Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These yummy, moist cupcakes are also dairy-free and you can always make the cream cheese frosting with goat cream cheese for people who can't eat cow dairy. Feel free to play around with spice combos and amounts- some folks prefer more allspice, some like a more nutmeggy treat. (I've included instructions for prepping the pumpkin at the bottom of the recipe- freshly roasted pumpkin really makes a difference!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and fill pan(s) with 18 cupcake liners.

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 3/4 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup arrowroot or white rice flour
2 TBS potato starch
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
3 large to extra large eggs (not jumbo)
1 1/2 cups pumpkin (roasted and pureed is best)*
1/2 cup almond milk
3/4 cup canola oil
1 TBS vanilla extract


In a smallish bowl, combine the pumpkin and almond milk. In another small bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine the oil, eggs, and vanilla.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the oil mixture to the dry ingredients and then mix in the pumpkin and almond milk.

Fill each cupcake three-quarters full and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until the tops spring back to the touch and/or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting
In a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 8 ounces of cream cheese with 1/2 to one stick of butter and one cup of powdered sugar. Add a teaspoon of vanilla and continue to mix until fluffy. Add a twist or two of freshly ground nutmeg if desired.

Roasting Pumpkin/Winter Squash for Various Recipes
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut a sugar pie pumpkin, red or green kabocha, butternut, or acorn squash in half and scrape out the seeds. Brush the cut halves with olive oil and place, cut side down, on a rimmed baking sheet, jelly roll pan, or pyrex dish. Bake for one hour or so, until the juices are bubbling in the pan and the rinds are soft to the touch.

Let cool and then scrape the flesh from the rinds. Puree in blender of food processor. Freezes well so you can make a big batch ahead of time and then make cupcakes, breads, soups and of course, pie.

Tonight, or should I say, tomorrow morning, a new chapter begins. At around 2:30 am, I will toss off the covers and totter into the bathroom. In all likelihood, I'll look in the mirror and grimace at my stupid o'clock in the morning tired and groggy, sleep-lined face and wonder WTF I was thinking when I signed up to be a baking intern.

But perhaps not. Only time will tell. I'm hoping to fall asleep at 9 tonight. The red wine isn't helping thus far and I'm wired as a Ren & Stimpy short. Perhaps it was that extra dark and delicious Theo salted almond dark chocolate bar I nommed at the office this afternoon. The Big W is snoozing on the couch and I'm updating my blog and thinking of all I could accomplish if I just stay the course and skip sleep altogether.

My pies (A&B) for the Oakland Museum's Seed Circus Pie Contest - A was the winner

How did I get here? I won a pie contest and chatted up one of the judges. It turns out we have a lot in common- a freakish lot- and now I am interning and also working the farmer's market, selling plump and scrumptious scones, galettes and the like. I am seriously grateful to her for letting me tag along. I try not to appear too overexcited about our adventures, but I'm having a lot of fun and my brain is exploding with ideas.

Soooo.... here's to waking before the sun and baking away the morning. More when I return...

Tasty Collard Greens with Brown Butter

I have fond childhood memories of my dad's friend's collard greens dish. Salty and heavily leaden with the fat of some ham hocks or bacon, they were delicious alongside fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and the occasional hushpuppy. But those fond memories have stayed memories and I don't think I've tasted collards in years.

...Until they appeared my RiverDog Farm veggie box. I found a simple recipe and served them to the fam that night. There was nothing left in the bowl after we were through, which says a lot considering this was a new kind of green veggie gracing our table. 

Here's how I prepared the collards. This is adapted from a few different recipes, primarily from Deborah Madison's Braised Collards in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Take one large bunch of fresh organic collard greens and strip the leafy green parts from the stems. If you like, you can then chop the greens into bite-sized strips or shred them with your hands. Rinse thoroughly and plunge into a pot of boiling salted water. Let the greens cook for 5 minutes and then put them in a bowl with about half a cup of the cooking water. 

Toss two to three tablespoons of salted butter into a pot or large frying pan. Over medium heat, cook the butter until it turns brown. Make sure the butter doesn't brown too quickly- stir it frequently and make sure it doesn't burn or smoke. 

Once the butter is browned, toss in the greens and the half cup of reserved cooking water. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes and then add salt to taste. Any salt will do, but kosher sea salt is extra tasty here. 

Cook for up to 20 minutes more, tasting along the way for tenderness and flavor. Feel free to add red pepper flakes for an extra kick, but I like mine plain and buttery!

Bring on the Blackberries!

I love berries of all shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors. Blackberries, the plump, tartly sweet ones, are impossible for me to resist. Especially when I find them growing in my back yard. Rose's blackberry pie is the most straightforward pie I've come across in my Pie and Pastry Bible adventures.

Filling: The filling consists of fresh blackberries, mixed with mixed with sugar, cornstarch and lemon. I love me some zesty lemony goodness, so I added 3 tablespoons of zest, as opposed to the 2 tsp called for. There's no macerating and cooking down of juices, no cooking of half the berries. Aside from her pie crust construction instructions, this pie is a snap.

Crust: Rose recommends that you go with her "Basic Flaky Pie Crust" for this one, so with the abovementioned snap-icity in mind, I decided to get creative with crust decorations.

Verdict: This is a juicy, bubbly-over-type pie that comes out of the oven looking like a mess of berries exploded. ...Which is to say it looks so very tasty. Served with vanilla ice cream, its deep purple deliciousness is a thing of beauty.

 

Baking in a Different Kitchen, or Brava Blueberries!

