6 [layers] x 4 [hungry people] - 3 [feet tall] = 21 [years old]

Ah, birthday season.

It has begun.

Naturally, the start of birthday season always coincides splendidly with finals, which is both hideously inconvenient and a wonderful break from studying.

But since it's Noosh's birthday, the break is always, always welcome.

Though, I suppose that after spending the vast majority of our Saturday night writing and editing term papers along with Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother breaks every thirty or so minutes, but it's okay since I started and finished a rather decently executed 8-page political theory essay in a grand total of 6 hours, I think today's lunch and subsequent sugar coma were well-deserved.

Noosh's rents came up today and took us out for a fantastic lunch at Outback, which was quite literally the first time in weeks that she and I had a meal that didn't involve items of questionable edibleness haphazardly thrown together in an attempt to fashion what few would call any semblance of a plate of food, so I was pretty damn pleased. I mean, salmon on rice pilaf with broccoli? It was like a holiday miracle, I kid you not. 

I feel unbelievably rejuvenated now and have this delusion that I possess the strength necessary to stare down my metaphysics term paper with the utmost confidence. By that I mean I may not actually pass out from sheer terror anymore.

Anyway, lunch was great [the whole 'real food' thing], and then we came back to the apartment for merriment and cake.


And so we ate. And ate. And ate some more.

And I'm still reeling from all the sugar. [What else is new.]

Fall Hummingbird Cake
Adapted from Sweetapolita and For the Love of Food.
Makes one three-layer 9-inch cake.

For the cake, you'll need:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup pumpkin
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 8-oz can crushed pineapple, with juice

For the maple cream cheese frosting, you'll need:

• 2 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature and cut into cubes
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 5 cups powdered sugar

To prepare the hummingbird cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat eggs and oil on medium speed until frothy, about a minute. Add in pumpkin, bananas, and pineapple and mix until well-blended, 3-4 minutes. Remove the bowl from the stand. In a separate bowl, sift flour, sugar, spices, salt, and baking soda. Dump flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until barely incorporated. Stir in pecans and mix until just combined.

Divide batter among the three pans. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.


To prepare the maple cream cheese frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, maple syrup, and vanilla on medium speed until well-mixed. Reduce speed to low and gradually add in powdered sugar. Beat until the frosting fluffs up a bit, about 3 minutes. Add in the cream cheese all at once, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Refrigerate frosting until using.


To assemble the cake:
Place one of the three layers on the serving plate. Frost top of the layer with a generous amount of frosting. Repeat with the second and third layers, and use remaining frosting to frost the sides of the cake. Refrigerate cake until serving. Garnish with chopped pecans, if desired.

Alright, so my cake was the approximate size of a small child. And was also 6 layers tall. And it could probably feed a small country. With leftovers remaining.

What I did was bake the cake twice over - used the same three pans for the second round of batter, and I was left with six, rather sizable, layers of hummingbird cake. I let them cool completely, and then got to frosting, the recipe for which I increased by 50% [I'll let you do the math on this one].

Now, a word of caution: if you're going to make a 6-layer cake, you can not assemble the entire thing all at once. I initially did all 6 layers, and the mess was teetering over worse than the tower of Pisa. I almost had a mental breakdown, and then decided to just remove two layers. Instead of throwing them away, I stuck them on a plate and figured I'd just have two cakes [of two awkwardly-different heights]. The cake with four layers was pretty stable, so I went ahead and frosted it completely. Then I decided that, no, I am not going to sit here and allow physics to destroy all of my dreams and happiness, so I stuck the four-layered cake in the freezer for about an hour and a half [stuck the other two in the fridge during this time], then placed the two refrigerated layers on top, refrosted the top two layers, and stuck it back into the freezer to firm up completely.

So, if you, dear reader, hope to make a 6-layered cake, I would do the following:

1. assemble and frost four layers, sides and all 
2. wrap remaining two layers in clingwrap and allow them to mellow out on the counter
3. place frosted cake in freezer for 1.5 hours
4. frost and add final two layers to frozen cake [note that frosting blends seamlessly with what has been done prior]
5. place 6-layer, frosted cake in freezer for another 2 hours
6. transfer frozen cake to the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving, so that it has a chance to thaw and isn't an unpleasant experience to eat

Yes, it is a time-consuming process, as all layer cakes are loathe to be, so make sure to keep in mind the time you'll need to set aside to make it happen.

You could also always just go with the three-layer, but the six-layer is far more enjoyable to slice.

