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Simple Pumpkin Crackers

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These crackers are crispy, light and packed with pumpkin, very versatile as you can top with all kind of stuff such as fresh or dry herbs, fresh ground black pepper, Himalayan salt, grated cheese…you name it.

– Pumpkin crackers…really?

Fall came and I realized that I had not baked or cooked anything with pumpkin…somehow I was in a weird mood…nothing really appealed to me…cake, bread or pie…yes, indeed weird  mood…when I saw that my homemade jar of crackers were about to hit the bottom…a little light flood my mind..and I had one of the “ah-ha” moment…why not pumpkin crackers?

– What can I top the crackers with?

I pretty much follow my recipe of homemade crackers, rolled it out thin and sprinkled one sheet with fresh grounded black pepper and the other one with fresh rosemary. Alternatively  you can add in the dough fresh finely chopped rosemary, oregano, thyme or any other herb, celery seeds, cumin, cardamom, ground pepper, curry powder, fennel seeds, smoked paprika, turmeric…and so on…the options are endless…as described in simple homemade crackers.

– Is it good?

Since it was mine first time using pumpkin puree for making crackers and really did not know what to expect, I halved the recipe from my regular measurement…and I must tell you that I regret…

The crackers were so good, light, crispy and all pumpkin color. We ate most of it plain, considering that there was black pepper and rosemary flavors…dip can be totally omitted so good these are.

– Let’s go to the recipe…

Ingredients:

  • 250 g all-purpose flour or bread flour
  • 15 g sugar
  • 4 g salt
  • 150 g pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 30 g butter, unsalted
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • Fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Method:

Place all the ingredients, expect black pepper and rosemary in a mixer bowl. Attach the bowl and dough hook to the mixer. Turn the to speed 2 until a ball forms and all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Remove the dough from the mixer and place in a container with lid and let it rest for about 1 hour.

Once the gluten of the dough has relaxed, split the dough into two small balls.

Preheat the oven to 250F

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until approximately 14 x 11 in (35 x 28 cm) from the center to the edge, there is no need to be very precise.

Sprinkle freshly grounded black pepper on the pumpkin sheet, using the rolling pin gently roll until all the ground pepper are fixed into the dough. Repeat the same with the fresh rosemary.

Bake for approximately 40 minutes, turning the baking pan half way during the baking time to ensure even bake.

Remove from the oven, let it cool completely on a wire rack.

Roughly break the sheet into smaller rustic pieces.

Store in an air-tight container.

– More pumpkin recipes? Take a look at these…

Did you know that pumpkin has many healthy nutrients? Pumpkin is a rich source of dietary fiber, contains potassium and vitamin C which are known to lower blood pressure. Also antioxidant such as beta-carotene which could prevent degenerative eye disease.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!



Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake

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Looking for a light and fluffy pumpkin cheesecake?  This is all you need, Asian inspired cheesecake, it is more a cake than cheese.

Well, this is the thing…I did not know how to call this cheesecake like dessert…looks like a cake, but has cream cheese in it, and it resembles the cotton soft cheesecake with all the rights of a pumpkin pie…color and spice…this cake/cheesecake is so light, cottony and melt in your mouth. And you know what? It tastes much, much better next day after in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.

So if you like all pumpkin stuff, get ready for a treat…this is much lighter than your conventional cheesecake and I must tell you that you will not be content with one slice…

Ingredients:

  • 50 granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs separated
  • ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 10 g unsalted butter
  • 80 g cream cheese
  • 50 g milk
  • 50 g pumpkin puree (I used Trader Joe’s)
  • 20 g cake flour or pastry flour
  • 15 g cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice (I used Trader Joe’s)
  • Pinch salt

Method:

Line a 6 inch pan with parchment paper. To make it easy for the parchment paper to stick on the baking pan, coat the pan with a little butter before. If using a spring-form pan, wrap the bottom of the pan with a couple of sheets of aluminum foil to prevent the water into the pan when baking.

Preheat the oven at 315F (or lower at 300F…see method)

Sift the flour, cornstarch, salt and pumpkin spice.

In a double boiler place the cream cheese, butter and milk and pumpkin puree. Make sure that all the ingredients are melted and even. Remove from the heat and let it cool a bit. Add egg yolk one at the time, mixing after each addition. Fold in the flour mixture and mix well.

Make the meringue by whisking egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form.

Take ⅓ of the meringue and fold into the cheese/pumpkin mixture, once incorporated fold in another ⅓ of meringue, and finally the last ⅓ of it. Fold gently preventing the air bubbles from breaking.

Pour the mixture into the prepared round cake pan.

Bake the cheesecake in a water bath for 30 minutes at 315F and then lower the temperature to 300 and bake for another 45 minutes or until set and golden brown. You might want to decrease the starting temperature to 300F to avoid the cake to “crack” and then to 285F.

Leave the cake to cool down in the oven with the oven door open, about ⅛ hour, this might prevent the cake to shrink due to the drastic change in temperature.

Refrigerate the cake before serving.

Did you know that pumpkin is a fruit? Because pumpkin like all the other squashes develop from a flower therefore according to botanist pumpkin as a fruit with seeds in it.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!



Pumpkin Chiffon Cake

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This is a great chiffon cake made with pumpkin puree…it is simple to put together…it is light and it sure makes a great dessert or even snack.

I must admit that there is only a hint of pumpkin puree, therefore the cake is not overwhelmed with pumpkin and if you do not mention, your guests will never imagine that there is pumpkin in the cake in spite of the yellowish color.

In this recipe I used the 3 ounce cylinder shape silicone bakeware…it was somewhat difficult to remove the chiffon cake from the mold due to its delicate texture, I had to be very careful… next time baking this cake it would be better to use a regular size cake pan to avoid the cake “falling” apart.

Nevertheless, this recipe is a keeper, and it would be wonderful served with a dollop of fresh whipped cream…which I did not have it handy.

This recipe was adapted from here.

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs, separated whites
  • ⅛ teaspoon cream of tart
  • 70 g sugar
  • 60 g pumpkin puree
  • 45 ml milk
  • 50 ml vegetable oil, such as corn or canola
  • 80 g cake flour, sifted

Method:

Preheat oven to 325F.

Beat the egg whites until frosty, add cream of tart whisk until soft peaks forms.  Add sugar and continue whisking until stiff peaks form.

In another bowl, combine pumpkin puree with milk. Add the egg yolks and oil. Mix till well blended and add the flour. Mix gently until no lumps.

Fold in approximately ⅓ of egg whites into pumpkin mixture. Add another ⅓ of the egg whites by gently folding into the batter. Add the remaining ⅓ egg whites and again fold into the cake batter.

Scoop the batter into prepared muffin pan or into an approximately 10 inch pan, level the batter.

Gently tap the pan or muffin pan against the counter to remove air bubbles trapped in the batter.

Bake the muffin for approximately 15 minute or the 10 inch pan for 25 minutes. Once turned the oven off, keep the cake inside the oven and leave the door ajar for 10 minutes.

Remove the cake from oven and gently remove the cake from the pan.

Let it cool completely before serving.

If you enjoy this simple recipe for a light pumpkin cake you might want to check on Tangerine Chiffon Cake recipe.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful day!