SUSTENANCE: The Great Pumpkin Feast
All Hallows Eve Menu
Venison backstrap, cabernet caramelized onions, & buttery shaggy mane duxelle
Acorn squash (from my momma’s garden) stuffed with homemade bread cubes, french onion soup & Jarlsberg
Pumpkin cake with candied ginger, toasted pecans, and cream cheese frosting. (recipe below)
Thank you to our neighbor who surprised me by biking over with these shaggy mane mushrooms she found in a vacant lot nearby… and also, an only maybe not-haunted taxidermied goat foot incense burner from the thrift store that she thought I would like. Get yourself some friends who find the weirdest stuff and think of you? Now it’s hanging out with the little goat figurine my stepmom brought back from Peru… After grad school her job for awhile was traveling with one of her former anthropology professors who imported trinkets like this lil guy. She had a whole menagerie of these little clay figurines, and we each got one as a stocking stuffer one year. Now it’s got creepy company!
Trick or treat!
The Great Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients:
- 1.5 c. all purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 0.5 tsp nutmeg
- 0.25 tsp cloves
- 0.25 tsp baking powder
- 3 oz butter (6 Tbsp)
- 1 c. granulated sugar
- 1/3rd c. packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 c. pumpkin puree
- 1/3rd c. milk
- 0.5 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 c. candied ginger, chopped
- 1/2 c. pecan or walnut pieces, toasted
- Additional ginger & nuts for garnish
- Cream cheese frosting
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9×9 baking dish (or 9×13 pan to make bars). You can also bake two 8″ rounds, but will need more frosting or a filling for the layers.
- Mix all dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and then add sugars. Beat until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs to the large bowl, one at a time, stopping to scrape down the bowl occasionally. When well combined, add pumpkin and beat well.
- Combine milk and vanilla.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk to the mixer, 1/3rd at a time, folding or mixing lightly between additions. Mix just until ingredients come together, and fold in nuts and ginger pieces. Do not overmix!
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out “dry” (it will be moist, but not sticky). Baking time will vary depending on the pan (and your oven). I set a timer for 25-30 minutes and check every 5 minutes or so after that.
- Let cake cool completely on a wire rack, and either frost bars in the 9×13 pan, or turn cake out onto a platter and frost. Garnish top with more candied ginger and nuts.