Tag Archives: pumpkin

Pepita (Pumpkin Seed) Streusel

Posted on October 7, 2016 | 1 comment

Raw pepitas, or green pumpkin seeds, have a sweet and nutty flavor. They are the perfect base for a streusel topping. Use it to top pumpkin muffins, ice cream, oatmeal, yogurt parfaits, or this satisfying pumpkin custard I shared today.

Ginger Maple Pumpkin Custard with Pepita Streusel

At the risk of sounding like a scene from Forest Gump, let’s talk the sweet incantations of pumpkin:

pepita streusel ingredients

Find these recipes and more in my Pinterest Board devoted to all things pumpkin, “Pumpkin Everything.”

Save Print
Pepita (Pumpkin Seed) Streusel
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
A crunchy topping, made with green pumpkin seeds (pepitas), brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon. Perfect for topping pumpkin pie or ginger pumpkin custard. Keep leftovers to top ice cream, yogurt, and more.
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • ½ cup raw pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)
  • ¼ cup rolled oats
  • ¼ cup flour
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350* F.
  2. Melt the butter in a small glass mixing bowl by microwaving for 10-15 seconds. A few unmelted lumps are fine.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl, stir to mix well.
  4. Scatter the batter over a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat or parchment paper, and bake for 5 minutes or until browned.
Notes
My streusel still looked "wet" when it had started browning. I pulled it out of the oven anyway and it turned out well. Don't let it burn.

 

1 Comment

Posted in Dessert, Food, Seasonal Recipes

Tagged , , ,

Mike’s Pumpkin Cheesecake with Cranberry Gelée

Posted on November 19, 2012 | 3 comments

Along with my favorite Chocolate Espresso Pecan Pie, another holiday dessert I have made a couple years in a row is this Pumpkin New York Cheesecake with a Cranberry Gelée topping. The recipe (and photo) comes from one of my friends from high school.  Mike shared: “I had the plain Cheesecake recipe ever since my first job in 8th grade as a busboy. It is still to this day my favorite cheesecake. It lends itself to flavor variations quite well, but for my money, you just can’t beat the pumpkin variety.”

Pumpkin New York Cheesecake with Cranberry Gelée Recipe

Makes two cakes: Divide everything in half for one.

CRUST:
8 cups ground cinnamon graham crackers
3 sticks melted butter

Add butter to crumbs until mixture molds in your fist. Then press evenly into 2 buttered 9” spring form pans. Bake 10 minutes at 375° F.

FILLING:

Soften 3 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese. Beat cream cheese together with 3/4 cups sugar until fluffy.

ADD:
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 cup sour cream
MIX WELL.

IN SEPARATE BOWL:
Mix:
One large can of pre-seasoned pumpkin pie filling
5oz evaporated milk
2 eggs
Increase spice as desired, remembering that the cheesecake will dilute the flavor a bit.

COMBINE FILLINGS

POUR into graham cracker crusts

BAKE at 350° until center is firm.
(Note: Baking in a water bath will prevent the top from drying out and cracking.)

LET COOL completely.

Topping
Cranberry Gelee Topping for Pumpkin Cheesecake

2 Cups Fresh Cranberries
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
A sprinkling of fresh orange peel zest
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries with 1/2 cup water and cook over moderate heat until they begin to pop, about 5 minutes. Let cool. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the puree through a fine sieve. Rinse out the saucepan.

Add the sugar and 1/4 cup of water to the saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until dissolved. Stir in the orange juice and strained cranberry puree. Let cool.

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoons of water, and let stand until softened, 5 minutes. Microwave for 10 seconds or until completely melted. Stir to make sure it’s smooth, and then whisk the gelatin into the cranberry mixture, and pour over the cake; shake it gently to even out.

Refrigerate until set, at least one hour and up to two days.

Remove cake from fridge 10 – 15 minutes before serving. Tastes better when it’s not quite so cold.

3 Comments

Posted in Dessert, Entertaining, Food

Tagged , ,

Pumpkin French Toast Bread Pudding

Posted on October 28, 2012 | 3 comments

Happy Halloween! Yesterday was fun, but full, after taking baby to two different costume parties. We were lazy this morning and the house was chilly, so I offered to make my version of french toast, which is actually baked and sort of a cross between french toast and bread pudding. I like it because you let the oven do the work without needing to stand at the stove to flip. As I beat the fresh eggs, I got out the spices. We were out of cinnamon so I pulled out a bottle of Pumpkin Pie Spices. That got me craving the seasonal favorite, so I added a cup of pumpkin to the custard.

This pumpkin bread pudding is not to be confused with a bread pudding made with pumpkin bread, similar to this Zucchini Bread Pudding, although that would be yum if you happened to have extra pumpkin bread lying around. In this case the pumpkin is added to the batter making it like the custard filling for a Pumpkin Pie.

Pumpkin French Toast Bread Pudding Recipe

  • 6 thick slices of challah or similar bread, at least one day old
  • 1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 cup milk (any kind of milk: cow, coconut, goat, soy, rice, etc)
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice blend
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place the butter or coconut oil in an oven safe baking dish and put it in the oven while it is heating up, just until the butter/oil has melted. Take it out and swish the pan to completely to cover the bottom with grease.

Slice the day old bread. If it isn’t dry enough, toast it briefly. Line the pan with the bread slices and poke them several times with a fork.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and then mix in the rest of the ingredients. Pour over the bread in the dish. Bake until the custard is set, approximately 30 minutes. I find it is usually done when the kitchen starts smelling delicious.

Serve warm with maple or cajeta syrup.

Notes:

Our baby loves this and seemed to like it even more with the pumpkin.

For a truly decadent french toast and morning, soak the bread in the batter the night before.

Whenever I have extra bread, whether challah or baguette, I pre-slice it and freeze it, wrapped twice in plastic. I very briefly microwave it to defrost, covered in a damp paper towel.

3 Comments

Posted in Food, Recipes for the Whole Family, Recipes from the Garden

Tagged , , , ,