Pumpkiny Stuff

It is October, my favorite month of the year. I am sure I have rambled on countless times before about how much I love the Fall so I won't bore you with the current ramblings that are going on in my head. I will, however, give you a good "Fall" recipe. Pumpkin Spice Cake with Brown Sugar frosting. Oh yes... you heard that right - uh-maze-ing!  Pinterest is exploding with Fall recipes and I found this one there. It is a winner for sure!

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Cake:

2 sticks of butter
2 cup flour
2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
1 ½ cup 100% natural solid pack pumpkin
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Grease and flour two 8” round cake pans. Sift together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Set aside.
Place pumpkin and buttermilk in a small bowl and combine thoroughly. Set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugars. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase speed to high and beat an additional 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add the eggs and beat on medium for 30 seconds. Add the vanilla and beat on high for 30 seconds. With mixer on low alternate adding the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl. Mix until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the batter, until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Immediately pour the cake into the prepared pans, spreading evenly. Bake on the center rack of a preheated 325 F oven. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan for 15 minutes at room temperature. Invert cake onto a plate or cake circle. Turn the cake upright and refrigerate until needed.

Frosting:
3 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 sticks of butter, each stick cut into 4-5 pieces
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Heat brown sugar, heavy cream, 4-5 pieces of butter, cream of tartar in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently while bringing the mixture to a boil. Allow the mixture to continue boiling while stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Allow mixture to stand at room temperature for 1 hour before proceeding. Place the cooled mixture in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Beat on low for 30 seconds. Then beat on medium for 2 minutes, while adding the remaining 6 pieces of butter, one at a time, until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to high and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on high for an additional 1 minute until light and fully. 

I also made some homemade vanilla ice cream this week so I will share that recipe as well. I LOVE my new Kitchen Aid ice cream maker, it is the easiest thing ever and it makes delicious, creamy ice cream. Tonight I have having a few girlfriends over to watch "P.S. I love you". That is one of my favorite movies. It is a tear jerker for sure, but on the upside it features both Gerard Butler and Jeffrey Dean Morgan with Irish accents. Swoon! Perfect for a girly night in. Plus, since I love Fall, I am making it a Fall night (I am ignoring the 90 degree weather we are having) I made my famous Hobbit Soup and Bushman Bread for dinner and a warm peach blackberry crisp for dessert. Homemade vanilla ice cream would go perfectly with the fruit crisp and since it is just as easy as buying ice cream I decided why not? And here you have it...

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup fine sugar, sifted

4 egg yolks, pasteurized (preferred for food safety)

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 scraped vanilla bean

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and egg yolks together. Beat the mixture until it is a thick yellow paste and set it aside.

Bring the half-and-half to a simmer in a heavy, medium-size saucepan. Slowly beat the hot half-and-half and milk mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. This mixture should be hot, but not boiling. If it gets too hot or you add the egg and sugar too fast you will have scrambled eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan and simmer for a few minutes as you constantly stir to make a custard-like consistency. Strain the mixture into a large bowl to chill overnight in a refrigerator.

The next day, stir in heavy cream and vanilla before adding it to your ice cream machine. Follow the ice cream machine’s directions to freeze ice cream.

 Now, if only the weather would turn... it is October, darn it!