All Hallow's Eve

The witching hour is drawing nigh, and there is so much to do! Halloween cake baking, caramel apple making, jack-o’-lantern carving, and house decorating—it’s all so exciting!

But I have a confession to make. I hate being scared, which means that for the longest time, Halloween terrified me. In fact, it still does…just a bit. I hate horror movies, I don’t like haunted houses, and it takes a team to get me to ride the Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror at Disneyland (and I’m only an embarrassment when I do).

I do, however, believe that I know the source of my fears. I am superstitious.

I grew up with a mother who told me all about her otherworldly encounters, and as I’ve grown up, I have experienced a few of my own as well. In fact, over the past couple of days, there has been a spectral visitor in my house. But I have been told not to worry—our spirit is friendly. We think it is my aunt, which makes sense because in my Catholic family, Halloween is just the beginning. Fright Night is followed by All Saints Day and All Souls Day. So how can celebrating three days of the dead not bring a spirit into the house?

But I am proud of myself. A few years ago, I took control of my Halloween experience and turned what I feel is a rather frightening night into an evening of gypsy revelry and magic. So, while my neighbors set up faux cemeteries and skeletons in their front yards (which I think is just asking for bad energy to enter your home), I light dozens of candles and hang lanterns at my door. And of course, I bake delicious treats. This year I’m creating a browned butter pumpkin cake with caramel cream cheese frosting.

“Pumpkin is certainly an American food,” said Cal State Fullerton humanities professor Dr. April Bullock. “Recipes for it do show up in early American cookbooks…it would have been served roasted or steamed along with eggs, rather like a custard, probably only slightly sweet.”

In fact, James McWilliams’ A Revolution in Eating cites Amelia Simmons’ American Cookery as the first introduction to “pompkin pie.” Simmons’ book, published in 1796, was the first American cookbook.

Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1805) listed a recipe for pumpkin pie as such:

"Take pumpkin and peel the rind off, then stew it till quite soft, and put thereto one pint of pumpkin, one pint of milk, one glass of Malaga wine, one glass of rose-water, if you like it, seven eggs, half a pound of fresh butter, one small nutmeg, and sugar and salt to your taste." (McWilliams, p. 312)

Although I won’t be pulling from such sources to make my pumpkin cake, I did alter recipes from both Martha Stewart and Ina Garten. And oh my goodness, this frosting! It is like a caramel cloud that melts into sweet sunshine in your mouth. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Browned Butter Pumpkin Cake with Fluffy Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Salted Caramel Sauce (Yield: 2 cups – You’ll have extra to use for drizzling apple dipping!)

1-1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. water

1-1/4 c. heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. fleur de sel

1. Combine the water and sugar in a large saucepan (emphasis on “large”—some scary/exciting bubbling action will occur later) and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves (5-10 minutes). Stir the mixture with a heatproof rubber spatula every once in a while.
2. Turn the heat to medium and boil the sugar and water until it turns a warm coppery color, gently swirling the pan every so often. This should take another five to seven minutes. You don’t want the sugar to burn, but the darker the sugar is, the richer the flavor of the caramel.
3. Take the pot off the heat. And here comes the partly-terrifying-but-extremely-awesome part: stand back and gently pour in the cream.  It will immediately bubble and expand…A LOT.
4. Put the pot back on the burner over low heat and let the caramel simmer for a couple minutes, stirring constantly, until the caramel is smooth.
5. Pour the sauce into a glass bowl and stir in the vanilla and fleur de sel. Let your caramel sit at room temperature for at least four hours to cool and thicken. 

Cake

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. cardamom

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. granulated sugar

2 sticks butter

4 eggs

1 15-oz. can of pumpkin puree (1 ¾ c. pumpkin puree)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°, then butter and flour two 8” round cake pans.
2. Melt the two sticks of butter in a saucepan over medium heat, swirling the pan every so often. Once melted, continue to let it cook until the butter starts to brown. You will see little sandy granules start to settle at the bottom and the butter will smell nutty and amazingly delicious. Once it is golden, take it off the heat. Pour the butter into a large glass bowl (making sure to get all the browned bits) and set aside to cool.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom.
4. In the butter bowl, mix in the two sugars and the eggs. Then pour in the dry ingredients and whisk until it just blends into the wet ingredients.
5. Fold in the pumpkin puree with a rubber spatula until the batter is uniform. Be careful not to over-mix the batter.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans. Swirl the pans and tap them against your counter a couple of times to evenly spread the batter and release any air bubbles.
7. Bake 30-32 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pans and then invert them onto a wire rack. 

Fluffy Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8-oz. package of cream cheese, at room temperature

1 c. salted caramel sauce

2 c. whipping cream

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat together the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth.
2. Turn off the mixer and pour in the caramel sauce. Continue mixing until combined.
3. Pour the whipping cream in the bowl and mix on low speed until incorporated into the mixture. Once combined, turn the mixer on high and continue beating until the icing becomes light and fluffy and it holds a peak.

Assemble the cake and drizzle with more caramel sauce!