This week’s Tuesday’s With Dorie activity of baking Pumpkin Muffins led to a pancake and cranberry maple syrup creation all because the grocery store only had large cans of pumpkin. Leftovers generate such creativity!

photo by David Peterman

Muffins first. Dorie’s recipe for pumpkin muffins in Baking: From My Home to Yours, is very good. As usual, my taste preferences drove me to fiddle with it a bit. I substituted half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour, which is a very finely ground flour made from soft wheat that has a low protein level and thus has less gluten forming ability, which results in tender baked goods. Whole wheat pastry flour is a great way to add a touch of whole wheat goodness while avoiding the heavy dense texture that can result with some whole wheat baked goods.

Protein content in flour
Low protein flour is sold as pastry flour or cake flour and is a good choice when baking goods where tenderness is the goal, for example, biscuits, muffins, cakes, and pie crusts. Often a combination of all-purpose flour and pastry flour works nicely. On the other end of the spectrum is bread flour which is high in protein and great for forming the strong gluten bonds necessary for bread to rise and hold its shape. The tricky element is the protein content of flour ranges depending on where the wheat is grown. In the southern region of the U.S, all-purpose flour has much lower protein content than flour in other parts of the country. National brands of all-purpose flour have a protein content of 11-12, but all-purpose flour in the South, such as White Lily brand, has a protein content of only 8-9. Pastry flour generally has a protein level of 8-9 with cake flour at 7-8.  Whole wheat pastry flour has a protein content of 9 vs. anywhere from 11-15 for whole wheat flour. Just for reference, bread flour is in the 12-13 range. So if a recipe works great at home, but bombs when making the same recipe while visiting a different part of the country, it could be the flour, not you!

Ref: McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking. New York, Scribner, 2004.
Corriher, Shirley. CookWise. New York, HarperCollins, 1997.
Wing, Daniel and Alan Scott. The Bread Builders Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens. White River Jct., VT, Chelsea Green, 1999.

I added half a cup of fresh cranberries because I had them on hand, and cranberries with pumpkin, well, you just can’t go wrong. Dorie suggests topping the muffins with sunflower seeds, but I stayed true to the pumpkin theme and when with pumpkin seeds (pepitas) then gilded the lily with a sprinkling of ginger sugar to add a nice crunch to the top. I increased the amount of salt to 1/2 tsp. from 1/4, which just didn’t seem like enough for the volume of batter and all the other spices. There were many comments in the group that the 400 degree F oven temperature was too hot; I choose to bake at 350 degrees F with a convection fan, and my muffins baked beautifully in about 22 minutes.

Overall, I love the results. They are flavorful, tender, and most importantly, not greasy. The cranberries add a nice tart zing and great color. A big thank you to Kelly of Sounding My Barbaric Gulp for selecting a recipe to get us all in the mood for fall and one that inspired some great pancake improvisation – read on…

photo by David Peterman

Pumpkin Pancakes with Cranberry Maple Syrup

These deliciously dressed up pancakes are the result of leftover pumpkin after making pumpkin muffins. The Cranberry Maple Syrup walks the line between a beautiful jam and syrup, with the whole cranberries offering textural interest and the perfect tartness to play against the sweet maple syrup. The pecans in the pancakes blend seamlessly with the syrup, like a perfect match. This would be a very festive start to Thanksgiving or Christmas day. Leftover pancakes freeze well and reheat nicely in the toaster for a quick mid-week breakfast. 

Makes about 10 six-inch pancakes.

Cranberry Maple Syrup
1 cup whole cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp. dark rum or bourbon
zest of one orange
2 star anise pods, or a cinnamon stick

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the cranberries begin to pop, cook at a low boil for 5 minutes stirring and mashing the berries occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside. When ready to serve, remove the star anise pods or cinnamon stick and re-warm if necessary.

Pumpkin Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sea salt
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger powder
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. clove
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat griddle to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, and nuts. Mix well to incorporate the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, pumpkin, and melted butter. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just enough to combine. A few lumps and dusty spots are better than over mixed batter.

Ladle batter onto hot oiled griddle or frying pan and cook until golden brown on both sides. Serve with Cranberry Maple Syrup.

What better way to welcome fall than to cook a whole pumpkin? I felt so seasonal arriving at a party this weekend offering up a cooked pumpkin filled with tasty stuffing; and what a great presentation for a buffet table.

photo by David Peterman

This is the first filled pumpkin I have ever baked and I learned a few things in the process. I was inspired after reading Doire Greenspan’s post on her filled pumpkin, so off to the farmer’s market I went. I chose a 9 pound Cinderella Pumpkin from the abundant selection. The round squat structure looked well suited for my plans and the lovely orange skin with a yellow blush was cheerful and festive. There is something exciting and fun about hauling a large pumpkin home.

Cinderella pumpkins have a much more solid network of flesh and seeds in the middle compared to the stringy mess that hides inside carving pumpkins. It scoops out just as easily and I did have to remind myself to leave the flesh in place; thin walls are great for carving, not such good eating.

