Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Cake

Last year, it was suggested to me that I try to make Pumpkin Chocolate Cake by Whole Foods.com.  I did try to make it, but it was awfully rushed and I never got around to blogging about it.  And I didn't do the exact recipe, because I was out of canola oil.  That, in my opinion, isn't giving it a fair chance.  So this year, I decided I would take my time and make this cake again.  This time, I would have all the ingredients (except their special flour) and take non-rushed picutres along the way.

Mama's sous chef

My daughter and I made it together.  I need to get this little gal and apron (or make one?) because she insists on watching me every and any time I do anything in the kitchen.  Every night we make dinner together, in fact.  Safely, of course!

After we took it out of the oven, I was very patient and waited hours to cut it so that it could cool.  Then I dusted it with powdered sugar, which gave it a pretty and old fashioned look.  I took my first bite and it was STILL A LITTLE WARM it was delicious! There's nothing like warm cake dusted with powdered sugar.

I gave some to my sister, and we both came to the same conclusion. My sister and I both loved this cake!  She doesn't intend to share the pieces I gave her!  How naughty!  It came out moist and chocolatey. There is a very thin fudge-like layer on the bottom.  This might have come from slight under-baking, but it was definitely finished to me.  I didn't want to OVER bake it.  It also reminds me of pumpkin pie because of the pumpkin pie spice.  I just LOVE pumpkin pie spice.  Now that we have a new jar it will be in my morning oatmeal until I run out of it again!

I will definitely make this again.  The prep only took ten minutes and I didn't even have to take out my mixer.  It's one of those wonderfully simple cakes that you can make at almost any time.  And since there's no butter, there isn't any waiting for ingredients to get room temperature.  It's a great recipe for babies to help out with since you don't have to get out your mixer.  

Pumpkin Chocolate Cake by Wholefoods.com

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup canola oil, plus more for greasing
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I used King Arthur unbleached all purpose flour)
• 1/3 cup cocoa (I used Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa Powder)
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar (Sugar always has to be Domino brand!)
• 2 eggs
• 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree (Libby's, of course)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

STEP ONE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 8" x 8" pan.

Grease with canola oil

STEP TWO: Whisk together flour, cocoa, pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Baby girl adding the pumpkin pie spice

Whisking for me

STEP THREE: Whisk together sugar, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla.

STEP FOUR:  Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and whisk gently.  Try not to over-mix.

STEP FIVE: Pour into pan and bake 40-50 minutes.  I did 50 minutes.  I checked at 45 and it wasn't done.    Cool on wire rack until cool.  Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Moist and delicious, just what you want in a cake!

SOURCE: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2635  Retrieved September 17, 2012.

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale Reviewed

A couple of weeks ago, my first child turned two years old!  I could not believe it!  The years went by so fast.  We got together for a small pizza party -- she had a larger party back in July.  And my brother brought a very special gift for my husband and I that he knew we would love: a special beer to sample and discuss!  Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale.

Okay, "we" is a bit of a lie because I don't really drink.  But my husband loves trying new beers.  He wouldn't call himself a connoisseur or expert necessarily, but it's a small side hobby he does enjoy.  But my brother IS a bit of a connoisseur in the subject, so when I saw that he had picked something out, I was excited!

Check out that label!

Last year we tried Sam Adams' Harvest Beers and they were all nice and spicy and tasted like fall.  But there is something so exotic about a beer that I had never heard of before.  With a name like "Weyerbacher" it has to be cool, right?

It has a pumpkin-orange color to it.

Since I am currently nursing, I tried a couple quick sips at the party.  I liked it, but didn't have a chance to really savor it in the rush or cake, ice cream and my siblings and their kids packed into our little dining room.  But a week later, we really got to savor it.  The bottle describes the usual pumpkin spices: nutmeg, cardamom, cloves and of COURSE cinnamon.  I wish I could have enjoyed more of it, but at 8% alcohol by volume, I simply couldn't for my baby.

Cheers!

CONCLUSION?  My husband and I both really enjoyed this ale.  It reminds me of Blue Moon, but lighter.  The tastes of the season really stand out and makes me long for the days when even more leaves are on the ground and the trees turn orange and red. :)  If I could, I might have wanted the entire bottle to myself!  It is not overly sweet, nor too spicy.  Its tastes are subtle and ... nice.  I think that is the best word I can come up with to describe it: nice!

Weyerbacher, it turns out, is a brewing company right here in Pennsylvania.  They're relatively young, too, and were founded in 1995!  The brewery is open to tours on Friday and Saturday, where you try 10-15 different beers.  But don't take my word about it, check out their site: www.weyerbacher.com.

Here are more reviews from people who seem to know beer more than me!  Beer Advocate: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/392/25880

Wawa Pumpkin Spice Coffee

Pass this most every day.  We all miss Y-100!

My babies and I often take walks to our local Wawa to get little things such as eggs, milk, and my ground coffee.  I don't do the Keurig thing.  Real, brewed coffee is superior.  To my delight, about three weeks ago, there was a new selection!  Wawa Pumpkin Spice Coffee that you brew at home!  I can't remember if they had it last year, but I remember when I compared Wawa and Dunkin Donuts brewed pumpkin spice coffees, I liked Wawa's better (though Starbucks reigned supreme).  Here is the blog about it.  So, I picked it up!  It was $7.99, plus tax, the same as the rest of their coffees.

