This concept should have been a cinch. After all, I developed White Chocolate, Cardamom & Coconut Beignet and they’re wonderful—ethereally light, tender, moist, and beautifully flavored.

But I made a classic mistake at the onset. I tried to pattern the new beignest after the earlier success. And that, my friends, was a disaster. I threw batch after batch of beignets in the trash after just one taste.

Something different went wrong with each batch: too dry, too wet, not sweet enough, not pumpkin enough, not spicy enough, and finally, just okay but nothing special. I almost gave up. Where was I going wrong?

Then just in time, I remembered my trusty ally on the recipe development front: The Recipe Grid. I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s basically a way to compare key ingredients and their quantities across dozens of published formulas. It gives you a good sense of the latitude you have with the key ingredients—in this case flour, eggs, milk, butter, and chemical leavener.

So, establishing 1 cup of flour as the non-variable, I adjusted each formula to reflect the same quantity. Then I looked across the formulas. I learned that my earlier beignet recipe is an anomaly, calling for perhaps the maximum amount of ricotta possible: 2 cups ricotta to 1½ cups flour. When I added pumpkin puree to that, the batter was too wet and too heavy. Fully cooked, the beignets were altogether too moist and bland.

To lighten the batter, I swapped the ricotta for buttermilk and used it in a 1-to-1 ratio with flour. The batter was then too loose to hold a spherical shape in the hot oil, and I had to whisk in an additional ½ cup of flour before frying the beignet. The last minute whisking counteracted the positive effects of a night in the refrigerator (to relax the gluten). The beignet were acceptable, but more like average cake donuts than beignet. For whatever reason, the buttermilk did not contribute any special tanginess.

The breakthrough came when I spied a container of Pumpkin Butter that was languishing in the frig. I made it last week and then forgot it. It was sitting on top of a fresh carton of sour cream. Carl Jung calls this magical type of apparent coincidence, synchronicity.

My first bite of these beignet produced an OMG moment. They are impossibly light, melt-in- the-mouth tender, oh so moist, tantalizingly fragrant, and over-the-top delicious. The pumpkin flavor really comes through, and the spice level is perfect. There are angels in my kitchen.

Three Types of Beignet

If you scour your cookbooks and the web for beignet recipes, you will find three basic types: yeast-leavened, egg-leavened, and chemical-leavened, as follows:

• Yeast-leavened beignets are New Orleans and Dixieland beignets. They are ethereal fried bread.
• Egg-leavened beignets are their highfalutin French cousins. They are lighter-than-air, fried cream puffs (pate a choux).
• Chemical-leavened beignets (think baking powder and baking soda) are close kin to cake donuts. The key difference is that cake donuts are rolled and cut, while chemical-leavened beignets are fried, free form, in hot oil. I think of this type of beignet as Americana all the way—easy, simple goodness.

Beignet Tips & Tricks

• Beignet batter must be thick enough to hold its shape after hitting the hot oil.
• The batter must have enough chemical leavener to plump each beignet into a fairly uniform spherical shape as the interior gains heats.
• For the lightest, most tender beignet, refrigerate the batter for at least 2 hours before frying. Refrigerating overnight is even better.
• You must maintain the frying oil at 350°. (See Technique Note below.)

Spicy Pumpkin Butter Gingerbread Beignet

Pumpkin and gingerbread spices are a marriage made in heaven, as you will discover when you taste these amazingly light, not too sweet, melt-in-your-mouth morsels. Pumpkin Butter is the trick to getting maximum pumpkin flavor into the beignets.

You need to make the batter at least two hours ahead to let the flavors develop and gluten relax. Beignets are best served immediately after frying.

Technique Note   The only thing difficult about the following recipe is maintaining an even 350° temperature on the oil for frying. If the oil dips below 350°, the beignet will be fat soaked and heavy. If the temperature rises above 375°, the beignet will cook too fast on the surface and need to be removed from the fat before the interior is cooked through. It always takes me a few tests to get the oil and my timing just right. A deep fry thermometer is essential for this recipe. If you happen to have a deep fat fryer with a temperature gauge, success is assured.

