Friday, October 13, 2023

Do you bake stuff? You Should.

Many folks are intimidated with baking but there is no real reason not to make this tasty dessert for family or friends. I understand the process for baking this delight for your guests will be lengthy but most of us have a lot more time than we admit. Just remember, Thanksgiving is coming up pretty soon and Christmas will be upon us right after that. Here is something special you can bake for either feast.



Warning Notice:  If you make this cake for your Thanksgiving desert, everyone will insist seeing it again on the dessert end of the sideboard at the family’s Christmas feast. 


I hope you know the world (or at least the foodies I love hanging with) loves a good dessert. I have an old friend who always eats his dessert first, saying he has a fear of eating too much and being too full of the stuff he eats every day to enjoy a dessert he might not see for months; perhaps never again.

Did you know desserts spelled backwards is stressed? If the meal is good, there is no real reason to not be stressed when it is over, so I recommend portion control so you have enough room to be able to eat dessert.

Desserts come in as many varied forms of nicety as you might imagine. I'm sure I will forget many, but my favorites include puddings, creams, mousse, sweet rolls, sorbets, truffles, pies, cheesecakes, meringues, mascarpone, fruits, flans, scones, sweet dumplings, Dutch babies, sponges, citrus, custards, crepes, cookies, cakes, cupcakes, upside down cakes, shortcakes, biscotti, cobblers, candies,  crumbles, mud pies, short breads, sundaes, bread puddings, brownies, blondies, berries, baklava, fried pies, tarts, tiramisu, teacakes, tortes, oh, I forgot Jello – There’s always room for Jello.

 

I can’t remember when I first came up with this cake, but it was a good day and has been in the several times I have made it.


Here is how you too, can make “Butternut Squash Rum Spice Cake with Cranberries, Candied Pecans, and Cream Cheese Icing “. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?

Butternut Squash Rum Spice Cake with Cranberries, Candied Pecans, and Cream Cheese Icing 

Ingredients - for cake: 

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

3 teaspoons vanilla

4 Tablespoons of good rum

4 eggs

3 /4 cups flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup buttermilk

3 cups shredded butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds). This is half of the squash. More on that at the end

1 cup sweetened dried cranberries,

3/4 cup rum candied pecans (chopped)

 

Note: I found an error – I used baking soda and not the baking powder I show in the above photo 


Ingredients - Cream Cheese Rum Frosting

3/4 cup butter

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 Tablespoons of good rum plus 4 teaspoons milk

6 cups powdered sugar 

Ingredients - Rum Candied Pecans

2 cups pecan halves, shelled, cleaned, and chopped.
1 egg white
3 Tablespoons of good rum
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Spray oil (Pam), or butter
Baking pan

 

 

Directions - Sugar coated Pecans:

Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees F

Chop pecans into 1/8 to 1/4 inch pieces

Separate egg yolk from egg white and set the yolk aside. You will only use the egg white.

Add rum and vanilla to the egg white in a bowl and whip until frothy. Add pecans to the frothy egg white and stir until the pecan pieces are well coated.

Add the salt and cinnamon to the sugar and mix until uniform.

Add the pecans and mix until all are well coated.

Spray a baking pan with non-stick oil, or butter and spread the coated pecans in a single layer. Bake on the center rack of the pre-heated oven for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes – until the sugared pecan pieces are dry and slightly browned/cooked. Your oven may take a little less or more time. Do not burn the pecans. They only need to be dry and slightly browned.

Remove from the oven and cool.

 

      





You might want to double this recipe because these rum candied pecans are so good, you will eat at least half of them.

Directions: Butternut Squash Rum Cake

Coat bottom and sides of three 8 1/2 in baking pans with butter and dust with flour.


 

Peel and grate butternut squash. I used a food processor. 



In a large mixing bowl, beat brown sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs with mixer on medium until creamy. Add buttermilk and on low speed, beat in flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and clove spices. Continue by adding squash, cranberries and (chopped) rum candied pecans at low speed then mixing to a uniform batter. 



Portion equally into the 3 prepped cake pans


Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting

 

Trim away the domed surface of cooled layers to help keep the iced cake flat. I ate the trimmings so as not to waste anything. (There were a lot of them, but someone had to do it) See how tender and moist the vegetable oil and buttermilk make the baked cake. 




Directions: Cream Cheese Rum Frosting:

In a large bowl, beat butter, rum, milk, and cream cheese on medium speed until creamy. Add powdered sugar and beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy.


 

Stack layers with icing and sugared pecan pieces between each layer.



Crumb coat the stacked cake layers. I like to put aluminum foil strips under the bottom edges to keep the icing neat and not all over the plate. I will pull them when icing is finished. 


After waiting about thirty minutes for the crumb coat to settle, frost cake and sprinkle with rum candied pecans. You will notice the three layers makes this a pretty tall cake. IMO, so much the better. 





Store uneaten portions of your cake covered in refrigerator. to keep the cake fresh

Money photos:


 




MMMmmmmmmmmmmm! It really is as good as it looks.


  ************************************************

More stuff

You probably noticed I only used half of my butternut squash. I hate to waste good food, so here is a nice recipe for roasted butternut squash. All I can say is You will like this.

Roasted Butternut Squash 


You will need:

1/2 of a butternut squash. I used the bottom of the squash used in the cake

1/2 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 Tablespoon unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Salt

Black pepper

 

Instructions

Using a sharp knife, cut the squash in half to expose the seed cavity, which is in the bottom (rounded) half of the squash.

Scrape out and discard the seeds and pulp.

Cut the squash into 1/2 inch diced pieces.



Place into a bowl while the oven preheats to 400 degrees F.

The squash will be coated with an oil and melted butter mixture, maple syrup and spices before roasting. When the squash pieces have been placed into the bowl, add the syrup, and the melted butter/oil mixture.

Add the cinnamon spice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a dash of black pepper and mix the contents.

Spread onto a single layer on an oiled baking pan.

Roast at 400 degrees F for 20 – 30 minutes until the pieces are fork tender. Roasting will be more consistent if the pieces are turned at 10 minutes.


The roasted squash makes a nice presentation when placed into the serving bowl.

I served this dish with steamed asparagus and roasted chicken with a light sauce.

The maple syrup coating adds a nice sweetness to the roasted squash. I think it made a nice plate.



I guess this was a long post.

If you are still here, thanks for sticking with me until the end.

God Bless You.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your incredibly wonderful recipes!

Anonymous said...

Man, I love baking. I bought my daughter a Kitchen Aid mixer for her birthday and she got to use it last night for the first time while making a cake. I love it when a plan comes together.

Anonymous said...

I'm looking forward to trying this recipe. Thanks for posting!

Anonymous said...

Damn, Bear! You're making me fat! I made the sweet potato pie last weekend, and it was delicious, definitely a keeper recipe. Thank you for posting your recipes for us.

Anonymous said...

Oh, my this looks fantastic! Can't wait to try it.


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