As for decoration, I just purchased some fake flowers from Michaels, trimmed them off of the stalk, and arranged them on top. Chopped up some walnuts for some sort of aesthetic flair - rocks maybe? I'm really not quite sure - and it ended up looking more like a wedding cake than a birthday cake. But the addition of candles toned down the exuberant amounts of class radiating off of the cake, so it was all good.

#sarcasm

Anyway, Noosh and her famfam loved it, so I figured it was a success in the end.

And finally, my darling Farnoosh, most amazing roommate and best friend one could wish for in the most epic bromance that ever was, I hope you had an absolutely wonderful 21st birthday [despite the fact that you are sitting next to me working on an ethics term paper], and I'm warning you now that once you turn it in, we are in for a night of a How I Met Your Mother marathon. Prepare yourself.

As for later this week, I'll be at the apartment until Friday when I'm finally off for break. I have this vague notion that the cousins and I are heading to NYC next week, but I'm fuzzy on some all of the details. But at least I have a few weeks to spend with the family before I'm back here for intercession.

And sometime in between there are about 3 more birthdays needing to be celebrated, so at least there's weight-gain to look forward to.

pumpkin bars with maple cream cheese frosting

Thanksgiving feels like it was ages ago, though it was just last week that I was huddled around our dining table, 14 unnervingly-cheerful family members by my side, reaching for my second [or was it third?] helping of turkey and Butterbeer.

What I wouldn't do to have some leftover turkey here at the apartment so as to stop chewing on my own hand whenever I get hungry. The lack of quality food and utter depression that accompanies it can only mean one thing: we've approached finals season.

Presumably, I spend most of my days holed up in my room or at a coffee shop, frantically reading hundreds of pages of Spanish literature and philosophy that I shirked during the semester, writing the best-quality term paper[s] I can a week before the due date, and waking up every morning praying that I'm back in my fluffy bed at home, having left all final exams and papers behind me.

Okay, admittedly, it's not that tragic. Mostly it's been painful not being able to play PS3 when AC:R sits next to my television remote forlornly, abandoned and neglected, wondering how it got stuck with a good-for-nothing college student who really should have read that 200-page Spanish novel 2 weeks ago when it was assigned rather than spending hours doing so yesterday in order to write a paper due next week.


...not that I'm, you know, bitter or anything.

Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
A bakedbeen original
Makes 18-24 bars

For the pumpkin bars, you'll need:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 15-oz can pumpkin [not pumpkin pie filling]
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 heaping tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• a few shakes of cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup crushed pecans
• 1/4 cup raisins

For the maple cream cheese frosting, you'll need:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 4 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla

To prepare the pumpkin bars:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line and grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, brown sugar, and pumpkin until fluffy, 4-5 minutes. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.  Using a wooden spoon, hand-mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Be careful not to over-mix. Once mixed, toss in the pecans and raisins and give the batter another turn. Pour the batter into the prepared pan for 25-30 minutes, until set. Let cool completely before frosting.


To prepare the maple cream cheese frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Lower mixer speed to low and slowly add in powdered sugar. Mix until combined. Add maple syrup and vanilla. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat for another 3-5 minutes, until fluffy. Refrigerate until frosting reaches spreading consistency, about 30 minutes. 

Once bars are cool, spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over top. Garnish with whole or crushed pecans, if desired. Refrigerate at least 45 minutes before slicing.

Luckily, after a week of unprecedented amounts of catch-up and studying, Noosh and I got to spend the afternoon and evening out, shopping in pleasantly nippy, chilly weather and meeting up with good friends for an extraordinarily entertaining little dinner party.

For the occasion, I decided to bake. I felt as though I hadn't baked in years, although I made about 4 desserts for our Thanksgiving dinner last week. I'll blame it on finals-prep having drained the life and joy out of me.

But I digress: baking. Pumpkin bars with maple cream cheese frosting, to be precise. For some reason I have this delusion that baking with pumpkin after Christmas is just blasphemous, since pumpkin is the epitome of fall deliciousness and happiness, and the only thing I want to do when winter rolls around is stuff a pillow over my head and hibernate for 3 months. So I figured: I only have two more weeks at the apartment, I have a can of pumpkin in my pantry, and it would be going against nature for me to use it after I'm back for intercession; might as well put it to delicious use.