2 large eggs
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup Spicy Pumpkin Butter
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1½ cups King Arthur unbleached, all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder

vegetable oil, for frying (I used 4 cups for a 7-inch diameter saucepan; the oil was 1¼-inches deep)

Garnishes
powdered sugar in a shaker

one of these sauces, optional

• Spiced Apple Cider Caramel Sauce
• Peanut Butter Caramel
• Burnt Caramel Sauce

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar, and then whisk in the Pumpkin Butter, butter, sour cream, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and salt until smooth.
2. Put the flour and baking powder into a sifter or single mesh strainer and sift over the batter. Using a flexible silicon or rubber spatula, fold gently to thoroughly combine.
3. Cover the batter tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or as long as 24 hours (longer is better). Bring the batter to room temperature before frying.
4. If desired, prepare one of the caramel sauces and reserve. Rewarm just before serving.
5. In the meanwhile, put a few layers of paper toweling on top of an edged baking sheet and set next to the stovetop. Locate a deep-fry thermometer that will grasp the edge of the pan, a small skimmer for removing overbrowned bits of batter, and a 2-tablespoon capacity, release-style ice cream scoop. (If you don’t have the ice cream scoop, 2 tablespoons will work.)
6. In a 6- to 7-inch diameter, heavy saucepan, attach a deep-fry thermometer to the side of the pan and add vegetable oil to a depth of 1¼-inch to 1½-inch. Heat oil to 350°. This is the trickiest aspect of this recipe. You need to maintain a frying temperature between 350° and 375°, no lower and no higher.
7. Carefully drop three to four 2-tablespoon size scoops of beignet batter into the hot oil at one time. Do not crowd the pan. Begin GENTLY swirling and flipping the beignets after 15-20 seconds in the hot oil, and keep flipping them periodically until they are nicely browned on all sides and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. If in doubt, remove one beignet and cut in half to check the interior. If the interior is gooey, the beignets need more time in the hot oil. You can also test with a thin wooden skewer inserted into the center of the beignet. It should come out clean.
8. With tongs or a skimmer, remove the beignet, one-by-one, from the hot oil, drain briefly over the oil, and then tumble onto the paper toweling. Continue until you have used all batter.
9. As the beignets hit the paper toweling, dust with powdered sugar.
10. Serve hot, either plain or with Caramel Sauce (see choices above).

Makes about eighteen, 1¾-inch diameter, beignets.

I Love Hearing from You!

Please leave a comment. Include your blog URL and CommentLuv will automatically link back to your most recent blog post. And join me at LunaCafe on Facebook for daily adventures in the OtherWorldly Kitchen. Blessings…Susan

Copyright 2012 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.

Pumpkin Spice & White Chocolate Cheesecake

Northwest pumpkin season is in full swing, and I have new recipes ready to roll out in the weeks ahead. Get ready for Spiced Pumpkin Butter, Pumpkin Butter Gingerbread Beignet, Pumpkin Chocolate Torte, and Caribbean Shrimp & Pumpkin Chowder. And while I get those ready for you, here are my pumpkin FAVORITES from past seasons.

You’ve heard the saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Well, it was definitely the impetus for this Thanksgiving cheesecake, as I was torn between pleasing my stepdad, Mike, who loves White Chocolate Cheesecake and my daughter’s boyfriend, Chris, who expressed a desire for Peanut Butter Cheesecake (which I considered but then swapped for pumpkin in honor of the holiday.) The combination of the two flavors was even better than I expected, with the white chocolate lending the pumpkin a good measure of sophistication.

To tell you that this pie is beyond delicious is not to do it justice. But perhaps you will get some inkling of how good it is when I reveal that MauiJim, Pumpkin-Pie-Loather, ate an ENTIRE LARGE PIECE. Oh sure, he tried to avoid the pumpkin custard while zeroing in on the caramel, but in the end that effort proved futile, so he ate the whole darned thing. And then, to my wonderment, he raved about it and asked how long he had to wait to have another slice.

There must be a hundred posts on the web on the topic of Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Latte. Amazing! Would you believe I have NEVER had a Pumpkin Spice Latte? I’m not quite sure how that happened. However, in perusing all of the copycat recipes, it appears that there is little if any actual pumpkin in this wildly popular autumnal concoction; just a teaspoon or so of Pumpkin Spice Syrup. I think we can do better than that, don’t you?

This is almost a pumpkin gingerbread but not quite. Pumpkin plays the starring role and orange plays a strong supporting role, with just a hint of molasses. However, I didn’t hold back on the spices, even adding a bit of white pepper for zip. For extra tenderness and acid tang, thick, Greek-style yogurt is used. And, for crunch, there is a mother lode of walnuts.

A wonderfully moist, tender, open-textured coffee cake with a baked-in topping of caramelized cranberries and hazelnuts. The entire cake is redolent with warm spices, fresh ginger, and orange. This cake stays moist for days if covered tightly with plastic wrap. It is unlikely to last that long, however.