And Instagramed it (because I am just as addicted to Instagram as I am to Facebook ...):

And I love it!  It tastes of cinnamon and nutmeg and is just delicious.  To me, it doesn't taste very artificial, despite having "natural & artificial flavors."  I look forward to brewing it every morning, as soon as the baby and I get up.

It saddens me when my filter fails and there are grounds in my pumpkin spice coffee.  I had collapsed bags two times this week!  Yesterday I dumped my coffee and started again.  I wanted my perfect cup!  Is that so much to ask?

So, if you live in DE, PA, NJ or FL, pick up some Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Wawa Coffee.

Last Year's Review of Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Spice Coffee (that you brew at home): CLICK HERE.

Pumpkin Pie Soda

NOTE: I wrote this post in November 2011, but life must have gotten busy because I didn't publish it!  So, here it is! Edited, of course.

Up until a few weeks ago, I honestly didn't know that Pumpkin Pie Soda was a thing.  And I think that it really shouldn't be a thing.

But it is.

This was a great find by a friend at a local Wegman's.  What did it taste like? Neither of us could really describe it.  It's kind of like a flavored cream soda ... Kinda spicy, not really pumpkin-like.  Did I like it?  No.  Fall spices and soda carbonation together is just strange.  I drank half, decided the rest wasn't worth the calories, and dumped the rest.  It also had a very flat taste.

I had a crappier camera back in 2011!

More about this soda: It is made by Maine Root.  This is all the site says about the soda: http://maineroot.com/?p=385.  All Maine Root sodas are awesomely Fair Trade certified, meaning that all sugar is from farmers who are compensated fairly.  More here.

WELCOME FALL 2012!

Fall is here again!  It was a hot, hot summer.  Most of July here was a heat wave.  Being pregnant with a toddler and watching my niece, we spent a lot of time inside in the air because it was just safer.  When we did venture outside (and we tried most every day), none of us lasted long.  But now it is finally fall and we have all been outside a lot more!

AND ... it's PUMPKIN SEASON AGAIN!

I wasn't sure about this blog for a long time, I will be very honest with you.  I was not sure if we would be returning or not.  But I have some ideas for a few blogs.  I cannot blog as frequently as before, however, because I am not curently chained to a desk.  But I do have a few ideas for blogs!

Taste Tests! (my favorite)

• A new pumpkin beer we have tried
• Pumpkin fudge from Linvilla Orchards
• Pumpkin donuts from Wawa
• Pumpkin smoothie from Wawa

Recipes:

• Pumpkin Cheesecake
• Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
• Trying a different way to make pumpkin cake pops since last time failed according to Marcus (I kid - kind of!)

Other

• Pumpkinland 2012
• My brother in law's prize pumpkin
• A post about sewing Rachel's costume?
• Halloween 2012

Well, that's all the ideas I have for now. Hopefully I'll be able to do some of them!  Gotta go - baby needs me!

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

When I started this blog, there was a blog post trending about pumpkin pie milkshakes.  Countless people sent me the link.  So, by popular demand, I made one!  It was fun, easy and delicious.  And most of the ingredients are probably right in your cupboard and freezer.

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/3 C pumpkin, canned or homemade
1/4 – 1/2 C milk
1/4 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1/16 t cloves (just use a 1/8 t measure and fill it half way, or do a pinch)
1/16 t nutmeg
2 T brown sugar
2 C vanilla ice cream
1-2 graham crackers

Ingredients!

I kind of just threw some milk into the blender, added some pumpkin and pumpkin spice and blended it up.  I used a food processor because it was more readily available, but definitely use a blender if you have one.  Then sprinkle with some graham cracker crumbs.  I didn't measure at all, I just eye-balled it.  And it was so good!  It reminded me so much of Dairy Queen's Blizzard, but so many less calories.

SOURCE: Our Best Bites: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/09/pumpkin-pie-milkshake/

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Oatmeal.  A lot of people don't like it.  Many people haven't gotten past Quaker Instant Oats with its artificial taste and added preservatives and sugar.

I, on the other hand, LOVE oatmeal.  It took me a while to get to REALLY like it.  When I wanted to lose weight a couple of years ago, I needed something healthy, fast, and filling.  Not satisfied with gross instant oats, I tried Quaker Old-Fashioned and Quaker Quick-Cooking.  Quick-cooking isn't as healthy as old-fashioned, due to some processing, but its texture is so much nicer.  Sweetened with some brown sugar and raisins, it's a real breakfast treat (though I don't recommend eating it with brown sugar every day if you are trying to eat healthy).

Add pumpkin and it's amazing!

In the fall, I like to keep a small container of pumpkin at work.  I add two heaping teaspoons to my oatmeal BEFORE cooking, and pop it in the microwave!  I also like to add a little dollop of peanut butter for an even better treat.

Ingredients:
Quaker Oatmeal
Water
Salt
Pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
Pumpkin
Brown sugar

Start with some Quaker Old Fashioned or Quick 1-Minute Oats:

Add water or milk per package directions and a dash of salt.  Stir and add a huge heaping tablespoon of pumpkin.

Stir it again and add your spices. 

Cook for one minute.  Stir.  Cook for about another minute.  If it still seems like it could use more time, cook at 30 second intervals until you think it's ready.  Stir in some brown sugar if desired, and you're all set!

That's it! Eat it right away.  It is truly delicious.  My daughter and I gobbled this right up.  Who said a healthy breakfast has to be boring?