Pumpkin Butter

Here is the Pumpkin Butter recipe from October's swap:

Pumpkin Butter

1 Pie Pumpkin
1/4 c DemeraraCane Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Allspice

First, take your pumpkin and cut the ends off. Then, cut it in half and scoop out the seeds and the guts, as if you were carving it. Once the pumpkin has been cleaned out, cut it into cubes.
Place the pumpkin cubes in a large pot with water. Let it come to a boil, and then simmer for 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft. Carefully (the cubes will be hot) remove the skin. Place the pumpkin in a food processor and blend well. Transfer the pumpkin puree back to the large pot and add in the sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Let the pumpkin butter simmer for another 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until it has thickened.

Serve your Pumpkin Butter warm with toast, sweet biscuits, or top off a yummy Pound Cake Cupcake with a dab!

"Cooking Makes the World Go Round"

Pound Cake

Hey Girls!

This is the recipe for the cupcakes I made at October's Recipe Swap:

Pound Cake

1 c Promise Butter Spread
1/4 c Almonds, blanched and finely ground
3 c Demerara Cane Sugar
3 c All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 c Almond Milk (you can use skim)
1 1/4 c Egg Substitute
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Combine the baking powder with the flour and set aside. Cream the Promise and almonds together. Add the sugar; then slowly add the flour, egg, and milk. Add the vanilla last. Cream until smooth and creamy.
Bake at 325 for 1 1/2 hours.

Now, here's how I did it. I followed the recipe above. One thing that I did different is that I used an Almond Butter I had made instead of just ground almonds. I think that the ground almonds should work just fine; but, I am including the recipe for it just in case. Also, instead of using an Angle Food Pan, I used an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the batter into cupcake pans. For cupcakes, let them bake for 30 minutes instead of 1 1/2 hours.

Almond Butter

1/4 c Almonds, soaked, blanched, and finely ground
3/4 tsp Almond Oil
A drizzle of Organic Agave Nectar

Let the almonds soak in water over night; this should make the brown skin rub right off, blanching the almonds. Add all of your ingredients into a food processor and blend well.
The mixture will be a tad gritty, but for the most part it should be fairly smooth.

Now, for the icing:

Homemade Meringue Icing

3 Large Egg Whites
1 c Demerara Cane Sugar
3/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

Combine the egg whites, sugar, and vanilla in a heatproof bowl set over, but not in, a pan of simmering water. Stir continuously over heat until the mixture is warm and the sugar is completely dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove the bowl from the heat. Use an electric mixer to beat the mixture on high until it is glossy and stiff, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a Ziploc bag and let the mixture cool in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before using. When you are ready to ice you cupcakes, simply cut off one corner edge of the Ziploc bag to make a homemade piping bag.

"Cooking Makes the World Go Round"