Monday, October 29, 2007

Great pumpkin pound cake, but the glaze could use some help...

Hmm, have you ever started the finishing touches to whatever you may be making and then wished you could flash back 5 minutes and stop yourself? That happened to me today when I was trying to finish this Pumpkin Pound Cake with Buttermilk Glaze.

I was quite happy how the cake looked when it was done and proceeded with the recipe to make the glaze to drizzle over the top. I've never made a cooked glaze quite like this one, but it sounded like the flavor would tie in well with the recipe. This glaze is a mixture of buttermilk, granulated sugar and a couple pats of butter that are combined with cornstarch and cooked until it had thickened. This part was no problem - it came together well and it tasted great - however, it had this weird cloudy appearance and the texture was kind of like melted jelly. It looked like it would pour okay, but as soon as it hit the cake it just looked so odd - not milky-white like one would expect a glaze to be.

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Buttermilk GlazeOh well, since it was just for us I went ahead and finished glazing as it did taste good! The cake itself is pretty dense as one might expect with a pound cake, but it was not too heavy - the mashed pumpkin is drained over a couple layers of paper towels to help achieve a light texture. I fussed with the spices; rather than using a prepared pumpkin pie spice as called for, I tossed together a combination of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, fresh grated nutmeg and clove. This made for quite the fragrant aroma as the cake baked - Jeff and I both commented on how well we enjoyed the alluring depth the cardamom added. The buttermilk in both the cake and glaze did bring a nice twang to the background - maybe just using a simple confectioners' sugar glaze to make it a little more appealing next time. When we were about halfway through our pieces and almost at the same time, we both said "it's just like pumpkin pie, but it cake form!".

We're still working on our apple supply and I've been keeping my eye out for savory recipes that we could enjoy their flavor in. I'm glad I came across a recipe for Muenster, Turkey and Apple Quesadillas as it really hit the spot tonight.

In between two flour tortillas (I used a honey wheat flavored tortilla), layers of semi-soft shredded Muenster, chopped cooked turkey and thinly sliced granny smith apple are given a sweet and savory boost with a few dribbles of honey mixed with sharp Dijon mustard. Usually we just cook quesadillas in a skillet, but this time we did them in the oven - we preheated the baking sheets while we were assembling the quesadillas so the bottom tortillas could get a head start on getting crispy. This method also allowed us to do several at once (for leftovers to re-toast tomorrow at lunch!), rather than one or two on top of the stove. Our Muenster was aged a bit giving us a more robust contrast, but if you've never used it before, you may want to opt for the non-aged for a more mild cheese. The apples had just enough time to soften, yet not so long they turned to mush - it was a pleasant contrast to the crunchy toasted tortillas.

Muenster, Turkey and Apple Quesadillas

7 comments:

  1. Both recipes look wonderful! Hi, by the way. Just found your blog, and love all the food photos!

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  2. Hello Joe! Just wanted to say I have been reading your blog for many months and it brings joy into my life! Love your new fridge, I bought one recently it's not a french door, but is stainless and has bottom drawer freezer...I just love it! Thanks for all the recipes and photos. I hope you don't mind but I put your blog link in my blog.
    I look forward to reading more...

    Chari

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  3. I think your glaze looks excellent.
    But I really want that quesadilla with brie. Yummo Factor. You have been tagged as delicious.

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  4. Great idea using cardamom and I think the glaze looks just fine :-)

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  5. The glaze looks fine to me but if the cloudiness bothers you you could try replacing the cornflour with arrowroot.

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  6. I've just started using apples in savory foods and it really is a winning combination.

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  7. Larissa - Welcome!

    Chari - Thanks for coming back to check us out!

    Megan - Oh, please let me know if you give it a go with brie - I would love to hear how that turned out!

    Nice - Thanks!

    Stroppycow - thanks for the tip, I'll make a note of that on my copy.

    Christina - yes, it sure is!

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