconut pie would be weird, it sounds too tropical but it was delicious and like a custard pie with fresh whipped cream on top. And of course coconut shavings.

 

For my brunch menu, I was more focused on breakfast items. This included french toast from Shutterbean. I altered the recipe a little bit to use apple cider pumpkin butter instead of pumpkin butter. It's pretty simple to make the butter and then you simply add some to your regular french toast recipe for extra flavor. I prefer using Challah bread for french toast which makes fluffy slices but brioche would also work (as recommended by Shutterbean).

 

I can't believe we're half-way through October and so far I've kept up my promise for many pumpkin treats. I'm also moving towards some squash recipes, everything orange. I realize that orange is probably my favorite color. It's hard to decide but I always worried loving red, orange and yellow was more fiery and angry sounding (Aries unite!). But now I've come to the conclusion that it's really fall colors that I love. It's so hard to capture that perfect orange of autumn leaves but pumpkins and other squash certainly compliment it all very well.

 

Apple Cider Pumpkin Butter

• 1 15oz can of pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup of apple cider
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• Pinch of salt

1. Combine all ingredients into a medium sauce pan.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat slightly.
3. Allow the mixture to cook for about half an hour, stirring frequently until thickened.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool before placing in jars. This makes about two mason jars of butter.

 Use this butter with Shutterbean's french toast recipe or on toast. This will last in the fridge for up to 1 week.