Additional Pumpkin Inspiration

• Adventures in Cooking: Chai Pumpkin Loaf
• Annie Eats: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
• Annie Eats: Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
• Baked Bree: Pumpkin Salted Caramel Blondies
• Baker Girl: Pumpkin Spice Churros
• Bakers Royale: Pumpkin Praline Trifle
• Baking Bites: Thick and Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
• Chocolate-Covered Katie: Pumpkin Nut Butter
• Cookies & Cups: Pumpkin Dump Cake
• Dine & Dish: Oatmeal Pumpkin Bundt Cake
• Dine & Dish: Pumpkin Bundt Cake
• Dine & Dish: Pumpkin Funnel Cake Crispies
• Eats Well with Others: Honey Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Ezra Pound Cake: Pumpkin Bread with Pecan Streusel
• Food + Words: Pumpkin Spice Syrup
• French Revolution: Spiced Pumpkin and Bourbon Beignets with Vanilla Bean Sugar
• Gingerbread Bagels: Maple Pecan Pumpkin Bars
• Go Lightly Gourmet: Pumpkin Pie to Knock Your Socks Off
• Lisa is Cooking: Pumpkin Walnut Cake
• My Baking Addiction: Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Swirl
• Omnivorous: Ginger Molasses Pumpkin Bread
• Sing for Your Supper: Pumpkin Pound Cake
• Sugar Crafter: Pumpkin Monkey Bread
• Sweet Twist of Fate: Pumpkin Angel Food Cake
• Yum Sugar: Pumpkin Bread

Resources

• Squash: A Fall Treat
• Pick your Own in Northwest Oregon
• Pumpkin & Squash Types
• Sustaining the Pacific Northwest

You’ve heard the saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Well, it was definitely the impetus for this Thanksgiving dessert, as I was torn between pleasing my stepdad, Mike, who loves White Chocolate Cheesecake and my daughter’s boyfriend, Chris, who expressed a desire for Peanut Butter Cheesecake (which I considered but then swapped for pumpkin in honor of the holiday.)

The combination of the two flavors was even better than I expected, with the white chocolate lending the pumpkin a good measure of sophistication.

The only aspect of this dessert that gave me pause was marbling the two cheesecake batters. I have had mixed results with various marbling techniques I’ve tried in the past.

This time, I poured large dollops of alternating batters, side-by-side, in one layer and again in a second layer. Then, I used an offset spatula to pull through the layers, first in one direction, then in the other, across the top. And, voila, it worked.

Pumpkin Spice & White Chocolate Cheesecake

Pumpkin and white chocolate are an unexpected and completely harmonious flavor pairing. Make this dreamy pie the day before you need it to ensure it sets up fully in the frig.

Base
¼ cup fine, dry, chocolate cookie crumbs  

White Chocolate Cheesecake
two 8-ounce packages best-quality cream cheese
6 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
6 ounces white chocolate, chopped or disks

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
two 8-ounce packages best-quality cream cheese
6 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs

Topping
2 cups sour cream
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Garnish
2 ounce premium white chocolate in a thick bar (Whole Foods carries it)

1. To make the Base, sprinkle the cookie crumbs on the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan or removable-bottom cake pan.
2. To make the White Chocolate Cheesecake, utilizing a double boiler set over hot, not simmering, water, or in a microwave, carefully melt the white chocolate, stirring periodically with a clean, dry utensil to evenly distribute the heat. Reserve momentarily. (Note: White chocolate cannot tolerate the same degree of heat that dark chocolate can. If it is overheated, it will turn granular.
3. Using a processor fitted with the steel knife, process the cream cheese with the sugar until completely smooth. Add the eggs and melted white chocolate. Incorporate thoroughly. Reserve.
4. To make the Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake, using a processor fitted with the steel knife, process the cream cheese and brown sugar until totally smooth.  (If in doubt, keep processing.)
5. Add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and eggs. Incorporate thoroughly.
6. Pour the Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake batter into the cheesecake pan.
7. Pour the White Chocolate Cheesecake batter over the top and swirl the two together with a flexible spatula. Alternately, spoon large dollops of each batter, side by side, into the pan and then swirl.
8. Bake in the upper third of a preheated 350° oven for about 35 minutes. The cheesecake will not appear set at this point. There should be no cracking or rising of the outer edges. Remove from the oven, let sit for 5 minutes.
9. While the cheesecake is baking, whisk the sour cream with the sugar and vanilla and let set until the sugar is completely dissolved. Reserve.
10. After the baked cheesecake has set up for at least 5 minutes, slowly pour the sour cream mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
11. Return cheesecake to the oven for 10 minutes, remove, and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Do not overbake or the cheesecake will be grainy. When totally cool, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.
12. Just before serving, grate the remaining white chocolate and sprinkle evenly over the top. (An easy way to obtain large chocolate curls is to warm the top of the chocolate bar slightly with just the heat of your hand and then draw a cheese knife across the top. Repeat the warming for each pass with the cheese knife.)
13. Cut into slim wedges with a long thin knife, wiping the blade clean on a paper towel between slices.

