Chocolate Pumpkin Pound Cake

Swirls of spiced cake with chocolate glaze

My neighbor's maple tree is wearing its glorious fall coat. If you walk by at the right moment in late afternoon, the generously leafy canopy appears to glow with golden light; like a sequined Hannah Montana in the spotlight.

Meanwhile, I've seen crocuses poking up out of lawns, and my gnarly old crabapple is blooming bright pink blossoms. Poor thing - it's getting on in years and must be easily confused by the unusually spring-like temperature. Unpredictable weather is typical for us here in St. Louis; last year at about this time we were huddling around the fireplace with our winter coats on after an ice storm knocked out our power for a few days.

Despite the freakish weather I still have fall cooking on the brain. Plus, I was inspired by Ivonne over at Cream Puffs in Venice - she's got a great idea called Magazine Mondays going. Find all those flagged recipes in your food magazine stack and get cooking!

I loved the colors in this cake - it's from Sunset magazine - I found it at Myrecipes.com.
Since I made this for a treat on Halloween night, I used my extra-dark cocoa powder in the chocolate batter (as in the Starbucks Chocolate Cinnamon Bread)- it looks great swirled with the pumpkin-orange cake.

Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Pound Cake
from Sunset Magazine, November 2003

1 1/2 cups (3/4 lb.) butter, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cup buttermilk
Chocolate glaze (recipe follows)

1. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Scrape half the mixture into another bowl.

2. To make pumpkin batter: Beat pumpkin into half the butter mixture until well blended. In another bowl, stir together 1 3/4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and beat on low speed or fold in with a flexible spatula just until blended.

3. To make chocolate batter: In another bowl, mix remaining 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the cocoa. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the other half of the butter mixture (starting and ending with flour mixture), beating after each addition just until blended.

4. Spoon half the pumpkin batter into a buttered and floured 12-cup bundt-cake pan. Drop half the chocolate batter by spoonfuls over (but not entirely covering) the pumpkin batter. Repeat to spoon remaining pumpkin and chocolate batters into pan. Gently run the blade of a butter knife around the center of the pan several times, then draw the knife across the width of the pan in 10 to 12 places to swirl batters.

5. Bake in a 350° regular or 325° convection oven until a wood skewer inserted into center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cake cool 10 minutes in pan, then invert onto a rack, lift off pan, and cool cake completely.

6. Pour warm chocolate glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Sprinkle glaze with peanuts if desired. Let stand until glaze is set, about 2 hours, or chill about 30 minutes.

Chocolate Glaze: In a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler, combine 4 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate, 1/2 cup whipping cream, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 teaspoon corn syrup. Bring an inch or two of water to a boil in a pan that the bowl can nest in or in bottom of double boiler, then remove from heat. Place chocolate mixture over water and let stand, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 10 minutes.

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Copyright (c) 2007 FamilyStyle Food

Out of the Pumpkin Patch, Into the Kitchen

Slain Pumpkin

This fall, I picked up some gorgeous, locally grown heirloom pumpkins at my local farmer’s market. They’ve been nicely behaved, considering how thick-skinned they are. I placed them artfully on a little stepstool in a corner of my living room, told them to “STAY!”, and they’ve been sitting there obediently for months now, never once moving a warty stem or making a sound. Thank you pumpkins, for being dear, quiet little companions.

But now, they’ve reached old age. I detect liver spots, soft muscle tone and a tiny bit of leakage from their bottoms (poor things, it happens to all of us, I’m afraid). Off to the chopping block they must go! But don’t feel bad for them. Not everything gets the chance to be reborn as a tasty ravioli stuffing.



T made fresh pasta dough (I know! That’s why I married him), along with The Old Man (my brother-in-law), and I hacked a pumpkin open with a one-two combo of meat cleaver and rubber mallet. Try it, it doesn’t require too much strength, and feels very satisfying.

I roasted the pumpkin for about 35 minutes at 400 degrees, spooned out the pulp, and mixed in the seasonings. You can make this whole recipe very easily by roasting a butternut squash instead, (or use -gasp!- canned pumpkin), and using wonton wrappers, which are readily available at the grocery store, or ready-made pasta dough from your local Italian market.




This is one of my favorite things to eat on the planet.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Parmesan and Sage Butter

makes 2 dozen
1 cup roasted pumpkin puree, or canned pumpkin
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese or softened butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 package wonton wrappers (24 wrappers)
1 stick butter
1/2 cup fresh sage leaves

Mash together the pumpkin, mascarpone, Parmesan, thyme and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper.
Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the pumpkin mixture on 12 of the wonton wrappers. Lightly brush the edges with egg white, and top with the remaining wrappers, pressing the edges to seal. You can also use a ravioli crimper-cutter, if you find one in your gadget drawer.
Fill your biggest pot with water, add a large pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Drop in the ravioli, about 6 at a time, and cook until they are floating and tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and keep warm.
Melt the stick of butter over medium-high heat until bubbling subsides. Throw in the sage leaves and cook for 1 minute. Pour the butter sauce over the ravioli, and serve with additional Parmesan cheese at the table.

Basic Pasta Dough
Adapted from Mario Batali’s Babbo Cookbook

3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Place the flour in a very large bowl or mound on a work surface. Make a well in the middle of the flour; add the eggs and olive oil. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and oil, then begin to incorporate the inner rim of the well of flour.
Gradually add more and more flour to the eggs until a dough comes together.
Start kneading the dough with the heels of your hands. When you have a cohesive mass, scrape up and discard any leftover bits. Lightly flour your work surface, and knead the dough for a few minutes, until it’s soft, smooth and slightly sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes before rolling out in a pasta maker.

Copyright (c) 2007 FamilyStyle Food