hummingbird cake

it's been awhile since i've documented something, so it's about time i put something up.  especially considering i baked this hummingbird cake on october 19!

i had been wanting to try making a hummingbird cake for awhile, and i decided to go for it.  partially because i had some bananas that were getting brown and partially because i just felt like it.  the recipe was mostly based on the one found here, but i cheated on the frosting by using a store-bought can.

 ingredients:

- 3 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 2 cups sugar

- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

- 3 eggs

- 1 cup canola oil

- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 1 (8-ounce) can pineapple, undrained

- 1 cup pecans

- 2 cups chopped bananas (i didn't measure as much as use two or three small ones)

- cream cheese frosting (i used pillsbury)

 

preparation:

combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  add eggs and oil until the dry ingredients are moistened.  stir in the vanilla, pineapple, bananas, and pecans.

 

split the batter between two round cake pans (greased and floured).  bake at 350°F until  browned and a toothpick comes out clean.  i think my pans are a little bigger than the ones the recipe recommended, so it took somewhere on the order of 30-35 minutes to bake.  cool in the pans on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, and then remove from the pans to cool completely.

 

once cool, spread the cream cheese frosting between the layers and then on the outside of the whole cake.  store in the refrigerator.

 

 

 

 

verdict:

i did a few things wrong on this.  first, i made the mistake of using the pineapple chunks instead of the crushed pineapple.  don't get me wrong, it worked out just fine, but it just wasn't spread around enough.  also, i may not have broken the pecans into small enough pieces.  but these were merely cosmetic issues.  overall, the cake was delicious!  though a little dry the day it was baked, storing it in the fridge seemed to prevent it from being completely dried out on subsequent days.  i would do it again!

pumpkin banana bread

referencing again my pumpkin experimentation, i decided to attempt a pumpkin bread with cream cheese.  things morphed when i realized i didn't have as muh pumpkin puree left as i thought.  so i tossed in a soft banana that happened to be laying around.

this attempt was based on the banana bread recipe, with some minor revisions.  the flour/sugar/etc proportions are the same, but i obviously used pumpkin puree.  i had maybe 2-3 cups of puree, which didn't seem like enough...so i mushed up a small banana, as well.  in addition, i added some ground cloves, some cinnamon, and some nutmeg because i figured it'd be a good idea.

due to poor planning and inadequate research, my attempt at incorporating cream cheese backfired.  clearly, just putting chunks of cream cheese in the bread batter does not work; it doesn't bake particularly well, it isn't particularly appetizing, and it makes the bread fall apart.  so i ended up breaking the bread open and spooning the cream cheese out.  in hindsight, the internet says that mixing the cream cheese with sugar, egg, and vanilla extract, and spooning a thin layer into the banana bread would be the way to go.  duly noted, internet...duly noted.

aside from wasting cream cheese, the bread itself is marvelous.  will have to try again!

pumpkin pancakes

once i made pumpkin puree, the next step is to do something with it.  i decided to experiment with pancakes.  for dinner, no less!

this recipe, which was cobbled together from about three pumpkin pancake recipes i found online, took maybe 30 minutes or so to prepare and cook, and it makes about three brian-sized portions.

i will also say that the ordinary syrup i had in my pantry was apparently "too old," so i was presented with a container of maple syrup on the condition that i threw the previous syrup away.  needless to say, that was done...

ingredients:
- 3/4 cup oatmeal
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup sugar
- cinnamon, nutmeg, clove
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 egg
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- dried cranberries

preparation:
mix the dry ingredients (and cranberries) together in one bowl.  mix the wet ingredients together in a second bowl, and then slowly incorporate them into the dry ingredients.

bring a pan up to just over medium heat (this is the tricky part; previous stoves required a medium-high heat for pancakes, but my current one didn't like that).  add some oil or butter to the pan, and spoon in a dollop of batter (between 1/4 and 1/3 cup per pancake).  i started with canola oil but switched to butter on jackie's recommendation.  she thinks i should use coconut oil in the future (which is probably not a bad idea; i've used it before with good results).

as with all pancakes, cook until the edges bubble and then flip.  remove and eat.

pictures and discussion:
this was a mixed result.  i started out with unimpressive results that are documented below.

initial, not-pretty pancakes:

i started out using my cast iron pan.  i've successfully cooked very pretty pancakes on cast iron before, so i know it's possible.  however, i'm fairly certain that i got the pan too hot, which made for some cajun-style pancakes.  however, despite their appearance, they still tasted good.  they didn't even have the crunchy texture usually associated with burnt food.

subsequent, prettier results:

i swapped to a regular non-stick pan (and butter) to get these results.

overall verdict:
although tasty, i admit that these pancakes are not very traditional.  they were kind of dense and not particularly fluffy.  additionally, the pumpkin inside seemed to be a little moist (not uncooked, but definitely not pancakey).  still, they were very autumnal; pumpkin and cranberry does seem to play together nicely, and the maple syrup is an excellent topping.

i think the issues were the result of several factors:  first, i may have used too much oatmeal.  i started with about 1/2 cup, but i added a little more to thicken the batter.  the oats probably made for a little extra-dense cake.  also, i may have used too much pumpkin.  none of the recipes i referenced used quite so much, but i thought, "hey, more is better, right?"  a little less pumpkin would have still given the flavor without the unnecessary moisture.  finally, getting the temperature right from the get-go is probably an important factor.

maybe next time i'll just break down and get bisquick and add pumpkin?

pumpkin puree

with the risk of being trite, i wanted to play with some pumpkin.  i've never really cooked with it before, and i wanted to see how difficult it was to work with.  the store happened to have some of said pumpkins on sale (how serendipitous and alliterative!), so why not?

in this case, i found alton brown's good eats episode on pumpkin pie to be very useful.  the recipe is here, and the video (very useful) is here.

ingredients:
- baking pumpkin (roughly 3ish pounds, maybe?)
- salt

preparation:
break the stem off the pumpkin and split it in half (top to bottom).  scoop out the seeds and guts (and save for roasting later).  sprinkle the inside of the pumpkin with salt; per mr. brown, it helps absorb some of the water content.  place pumpkin halves on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and bake at 400°F for about 30-45 minutes.  you can tell it's done when the skin is soft enough to poke easily with a fork or knife.

remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 30-60 minutes.  very important not to burn your fingers!

theoretically, you have to scoop the pumpkin out of the skin and into a food processor.  however, in my case, i just lifted the skin off the pumpkin, and then i had to spoon it from the pan into the processor.  so it works.  puree the roasted pumpkin until smooth and refrigerate/freeze.