I always view pumpkin in the same light I do carrots, when it comes to baking. They both have a sort of mild, dense, earthy quality about them which pairs wonderfully with spices, nuts, and dried fruits. Pumpkin bars I've had in the past are typically made with just pumpkin and spices, and have a really pleasant cake-y quality to them. But I like my pumpkin bars heartier, so always add ground nuts [what's more fitting than pecans?] and raisins to give them some body and a sort of rustic, cold-weather touch. Maple added to the frosting to tie it all together, and you're left with a beautiful fall dessert.

Simple, but comforting. As is spending an evening after a stressful week with good friends and good food.

And with a happy belly and residual smile from a wonderful night, the next two weeks don't seem quite so daunting.

classic [but better] pumpkin pie

Aside from the odd bout of 80-degree weather this weekend, fall is in full swing. Obviously, in such fashion, long weekends spent at home mean Downton Abbey marathons with your mother, modeling men's suit-jackets in front of your male relatives, reading quality detective fiction novels, putting off all semblances of academic work, and ordering mountains upon mountains of chai lattes and pumpkin-spiced coffees.

At least, that's primarily how I spent my long weekend.


Fall break always seems to line up perfectly with Yusra's birthday, and this year was no different. My baby sister turned 17 yesterday, and for the occasion had me bake her a birthday pie. Yes, pie. Of the pumpkin variety, too, to be precise. Last year, I baked a rather delicious pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, and Yusra told me then and there that for her 17th birthday, she wanted another one. Of course, I promised, thinking at the time that she'd forget about it and I'd end up baking a carrot cake or something of the sort [leaving my 16-layer-cake days behind me for now].

And yet, eleven months later, she hadn't forgotten, and on Saturday I found myself waking up to a countertop covered in allspice, cinnamon, and ginger powders, fresh nutmeg, a box of flour, cold sticks of butter, and a stand-mixer waiting to be put to use.

This year's pumpkin pie is a variation on last year's epic success, combined with a tantalizing recipe for pumpkin-streusel pie found at Go Lightly Gourmet. The end result is a tall, creamy, subtly-spiced pumpkin filling in a flaky crust, topped with a pecan and brown sugar streusel topping.

Yusra was pretty satisfied.

Pumpkin Pie with Streusel
Adapted from Go Lightly Gourmet, old pumpkin pie recipes, and Tartine.

For the crust, you'll need:

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt 
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 stick cold butter, cut into cubes
• 2 tbsp cold water, more or less depending

For the filling, you'll need:

• 1 15-oz can of pumpkin 
• 1 8-oz package of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 heaping tbsp honey
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp salt

 For the streusel topping, you'll need:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/2 stick cold butter, cut into cubes

To prepare the pie crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9-inch pie plate. Using a food processor, pulse flour, ginger, sugar, salt, and butter until the mixture has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Slowly add in enough cold water for the mixture to come together and form a dough. Press the pie dough on the bottom and sides of the pie plate, crimping the edges. Stick the plate in the freezer for 15-20 minutes, until dough is sufficiently cold. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork and bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Let the pie cool while you prepare the filling, but keep the oven on.

To prepare the filling:
Cream the pumpkin and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Pour in the remaining filling ingredients and beat until thoroughly blended. Pour the filling on top of the pie crust and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the edges of the pie are set but the center is still jiggly. Prepare the streusel while the pie is in the oven.

To prepare the streusel:
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and spices until blended. Using a pastry cutter or your hands, cut the butter into the flour mixture until incorporated and crumbly. Add in the chopped pecans and mix until blended. Your hands can be used for all of this.

Once the pie has baked for 50 minutes, remove it from the oven and sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top. Place pie back into the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until set. Let pie cool to room temperature before slicing. Serve with sweetened cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

I always very much love baking pies, though I'm not quite as keen on pumpkin pies as Yusra is. Of course, I enjoy them for their seasonal perfection and spiciness, but I'm not in love with them or anything. Nevertheless, I found myself reaching for a second slice even before I was done with the one on my plate when it came to this one. The cream cheese in the filling gives it a beautiful texture, and the streusel on top is a perfect addition. Strange that it doesn't make an appearance on many pumpkin pies...

As for me, I'm back at the apartment for my lat day of break. Four days at home was lovely after a week of midterms and paper-writing, but alas, back into the fray. So, naturally, I've spent my day reading more fiction novels, cooking stew, and thinking about working on a looming philosophy paper.

I mean, it's the thought that counts, right? Right. I'm going to go with it. Academic productivity at its finest.