With my aunt in town and blueberry season in full swing, I decided it was high time for another blueberry pie- Rose's "Open-faced Fresh Blueberry Pie" to be exact.

It's always a bit of a challenge working in someone else's kitchen, even when said kitchen belongs to your parents. The rolling pin is different, the flour is different, the oven is different (in this case, more persnickety). But working in this particular kitchen actually means more fancy gadgets and dedicated baking implements. I was just about the roll out the crust, when my mom whisked out the fancy wooden board with all sorts of circular outlines etched on its surface. I'm sure there's a technical name for this thing, but I can't think of it- pie board, maybe? But it was pretty sweet.

Crust: While this pie is a thing of beauty, it is also pretty dang easy to make. The crust can be made ahead of time and prebaked because it doesn't need to be cooked once it's filled. Having said that, I tend toward the school of thought that believes in the absolute necessity of freshness. There's nothing worse than something looking delectable and tasting of freezer or fridge or languishing-for-24-hours-on-your-counter. 

But I digress. This crust was another of the "basic flaky pie crust" ilk. And I have to admit, I'm wandering further and further from the lengthy and didactic Pieble directions requiring me to chill, chill, and rechill. I mean, Rose, what are you saying? That I need to chill? Hmmm.... she may have a point there. A few of you might agree. 

 Filling: As you can guess from the name, this pie uses mostly fresh blueberries and because it's open-faced, you really want to find the tastiest, most gorgeous bluebs out there. This is not the time to break out that bag of frozen berries you've been saving for a rainy day in March when you feel the need to tempt your mental taste buds with a hint of sunnier times to come. Save those for a covered pie, or better yet- a smoothie. The only technical note I would add is that it could have done with more berries. I've been finding this to be the case with a number of Rose's pies. Sometimes, the look a little empty. I am using the recommended pie plate size, so who knows? The flavor combo is often spot-on so maybe it's a taste thing and not an issue of filling the crust to the brim. I just think filling the crust to the brim often looks better.

Verdict: Wow! (With this pie, I'm like the guy from Sex in the City who sees Charlotte's enormous Park Ave apartment and can't stop saying, "Wow!") This pie is a thing of beauty. As difficult as it may be, listen to Rose and let it sit for at least two hours before you dive in. If you can practice this much patience, as we managed to do (full disclosure: we were eating a fab dinner), when you finally slice into it, the pie will not fall apart and you'll have really picture-perfect slices of pie adorning your plates. Whipped cream is needed, of course!

"Pieble Study II":Double Pie Day with Montana

Although I've just posted about the blueberry pie, we did bake the pies semi-simultaneously. So much fun to be in the kitchen with a pie-partner! I'm hoping others will jump on the bandwagon and join me. Please do!

And on to the "Nectarine-Raspberry Pie." The nectarines smelled good in the store, but were not as tasty as I'd hoped. As I write this, three weeks later, I've just breakfasted on an intensely flavored nectarine and wished that it had graced my pie. Not to say this pie wasn't good, but first things first...

Crust: For this one, Rose recommended the "Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust and I wish I had gone with the lattice on this one too. It would have really tied the whole pie together, showing off the gorgeous contrast of yellow and red.

Filling: I know I usually go whole hog or overboard with the use of lemony goodness, but on this one I wish I had used less than was called for- one tbs lemon juice and one tbs zest. It was a tad lemony, esp with the already tart raspberries. I think I'd reduce the lemon by half or- egads!- omit?

Verdict: This pie is intense! I love me some nectarine pie- James McNair's peach pie recipe made with nectarines has yielded one of my top five all-time faves- but this one was a bit muc, esp on the heels of the blueberry goddess. I would definitely serve this with unsweetened or very lightly sweetened freshly whipped cream. The interesting thing was that it mellowed quite a bit the next day.

All in all, not sure if nectarines and raspberries- two things I adore- are my favorite once combined.

All pies considered, this was a good pie. I'm just exceedingly picky and I'm only getting worse baking all of these pies all the time. The best part about this pie was the grand time had baking with a pal. Besos, Susanita!

"Pieble Study": Double Pie Day with Montana

Yeehaw! Pie is always more fun when made with friends. My friend, and fabulous artist, Susana Montana,  (check out her web site)
joined me for a day of baking and catching up. We tackled the "Fresh Blueberry Pie" and "Nectarine Raspberry Pie."

The pug instantly took a liking to Susana, which made for some hindered movement. But we had fruit to wash, dough to assemble, and mixtures to uhm... mix. 

Crust: We went with the "Basic Flaky Pie Crust" that Rose recommended, but decided that this pie was such a beaut, it deserved a lattice top to show off the berries. For some reason, I find making a lattice top easier than just sticking a full top on. I'm more comfortable hiding the ends of the strips in the side of the bottom crust but an entire top is not my forte.

First, I weave the strips, leaving the ends draped over the edges, then I trim each end and tuck it on the inside of the crust edge.

Filling: Making this pie when blueberries are fully in season is the way to go. Blueberries have been amazing this year. We've eaten tons plain, with yogurt, with whipped cream, and in pie, of course. Not a big fan of the blueberry muffin, but I imagine that someone, somewhere, makes a fantastic one. 

In any case, we used locally grown, organic blueberries that I picked up at the farmer's market. Dude, sweet! We added three tsp of lemon zest instead of two because I like the zest, plus I tend to add more fruit than Rose calls for. 

Verdict: Oh, sweet nectar of heaven! This pie is probably the most beautiful, most delicious of any I've ever tasted. It was like summer in a pie dish. We ran some over to our neighbors, who promptly ran out to buy some vanilla ice cream to go with.