Friday food

Or, More Misadventures With Baking.

Somewhere, sometime, I found and printed a recipe online for a pumpkin-cranberry coffeecake. I can't tell from the printout where I found it, and Googling has not brought me back to the original source. So, whoever you are that posted this old-fashioned recipe, thank you--wish I could give you credit.

Overall, a very simple recipe. Mix flour, spices, baking soda, and salt together. In another bowl, beat eggs, then add canned pumpkin, oil and sugar. Mix the dry ingredients in, then fold in chopped cranberries. Put in greased pan. Bake.

Very simple, right?

Well...you remember I'm not fond of baking. Too precise. Too many ways to muck something up. In this case, I got all daring and crazy and decided that, even though the recipe called for 1 cup of canned pumpkin, I'd use the whole can, which is more like 2 cups, because what was I going to do with leftover pumpkin? Not much, especially in that small amount. I reasoned that it might take longer to bake. But, when the appointed time was up, the required toothpick check came out without a trace of batter, so out of the oven it came.

After the required 10-minute wait, I flipped it onto a cake stand.

Sprinkled with powdered sugar, doesn't it look pretty? But when I sliced into it, the inside was slushy. Now, I poked that damn thing with toothpicks several times, and not a drop of slush came up with the pick. I was so disappointed. But the kids and DH tried it and proclaimed it yummy, as did Teen 2's friends who happened to be visiting at the time.

It wasn't until I started typing up the recipe to copy here that I realized I may have forgotten one little thing: the recipe calls for baking soda. Which I neglected to add. Which could, of course, have affected the baking as well as the additional pumpkin.

Sigh.

Also? It calls for 2 cups sugar, which I gave it (with raised eyebrows), but seriously? I would imagine you could cut that back. Canned pumpkin is plenty sweet without a bunch of sugar too.

So, I'll try it again, with the baking soda this time, but less sugar, and maybe more baking time.

Because it appears to be worth the effort. 

Pumpkin Cranberry Coffee Cake

2 1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice OR:
    1 tea. allspice
    1 tea. cinnamon
    1/2 tea. ground cloves
    1/2 tea. ginger
1 tea. baking soda
1/2 tea. salt
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped

Butter and flour an 8-cup ring mold. Preheat oven to 350F.

In large bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Mix well and set aside

In small mixer bowl, beat eggs at medium speed until foamy. Beat in pumpkin, oil and sugar until blended. Add to dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened.

Gently fold in cranberries. Spread batter evenly in mold. Place mold on baking sheet

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in mold set on rack for 10 minutes. Run knife around edge of mold to loosen. Remove from mold and cool on rack. Dust with powdered sugar.

Comments

[Guinifer]

That color (pre-baking), is really quite amazing. I have to say it does sound delicious.

[Girl Detective]

A quick bread loaf would probably be a lot easier--just take any reliable recipe for pumpkin bread and add cranberries.

[bezzie]

I just made pumpkin pecan waffles...quite good I must say.
This looks really good. And it just goes to prove no one ever died eating a baked good that wasn't precisely baked to the recipe! You must relax to let your baking-chi clear!!

[kathy b]

So glad to know i am not alone with baking issues! I don't even try anymore!

[Linda Miller]

You could also bake 2 cakes since you should have left over fresh cranberries from the bag. Drop off 2nd cake down the street at a neighbor's house.........hmmmmmmm

[Sue]

Sounded so good I have one in the oven now. Make waffles with the leftover pumpkin. That's my plan.

[Miss T]

What you do with a leftover half can of pumpkin is put it in a plastic bag in the freezer for some future baking date. Then forget it. Then when you clean the freezer, throw it out. Ask me how I know.

[kmkat]

Yum. #1 Son is very fond of pumpkin. And cranberries, too.

[Chris]

It sounds tasty - and I'm impressed that you got ok results without the baking soda. All that flour and the eggs probably saved you there. :)