In other news, I hear that MattMatt has baked me a belated pumpkin and cream cheese birthday cake. I have to say, though pumpkin pie isn't high on my list of saliva-inducing desserts, Matt's cake certainly is. I anticipate a rather delicious evening.

Who ever said twentieth birthdays couldn't stretch on for two weeks? ...and involve four separate cakes?

I confidently stand by the sentiment that birthday calories do not count.


...I mean, I have to maintain the integrity of my voracity.

ultimate pumpkin pie

You thought it was over, didn't you? I did too. Not so.

Yusra spent all day hinting [read: loudly voicing] that she was craving pumpkin pie. "What's Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie?!" "I haven't had pumpkin pie in years." "Can you please bake one?!"

...

Being the ever-so loving sister that I am, I obliged. Also, I figured we may as well, since we'd have the house to ourselves for the evening. So we ran out to pick up some necessary ingredients that I didn't have on hand, were spontaneously joined by Mustafa and Murtaza, and we [read: I] got to work.

Ultimate Pumpkin Pie

For the filling, you'll need:

• 1 8-oz package of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 15-oz can pumpkin [NOT pumpkin pie filling]
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/4 cup [1/2 stick] butter, melted
• 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly whisked
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 unbaked pie crust
• whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, to serve

For the crust, use any premade pastry dough [NOT pre-baked] or your own favorite pie crust recipe. I actually used the one that I wrote in my previous entry, with the pecan pie. Whichever you end up using, prick holes in the bottom and sides of the pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, and let cool for 10 minutes before using with the pumpkin filling.

To make filling, beat cream cheese on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add in pumpkin and beat until well-mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add in sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat until fully incorporated. Pour in half and half, eggs with yolks, and butter and blend. Finally, add cinnamon and ginger. Pour filling into the cooled pie crust and bake at 350 degrees until filling has set, about 50-60 minutes.

Let pie cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Yusra could not sit still while this was baking. I had no idea she has such an epic sweet tooth.

This pie filling recipe actually comes from Paula Deen, so I knew it would be pretty good. Understatement. It's the best pumpkin pie I've ever had. Though, I suppose that's not saying too much, because I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin pie [don't get me wrong, I don't dislike it, I just don't care much for it].

It's probably the fat from the cream cheese and half and half that make this taste so good. But it's alright. It's Thanksgiving. Indulge!

Oh boy, I am all baked out. Can you believe it?

Mom's probably thrilled.

As for now, I'm ready for a long, deep sleep. After a movie or two, of course.

pumpkin cheesecake brownie fusion

The "fusion" bit comes from Noosh. She insisted they weren't "brownie" enough to be called such.

Tommy came over earlier today for a bake date, our first one since the pumpkin macarons back in October. I had decided on this recipe a while ago, and was really excited to be baking with him [because, come on, he's pretty much the best dessert sous chef ever].

These were actually made for my dear friend Olivia, who turns 19 tomorrow. Of course, we did try some for ourselves, to make sure all our hard work had paid off. And also because I cannot resist anything made out of cream cheese.

left: brownie base; right: pumpkin cheesecake topping

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

For the brownie base, you'll need:

• 4 oz chocolate
• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup flour

For the pumpkin cheesecake topping, you'll need:

• 2 8-oz packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 14-oz can pumpkin [NOT pumpkin pie filling]
• 1 tsp grated ginger [or 1/2 tsp powdered ginger]
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

For brownie base: melt butter and chocolate in a microwave or stovetop. While chocolate mixture is cooling, beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla in an electric mixer on medium speed until well-mixed. Slowly pour in chocolate mixture and mix until blended. Slowly fold in flour. Spread brownie batter evenly on the bottom of the 9x13-inch pan. Set aside while preparing cheesecake topping.

For pumpkin cheesecake topping: beat cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Slowly pour in heavy cream and beat until incorporated. Add in sugar and beat until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating until well incorporated. Add in vanilla and beat until smooth. Measure out 3/4 cup of cheesecake topping and set aside to use for swirling. In remaining cheesecake topping, add in pumpkin, ginger, and spices and mix until well-blended. Pour pumpkin cheesecake topping on top of brownie base and spread evenly. Use a spoon to dollop the leftover cheesecake topping over the pumpkin cheesecake layer. With a knife, swirl the white cheesecake topping. Bake for 60 minutes. Let pan cool completely, and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before cutting and serving.

These were much less brownie-like and much more souffle-like when I cut them. I was pretty surprised. But they are absolutely delicious. Noosh and Tommy both approved. Hopefully Olivia will as well!

