Friday, 18 October 2024

pumpkin loaf

 

pumpkin loaf 




comforting warmly spiced loaf to enjoy with a cup of tea or hot apple cider and a friend. 

you’ll be able to enjoy a slice or two outside this weekend! 

an autumn picnic perhaps? 


we grow pumpkins and squash that you can use in this recipe.

our winter luxury pumpkin, or hubbard squash would work perfectly.

i had extra pumpkin purée after making a pumpkin pie.




our winter luxury pumpkin 


our hubbard squash





you will need..


3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

2 teaspoons of baking soda

1 1/2 of teaspoons salt 

1 teaspoon each of.. nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground ginger 

1/2 cup of unsalted butter plus a little extra for the pans

3 cups of sugar

2  cups of pumpkin purée..  1 medium winter luxury pumpkin, or 1 small hubbard squash 

2/3 cup of water

1/2 cup of olive oil

4 large eggs at room temperature

1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds.. also called pepitas 

1/3 cup turbinado sugar 



to make..

preheat your oven to 350°.

roast your pumpkin. you can do this a day before. 

place the pumpkin whole, on a parchment lined baking sheet.

bake until tender.. about 55 minutes.

cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds.. you can roast them later.

remove the flesh from the skin and puree in a food processor until smooth. 

measure out 2 cups and set aside. you can freeze any leftovers.


butter 2 9x5 loaf pans and dust with flour. 

my vintage triple loaf pan was the equivalent. 


melt the butter in a small saucepan and set aside to cool.

combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a mixing bowl.

in the bowl of an electric mixer, blend the sugar, pumpkin purée, water, olive oil and melted butter until smooth.

add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until well combined. 

add the flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing on low speed until combined. be sure the batter is smooth.

split the batter evenly between the pans, and top with pumpkin seeds and turbinado sugar.

bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

let the loaves rest for 10 minutes, then flip them out of their pans. 

put the kettle on..



 
roasted pumpkin seeds are an autumn tradition! 



remove any stringy pumpkin pieces and rinse in a colander.

pat the seeds dry and spread them on a parchment lined baking sheet.

drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkled with salt.

tuck them in your already warm 350° oven.  

bake for 10 minutes, give them a little stir and roast for another 5 ish minutes. 






did you see the beautiful full moon last night?

coincidentally, we woke up to our first frost yesterday 

and this moon is also known as the moon of the first frost!



see you soon.  

warm hugs,

laura







carl laidlaw orchards

Friday, 4 October 2024

hello october!

hello october!




we love all recipes that involve our apples.. 

but it's really hard to beat a classic apple pie!

my great nieces visited recently and of course i wanted to make one with them!


the pastry recipe is their grammy’s.. my sister's.

it's been shared on our website since day one, along with our apple pie recipe. 

besides delicious, it’s easy and very forgiving! 

have you tried it?





baking with the little people you love is pretty wonderful!






i just love their imagination..

slits in the pastry to let the steam escape become cat ears and whiskers!

heart patches become eyes!







i think the top crust fell off.. or maybe was nibbled off!

it's a very flaky pastry.

 serving pie can be tricky when you’re six!




this recipe makes enough for two double crusted pies.

once made, the pies freeze beautifully, unbaked.

it’s nice to have extra dough in your freezer, if you only want to make one pie. 





if you put an apple in with your brown sugar, it will it remain soft.



 




the salmon have returned to our credit river again!

there doesn’t seem to be as many as previous years.

 they have arrived much earlier too. 

it’s bit of a mystery.

hope you get a chance to see them when you visit us. 

warmly,

laura






carl laidlaw orchards