Serves 8-12.

Variations

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

I create a different pumpkin pie, tart, or cheesecake every autumn, and as good as they each are, this spicy cheesecake remains an all-time fave.

Base
¼ cup fine, dry, chocolate cookie crumbs  

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
three 8-ounce packages best-quality cream cheese
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup canned pumpkin puree
1½ teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
3 large eggs

Topping
2 cups sour cream
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. To make the Base, sprinkle the cookie crumbs on the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan or removable-bottom cake pan.
2. To make the Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake, using a processor fitted with the steel knife, process the cream cheese and brown sugar until totally smooth.  (If in doubt, keep processing.)
3. Add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and eggs. Incorporate thoroughly.
4. Pour the Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake batter into the cheesecake pan.
5.  Bake in the upper third of a preheated 350° oven for about 30 minutes. The cheesecake will not appear set at this point. There should be no cracking or rising of the outer edges. Remove from the oven, let sit for 5 minutes.
6. While the cheesecake is baking, whisk the sour cream with the sugar and vanilla and let set until the sugar is completely dissolved. Reserve.
7. After the baked cheesecake has set up for at least 5 minutes, slowly pour the sour cream mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
8. Return cheesecake to the oven for 10 minutes, remove, and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Do not overbake or the cheesecake will be grainy. When totally cool, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.
9. Cut into slim wedges with a long thin knife, wiping the blade clean on a paper towel between slices.

Serves 8-12.

Daddy Mike’s White Chocolate Cheesecake

I developed this cheesecake for my cookbook, Pacific Northwest Palate: Four Seasons of Great Cooking, after my stepdad, Mike, began raving about a version he had experienced in a Northwest restaurant. After playing around with the quantities of white chocolate a bit, I perfected it to his satisfaction. He now says this is the best cheesecake in the entire universe.

Note   This cheesecake is really rich. Mike can eat the entire thing, but most people prefer a slender slice.

Base
¼ cup fine, dry, chocolate cookie crumbs  

White Chocolate Cheesecake
three 8-ounce packages best-quality cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped or disks

Topping
2 cups sour cream
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Garnish
2 ounces premium white chocolate in a thick bar (Whole Foods carries it)

1. To make the Base, sprinkle the cookie crumbs on the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan or removable-bottom cake pan.
2. To make the White Chocolate Cheesecake, utilizing a double boiler set over hot, not simmering, water, or in a microwave, carefully melt the white chocolate, stirring periodically with a clean, dry utensil to evenly distribute the heat. Reserve momentarily. (Note: White chocolate cannot tolerate the same degree of heat that dark chocolate can. If it is overheated, it will turn granular. )
3. Using a processor fitted with the steel knife, process the cream cheese with the sugar until completely smooth. Add the eggs and melted white chocolate. Incorporate thoroughly. Reserve.
4. Pour the White Chocolate Cheesecake batter into the prepared pan.
5. Bake in the upper third of a preheated 350° oven for about 35 minutes. The cheesecake will not appear set at this point. There should be no cracking or rising of the outer edges. Remove from the oven, let sit for 5 minutes.
6. While the cheesecake is baking, whisk the sour cream with the sugar and vanilla and let set until the sugar is completely dissolved. Reserve.
7. After the baked cheesecake has set up for at least 5 minutes, slowly pour the sour cream mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
8. Return cheesecake to the oven for 10 minutes, remove, and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Do not overbake or the cheesecake will be grainy. When totally cool, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.
9. Just before serving, grate the remaining white chocolate and sprinkle evenly over the top. (An easy way to obtain large chocolate curls is to warm the top of the chocolate bar slightly with just the heat of your hand and then draw a cheese knife across the top. Repeat the warming for each pass with the cheese knife.)
10. Cut into slim wedges with a long thin knife, wiping the blade clean on a paper towel between slices.

Serves 8-12.

Copyright 2010 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.

Every year I develop a new pumpkin pie recipe and add it with a pretend drum roll to the Thanksgiving dessert table. I do this even though no one in the Bradley family, except me and our son Joshua, actually likes pumpkin pie. 