I did toss in about 1/4 cup of chocolate chips into the brownie batter after it was done. I always like a chocolate chip brownie, personally. I actually wasn't sure how the pumpkin and chocolate would taste together [it didn't seem like a very compatible pair to me before], but it was really good. I guess the sentiment is similar to chocolate chip banana bread [which, by the way, is divine].

Mom is both highly amused and frustrated with my recent baking binge. But I mean, there are only 2 class days until break, so there's not much else I could be doing with my time at the moment. Right?

the only thing i want on black friday is a better lens.

Speaking of break, I heard some terrible news earlier this evening: Thanksgiving dinner will not be happening this year. :( Believe me when I say that I am devastated.

Well, not devastated. But pretty sad. I mean, my entire menu, all planned out, for naught! There's just a lot going on at home at the moment, and we recently found out there will be more people over than originally anticipated, so we're just going to be going out instead. And the turkey mom had bought for my use will be saved for sometime during winter break.

Though, I can't say I'm too disappointed at the thought of having a Thanksgiving meal later in the year. It'll be a pleasant surprise. And my original menu can wait till then!

Besides, I'm not one to pass up a dinner at Texas de Brazil. Ever.

pumpkin pasties, straight off the hogwarts express

Oh yes. Authentic Pumpkin Pasties, straight from the Wizarding World.

[Oh how I wish that were the case...]

Bet you never knew that pumpkin pasties look like turnovers, did you?
[me neither]

Made these for tomorrow night's premier, along with the Peanut Butter Bonbons. Noosh and I split one of the midget ones, and oh my, they are good.

a thanks to noosh for playing paparazzi for me!

Pumpkin Pasties

For the dough, you'll need:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 tbsp cold butter, cut into pieces
• 4 tbsp cold water

For the filling, you'll need:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin [NOT pumpkin pie filling]
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

To make dough: on low speed, combine flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cut in butter or add butter and beat on low-medium speed until dough has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Pour in water slowly until dough comes together. Add more water if necessary [though it shouldn't be]. Roll dough into a thick disc, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour.

For filling: on low-medium speed, beat pumpkin, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon until well blended. Add in cream cheese, increase speed to medium, and beat until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to bake.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll dough out to 1/8-inch thickness and cut circles about 5-inches in diameter. [Note: recipe will make 6-7 pastries.] Put a little under a tablespoon of filling near the center of the circle, fold dough in half and pinch down the sides. Use a fork and make grooves to tighten the edges. Using a knife, make a small slit in the top of the dough. Bake for 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden-brown on top.

These were much tastier than I thought they'd be. I altered the original pumpkin filling recipe by adding some cream cheese [what can I say? I love me some cream cheese], and I may have overstuffed them a bit, but hey, more to love.

Though I do wish I had brushed the tops of them with an egg or butter wash so they would have glistened a bit. But in any case, they turned out to be quite a success.

It's taking every ounce of restraint not to eat one, but alas, I will save them for tomorrow. There will be just enough for Noosh, Yusra, Murtaza, Mustafa and I. Perfect.

Oh, not to mention the 28 or so Bonbons that are firming up in the fridge.

I look at these and just imagine that plump little witch on the Hogwarts Express, "Anything off the trolley dears?"

Oh man. My level of obsession is unnerving. But I'm fully okay with it.

Besides, I'm still waiting for my letter to Hogwarts.

pumpkin scones with brown sugar glaze

So, remember when I talked about going to Alice's Tea Cup when I went to New York to visit Nimra? Probably not. But anyway, since I am far too obsessed with baking for my own good, I immediately had to buy the cookbook they just released on the 25th of October. It came in the mail on Thursday, signed [picture me grinning from ear to ear like a fangirl when I saw how two pastry chefs signed my cookbook. yeah, that pathetic], and I was almost late to class because I was skimming through it and admiring all of the colorful photos.

I brought it with me when I came home for the weekend, and decided that I had to try baking some of their famous pumpkin scones with brown sugar glaze. It was, fittingly, the first [and currently, only] thing I ate there when I went with Nimra, and it was divine. Ergo, I ran to the grocery store yesterday to pick up some canned pumpkin and buttermilk, much to mom's dismay, and as soon as I woke up this morning got to work baking.