The filling was inspired by what I had in the kitchen, which is why this recipe is so great. You can take the filling in all kinds of directions and not worry too much about following a recipe. Just keep building and tasting until it seems like enough volume to fill the cavity. I used cubes of bread, onion, garlic, apple, hazelnuts, gruyère cheese, sage, allspice, salt, pepper and a bit of cream. The filling was moist, but not wet. I filled the pumpkin and baked it in a pre-heated cast iron dutch oven that I lined with a layer of foil and parchment paper to act as a sling for easy removal after baking.

After 1 1/2 hours in a 350 degree F oven, it wasn’t making enough progress so I boosted the oven temp to 400 and removed the lid to the dutch oven.  Thirty minutes later I was beginning to smell the pumpkin aroma and I peeked under the pumpkin lid. Much to my surprise it was filled with bubbly, watery liquid. My delicious filling was swimming in pumpkin juices. The pumpkin was cooked; I was running out of time before needing to head to a party with the pumpkin, so I thought I would just roll with it. The untested foil and parchment sling was quite effective and I was able to lift the pumpkin out of the dutch oven, but spilled hot pumpkin juice on myself, then as I set the pumpkin on the counter the juices promptly began running out and onto the floor. Well, at least the filling is no longer swimming in liquid so one problem was solved. After giving the filling a stir and a taste, I was pleasantly surprised that the bread cubes were holding together and it tasted pretty darn good. By the time it was served at the party it had set up even more, no doubt due to the additional juices that drained out onto the floor mat of the car during transit, and everyone really liked it. The pumpkin meat was scooped off the walls and mixed in with the filling as people served themselves.

photo by David Peterman

I suspect cinderella pumpkins are just juicy pumpkins and not the best choice for this type of filling. A rice filling could have taken advantage of all the additional liquid. With a dryer style of squash this would be an outstanding dish. Though I seasoned the filling well, it wasn’t quite enough once the pumpkin was mixed in, so next time I will salt and pepper the inside of the pumpkin before adding the filling. With this one experience I am already hooked on cooking in a pumpkin pot and will continue to refine the process. By January everyone I know will be groaning when I show up  with another pumpkin pot.

A Pumpkin Pot

Much like a soup pot, you can base this dish on what you have on hand. Just build enough filling for the volume of your squash or pumpkin. Here is what I used for a 9 pound pumpkin.

4 cups stale bread cubes from a rustic, hearty loaf of bread*
1 medium onion, diced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, cubed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, crushed
3/4 tsp. allspice, ground
1/2 tsp. salt, more to taste
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and rough chopped
3 ounces gruyere cheese, cubed
3/4 cup cream

Cut a lid in the pumpkin by carving around the top. Position the knife blade to create an inward angle so the lid won’t fall right through the hole. Scoop out the seeds and connective matter, but unlike preparing a jack-o-lantern, don’t scrape the meat off the side walls, that part is dinner!

Measure out a piece of foil long enough to lay across the bottom of the dutch oven and come up beyond the height of the side walls by three to four inches on each side. Cut a piece of parchment the same size. Set both aside.

Preheat oven and dutch oven pan (without the foil and parchment liner) to 375 degrees F.

Over medium-low heat, sweat the onions until translucent. Add the apples, garlic, cumin, allspice, salt and sage and sauté another minute or two. Remove from heat and add the bread cubes and hazelnuts and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning as needed. Mix in the cheese cubes and cream.

Sprinkle the inside of the pumpkin with salt and pepper and then stuff the cavity with the filling. Place the lid on the pumpkin. Lay out the piece of pre-measured foil, lay the piece of pre-measured parchment paper on top of the foil, then place the pumpkin in the center on top of the parchment paper. Give the foil/parchment sling a test by grabbing the excess material on either side of the pumpkin and lifting up. If the pumpkin feels stable enough use this sling to lift the pumpkin into the hot dutch oven. If you don’t have confidence that the sling will hold, reinforce it with another layer of foil.

Carefully remove the hot dutch oven from the oven. Lift the pumpkin sling and place it in the hot dutch oven. The pan is hot - be very careful not to touch it! Fold the excess foil and parchment across the top of the pumpkin and place the lid on the dutch oven. Place the pot in the oven to bake for 2-2 1/2 hours. During the last 30 minutes of baking you can remove the dutch oven lid and the pumpkin lid to brown the tip layer of stuffing. Once the pumpkin flesh is tender when pricked with the tip of a knife and the filling is bubbly and hot, it is ready to be removed from the oven.

Ready a serving platter. Carefully lift the cooked, very hot, pumpkin out of the dutch oven using the foil/parchment sling and set it on the serving platter. Using a sturdy spatula lift up one side of the pumpkin and slide the foil and parchment out from underneath then do the same on the other side. To serve, scoop some of the pumpkin meat from the walls up with the filling.

*If you have a fresh loaf of bread, you can “stale” the bread by laying the cubes on a sheet pan and baking them in a 250 degree F oven for 20-30 minutes until they feel dried out. They should develop a dry crust, but not become brown.