So you can imagine my surprise a couple of years ago when we were invited to a Thanksgiving potluck and asked to bring ONLY the pumpkin pie. (How could they know that was my favorite part of the meal?) I used the opportunity to create SIX new pumpkin pies that year and of course brought them all to the potluck, each with a little description alongside. Some folks in that appreciative gathering actually ate a tiny slice from each of the six pies. I was delighted.

Not MauiJim though. Not one bite. And that chapped my hide.

So this year, even though at heaven’s door with acute bronchitis and swine flu (3 weeks and still counting), I decided that this might be my last chance to change my darling husband’s mind about my beloved pumpkin pie. I was determined not to leave this world until I got at least one bite of pumpkin pie into his mouth, which might magically end this aversion that has been with him since childhood.

Thus, in my feverish delirium, I hit upon the one element that I could add to the pie that might tempt him to actually taste it: CARAMEL. Which turned out to be PURE GENIUS!

To tell you that this pie is beyond delicious is not to do it justice. But perhaps you will get some inkling of how good it is when I reveal that MauiJim ate an ENTIRE LARGE PIECE. Oh sure, he tried to avoid the pumpkin custard  while zeroing in on the caramel, but in the end that effort proved futile, so he ate the whole darned thing. And then he raved about it and asked how long he had to wait to have another slice.

I am tickled beyond measure. My man ate my pumpkin pie! At long last! And he wants more!  

This is going on my long list of things for which to be grateful this year. Right next to gratitude for all of you who drop by regularly to see what’s up in the OtherWorldly Kitchen.

May this Thanksgiving find you healthy, happy, and with those you hold most dear. Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Sour Cream Pie with Caramel Walnut Topping

This may very well be my best pumpkin pie creation ever. The creamy pumpkin custard with just a little tang from the sour cream, combined with the chewy, buttery, walnut laden caramel is just plain decadent. This is one Thanksgiving dessert that will not take a back seat to the turkey and all the trimmings.

Pie Crust
10½-inch diameter, 4- to 6-cup capacity, partially-baked, flakey pie crust

Pumpkin Sour Cream Filling
3 large eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree (one 15-ounce can)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sour cream
½ cup packed dark brown sugar, put through a coarse sieve to remove lumps
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon cloves

Caramel Walnut Topping
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup cold water

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup cream

2 teaspoons vanilla
1½ cups chopped walnuts

Garnish
lightly sweetened whipped cream, optional

1. Prepare the pie crust and let cool at room temperature.
2. To make the Pumpkin Sour Cream Filling, in a large bowl, add the eggs and whisk until well blended. Add the pumpkin puree, cream, and sour cream, and whisk until smooth.
3. Add the brown sugar, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and cloves, and whisk to incorporate.
4. Pour the pumpkin mixture into a storage container, cover, and refrigerate until ready to bake, up to 2 days ahead. (The flavor is significantly improved if left overnight to mellow in the refrigerator.)
5. Just before baking, whisk the pumpkin filling to incorporate the ingredients and then pour into the partially baked pastry shell.   
6. Bake on the middle rack of a preheated 425º oven for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350º, and continue baking for about 30 minutes, until pumpkin filling puffs at the edges and the center, while not puffed, appears almost set. (About 3-4 inches of the center diameter will look glossy compared to the edges, which will look more matt. The center should still move a little if shaken.)
7. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate.  
8. To make Caramel Walnut Topping, combine the sugar, water, and cream of tartar in a medium saucepan (preferably deep and rather narrow, rather than shallow and wide) and set over medium-low heat.
9. Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and the syrup clears. To prevent crystallization, do not rush this first step; use a pastry brush dipped in cold water to wash down the sides of the saucepan.
10. When the sugar is fully dissolved, raise the heat, bring the syrup to a boil, and stop stirring. Continue heating without stirring until the syrup turns a medium amber color.  (You could go darker, but a medium caramel is best for this pie.)
11. Remove from the heat immediately and set in a larger pan of ice water to stop the cooking.
12. Back on the stovetop, with no heat, carefully stir in the butter, keeping your distance, as the mixture will rise up and splatter.
13. Now, over low heat, slowly add the cream and stir to smooth the caramel.
14.  Raise the heat, stop stirring, and boil slowly until the caramel reaches a temperature of 228°.
15. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Stir in the walnuts and let cool for 10 minutes.
16.  Pour the still warm and slightly running caramel over the cold pi and let the caramel cool completely.
17. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
18. 1f desired, serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

 Serves 8.