Pumpkin Scones with Brown Sugar Glaze

For the scones, you'll need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/8 cup cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup canned pumpkin [NOT pumpkin pie filling]
• 1 tsp vanilla 

For the glaze, you'll need:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and grease and flour a large baking sheet. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and ginger, and mix at low speed with paddle attachment until well combined. Add in butter, increase speed to medium, and beat until dough has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Using your hands, make a well in the center of the dough. Pour pumpkin, vanilla, and buttermilk into the well. With your hands, mix until dough is wet. It will also be quite sticky.

Roll dough out onto a floured surface and pat down with your hands until it is about 1 1/2-inches thick. Using a 3.5-inch pastry cutter, cut out scones and distribute them evenly on the baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before dipping in the glaze.

To prepare the glaze, put butter, sugar, lemon, and salt in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk as butter melts and sugar dissolves to make sure the syrup is uniform. When the syrup comes to a boil, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Lower heat and continue whisking for 2-3 minutes until glaze starts to thicken. It should coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. If serving immediately, dip the top of the scones into the warm glaze. If not, do not dip the scones; pour glaze into a container and only drizzle or dip the scones in the glaze when ready to serve.

Mom had absolutely no faith in my scone-making ability. She watched me make the dough and told me to just give up and start over, because the dough was 'too sticky' for them to turn out well. Seriously, it was just chastisement after chastisement. Even when they were in the oven, she told me to go check on the 'impending failures.' Though, I have to admit, even I was worried; I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out because the dough did seem much wetter and stickier than I had anticipated.

Still, I persevered, and it was well-worth the uncertainty, because they turned out perfect. 

In fact, Yusra couldn't contain herself and ate two. I myself ate one and a half, they were so irresistible. Even mom had to admit, they were delicious, and I noticed she kept going back to the kitchen to nibble. [HA, mom].

 

Now Yusra wants me to make them on Thanksgiving. Maybe I will, as a sort of pregame for the main event. Which I'm still told is going to be my responsibility.

Oh, the pressure.

pumpkin spice macarons

Yes, I've jumped on the bandwagon. Macarons. They seem to be the new baking "thing."

I like this fad much better than the whole cupcake dealio from a while back. Macarons [not to be confused with macaroons] are a French, meringue-based sweet of some sort of filling sandwiched in between two airy, crunchy "cookies," made out of almond flour, egg whites, and sugar.

Got together with my good buddy, Tommy, to make these. He and Angie came by the apartment last night because Noosh and I hadn't seem them in a while. Tommy and I had been planning a bake-date for a while now, and finally settled on macarons.

Plus, being the pro bakers that we are, we have to maintain our street cred and keep up with trends. Word.

The recipe we used actually comes from make and bake, and is incidentally the Daring Baker's challenge recipe for this month [which I myself am not a part of yet, but hope to be soon!].

Pumpkin Spice Macarons

For the macarons, you'll need:

• 2 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla

For the pumpkin filling, you'll need:

• 4 oz pumpkin [canned or fresh]
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 4 tbsps confectioner's sugar
• pinch of nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine confectioner's sugar and almond flour in a bowl until well-blended. In a clean, dry bowl attached to a stand mixer, whisk egg whites on medium until they form soft peaks. Slowly add granulated sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Add 1/3 of almond mixture to egg whites and gently fold. Add in vanilla. Fold in remainder of almond mixture in two batches, being careful not to deflate the egg whites.

Gently pour batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain, half-inch tip. If there isn't one on hand, a ziplock bag with a small portion of the corner cut off will suffice. Pipe small disks, about 1-inch in diameter, on the baking sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes, until top is slightly golden. Wait for them to cool slightly, 3-4 minutes, before removing disks and letting them cool on a wire cooling rack.

To prepare frosting, beat pumpkin, cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, and nutmeg in the bowl of an elecric mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-high until smooth and creamy. Once macarons have cooled, spread a layer of pumpkin on the flat side of one disc and use another disc of a similar size to sandwich the filling. Repeat until all macarons have been used up.

These actually tasted much better than I expected they would. I'm really iffy about meringue, because I feel like all I'm doing is eating fluffed up sugar. Which is not far from the truth, but also because purchasing supermarket meringue can just be one of the worst on-the-spot decisions you could make in a grocery store. But I think it's the pumpkin filling that is the star here; super creamy, not too sweet, and my first taste of pumpkin this Fall. Delicious.

Also delightful to serve because everyone loves how cute they are.

I'd say it was a total success. Excellent job, Tommy. We are definitely well on our way to pro status.



[I mean, I can always dream.]