Tag Archives: ginger

Pumpkin Scones with Cinnamon Butter

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Autumn by the bay, the leaves are turning colors and there is a gently rain of large maple leaves softly floating down to the ground. As Halloween approaches and pumpkins are everywhere it is time to start baking and cooking with pumpkin. This year I wanted to make pumpkin scones. I looked at many recipes, before I decided on the recipe below. Let me just start with that this scone is perhaps one of the best if not the best scone I have ever tasted. Yes, I absolutely mean that!  The scones are light and airy not too sweet and a subtle taste of tart from using fresh cranberries over sweet dried cranberries. I loved the technique of grating the cold butter into the dry ingredients and plan to experiment more with this technique since the results were so wonderful. This recipe is really easily , just a few extra steps but the results are worth it. Save some time in the morning, by measuring all your dry ingredients in advance and leave in a zip lock bag until you are ready to bake.

From by the bay , wishing you many delicious pumpkin food memories!

Maryann

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Pumpkin Scones with Cinnamon Butter

Recipe by Beauty and Essex as featured in Bon Appetit November 2014

Cinnamon Butter
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Scones
½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt or fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
¾ cup (1½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter
½ cup chopped fresh (or frozen, thawed) cranberries
1 large egg
½ cup canned pure pumpkin
¼ cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing
2 tablespoons raw sugar

Preparation
Cinnamon Butter
Mix butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl.
Do Ahead: Cinnamon butter can be made 4 days ahead. Cover and chill.
Scones
Whisk granulated sugar, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, cloves, baking soda, and 2 cups flour in a large bowl. Using the large holes on a box grater, grate in butter, tossing to coat in dry ingredients as you go; toss in cranberries. Mix in egg, pumpkin, and ¼ cup buttermilk.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into a 1½”-thick disk. Cut into 8 wedges; transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm, 25–30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°. Brush scones with buttermilk and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake until golden brown, 25–30 minutes. Serve with cinnamon butter.

 

Ginger Pear Cake

On the weekends, it’s nice to complete a meal with something sweet.  This is a really easy cake to make and the perfect finish to any meal. This recipe started as Mitzi’s plum cake a family favorite. The recipe was given to my grandmother over 50 years ago from her friend Mitzi and my whole family makes this recipe each end of summer using plums. I decided to use Mitzi’s recipe for the fall /winter using  pears on their own or with cranberries with great results. This is the perfect quick cake.  Enjoy!

From by the bay, wishing you yummy cake food memories!

Maryann

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Ginger Pear Cake ( adapted from my Mitzi’s Plum Cake)

Ingredients
¼ pound unsalted butter softened plus 1 tablespoon
½ cup fine sugar, plus 1 teaspoon for topping the cake
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 Bosc pear
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground ginger
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Peel, core and slice the pear. Place pear slices in bowl, cover with lemon juice, mix and set aside. Using electric mixer combine ¼ lb butter and sugar until fluffy, then add egg and combine. Next add the flour and baking powder and combine. This makes a soft dough. Take an 8” non stick cake pan line with parchment and butter and flour the pan. Press the dough into the pan covering the bottom of the cake pan. Use a spatula to spread evenly on the bottom of the pan. Press plums into dough with the cut side facing up in a concentric circle. Combine 1 teaspoon sugar with ½ teaspoon ginger, mix and sprinkle on top of the pears. Dot with extra butter. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, until cake tester is clean.
Variations: replace pears and ginger with plums and cinnamon.

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