pumpkin | Fancy Flours: Where Bakers Bloom

Really fudgy brownie! The cheesecake layer is a nice change and the pumpkin swirl is really quite yummy with the chocolate. These are especially good with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream! Recipe and photo from Recipe Girl.

Ingredients:

Brownies:
1 1/2 cups salted butter (3 sticks)
3/4 pound (12 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

Topping:
1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup apricot jam
1 cup pumpkin butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 12x17x1-inch baking pan (also known as a jelly roll pan/ or half sheet pan) with buttered parchment paper or foil.

2. Prepare brownie layer: Melt butter and chocolate in top of double boiler (or carefully- in short bursts- in the the microwave). Set aside to cool slightly.

3. In a large bowl, whisk 6 eggs, brown sugar, and 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar together. Stir in 3 Tablespoons vanilla, salt, melted butter/chocolate, flour and cocoa. Pour into prepared pan and spread to the sides.

4. Prepare cheesecake layer: Beat cream cheese using a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add remaining eggs, sugar, vanilla and cornstarch; beat until smooth and dollop all over the chocolate layer. Gently use a spoon to spread out evenly over the chocolate, trying not to dig into the chocolate layer. If you’re patient, it works out just fine.

5. Whisk together jam and pumpkin butter in a small bowl. Drop spoonfuls onto cream cheese layer and draw swirls using a knife. Try to stay inside the cream cheese layer only and don’t pull up the chocolate with the knife.

6. Bake until center tests clean, about 40 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.

Tips:

*It’s best to cool these to room temperature, then wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight before cutting. You’ll get the cleanest cuts that way.
*If you prefer, you can use Halloween-themed cookie cutters to cut out shaped brownies, but you’ll have lots of tidbits leftover to munch on.

Just Jan’s Pumpkin Butter – This pumpkin butter is the essence of fall with rich pumpkin and spice ingredients. Enjoy the butter spread on a muffin or incorporate it into your fall recipes! Get it HERE.

Pumpkin Cake with Ginger Cream Filling

Prep Time: 0:20 Bake Time: 1:5 Yields: 10-12 servings

Cake:

15 ounce canned pumpkin puree, divided

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 cups sugar

4 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose-flour

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup buttermilk

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 teaspoon ginger

4 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose-flour

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1/2 cup pecans, chopped, toasted

Prep & Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour the Bundt® pan you will be baking in. Set aside.

CAKE: Reserve 2 Tbsp pumpkin puree in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add remaining pumpkin puree and eggs, blending well. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture in thirds, alternating with buttermilk and ending with flour mixture.

FILLING: In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese, ginger, brown sugar and flour. Pour ⅔ of pumpkin batter into prepared pan. Spoon cream cheese filling over batter in a ring, careful to not let filling touch the sides of the pan. Cover with remaining pumpkin batter. Bake 65 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan 10 minutes on a wire rack. Invert cake onto rack and cool completely.

GLAZE: Combine confectioners’ sugar and cream with reserved pumpkin puree to form a thick glaze Drizzle over cake and sprinkle with pecans. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.