Tag Archives: pumpkin

Pumpkin Lingonberry cake

Is the pumpkin season over? I think pumpkins with its amazing and cheerful color, and great taste are always on time. For this cake, I used butternut squash because it was very sweet compared to a dull and bit tasteless slice of pumpkin that I had in my fridge. Choose any sweet variety or increase sugar, but definitely, the naturally sweet fruit is the best option.

Once you grated the pumpkin, mixed it up with tvorog (cottage cheese) and berries, and the cake is almost ready. 🙂 For many of you, lingonberries are exotic berries but I do hope that will not stop you to try this cake, as these berries taste very similar to little sour cranberries. So, you may always find another good substitution. They are also known as cowberries or mountain/tundra cranberries.

This bright cake turned out incredibly soft and delicious. Lovely little lingonberries and orange glaze made it even more special and festive. You need only to brew the aromatic tea (like this wonderful spiced tea) and enjoy the cheerful atmosphere.

Isn’t it the perfect cake?

Pumpkin Lingonberry Cake with orange glaze

You can click here for the marvelous drink recipe that also goes perfectly with a slice of this pumpkin cake. Aromatic spices and berries in both recipes make you feel very festive and happy.

Pumpkin Lingonberry cake

Servings: 5-6
Difficulty: easy
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I used 20cm baking pan

*Carrots are another good substitute.

**Can be substituted with fresh small cranberries. No berries – not a problem, omit it or add few dried cranberries.

What you’ll need

350g finely grated pumpkin or butternut squash*, any sweet variety is fine

50g butter, at room temperature

40g (2 tbsp) white sugar (or brown)

2 medium eggs, slightly beaten

1 orange, zest+1 tbsp orange juice

1 tbsp orange marmalade (I used fine cut)

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg or a pinch of fresh

200g 0% cottage cheese (or 5-7% is even better)

100g yogurt (thick one is preferably like Greek yogurt or creme fraiche)

~100g lingonberries (I used frozen)**

100g plain flour+1 tbsp cornflour (not corn starch, or add extra plain flour)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3-4 tbsp orange marmalade, for the glaze, warm

How to make it

Grate pumpkin, squeeze juice if there is any. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk butter with sugar until pale but don’t over-mix.
Mix in eggs.
Add orange zest, orange juice, marmalade and nutmeg.
In a separate bowl blend cottage cheese with yogurt. Fold into the batter mixture.
Fold in grated pumpkin and berries. If using frozen – do not refreeze.
Sift in flours with baking powder and soda.
Line the baking dish and pour in the mixture.
Bake in preheated 200C oven for 40 minutes.
Prick the warm cake with a toothpick several times. Pour over warm orange marmalade.
Serve warm or cold.

Enjoy!

Warm butternut squash salad

This delicious warm salad is perfect for cold months. Yes, it is simple but bursting with flavour, and of course it contains the main autumn ingredient – beautiful winter squash! Slightly sweet roasted butternut squash together with salted feta and fresh spinach leaves create nice and tasty salad, perfect in its simplicity.

And don’t forget to sprinkle the salad with raw pumpkin seeds (as I did.. haha)!

Warm butternut squash salad

Time: 40min
Difficulty: very easy
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Slightly adapted from here

Ingredients

1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1cm-thick slices

1 medium red onion, cut into wedges

1 orange

fresh spinach leaves, as much as you like

100-150g feta or white/Bulgarian cheese

handful of raw pumpkin seeds

Dressing*

juice of 1/2 orange

2-3 tsp white balsamic or champagne vinegar

1 tsp honey mustard

2-3 tbsp EV olive oil

freshly ground sea salt &white pepper, to taste

Method

Arrange butternut squash and onion on a baking tray, drizzle everything with olive oil, plus squash with juice of 1/2 orange. Roast in preheated 180C oven for 25 minutes or until squash is soft.
For the dressing, in a small jar combine all ingredients and shake well. *Adjust to your taste by adding more vinegar or oil.
Arrange spinach on a serving plate, top with warm squash and onion. Sprinkle with feta and pumpkin seeds. Drizzle with dressing.

Enjoy warm salad!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

It’s my very first pumpkin cheesecake! 🙂 I do love both cheesecake and pumpkin, but never tried to combine them together until I baked too many pumpkin slices and already couldn’t eat them.
Cheesecake is enjoyed by millions around the world, and each person has its own take on the best way of making it. Truly a scrumptious dessert! I guess that the pumpkin cheesecake is the America’s favorite dessert. Moreover, I’ve heard about National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day, is that true? In Russia we eat pumpkin, too, but usually it’s sliced and simply baked with sugar, or whole pumpkin stuffed with grains (have a look at my recipe here).
I knew how to make a basic cheesecake, so I just added pumpkin puree and some spices. Oh, I’m so happy with the result! The only thing I was worried that it can be too wobbly, finally it set good, just cracked a little. The texture is perfect – creamy, deliciously smooth and not-very-sweet, everything how I like. Unfortunately, the cheesecake has some unwanted calories, thus for weight watchers I recommend to substitute cream cheese with low-fat cottage cheese or quark.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Servings: 8-10
Time: >1hr 30mins
Difficulty: easy
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You need 18cm baking tin for this recipe

Ingredients should be at room temperature

Crust

150g graham crackers, finely crushed

80g butter, melted

Filling

350g cooked pumpkin, then pureed

220-250g cream cheese

30g brown sugar + 40g white caster sugar

2 tbsp double cream (35% fat)

2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk

2 tbsp cornstarch (cornflour)

1 tbsp plain flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger powder

small pinch of ground cloves, allspice and salt

Method

To make crust. In a medium bowl, blend butter with graham crumbs. Press the mixture into the base of baking tin to create an even layer. Chill for 10 minutes in the fridge, then bake in preheated 160C oven for 5-7 minutes. Take the tin out and let it cool for 10 minutes.
To make filling. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with sugar until smooth consistency. Add pumpkin and combine. Break one at a time, add egg yolk, mix to combine. Add double cream, cornstarch, flour and all spices. Beat until well combined. Pour the filling into crust, spread evenly and bake in preheated 180C oven for 45-50 minutes.
Take the tin out of the oven, let it cool at room temperature. Cover the baking tin and refrigerate overnight.
Remove cheesecake from the tin and slide onto a plate, slice and serve.

Enjoy!

[Click the photos for a closer look]

Pokhlyobka – The Old Russian Pottage

Pokhlyobka is a kind of thick Russian soup made by adding flour, grains, potatoes or other vegetables. It is similar to the Britain Pottage.

Long time ago, it was a main meal among poor strata of Russian society. Most of the time, villagers and peasant farmers cooked and ate vegetarian pottage, because such expensive ingredients like meat or fish were not affordable for them. It’s worth mentioning that meat was eaten once or twice a year; more luckily were farmers, who had lived near rivers and could caught a fish throughout the year. The dish was easy to prepare, and people could use the remains of the yesterday meal – chunks of boiled potatoes or cabbage, then add extra millet or buckwheat. The rich part also ate pokhlyobka, but it was significantly better and besides potatoes, contained the meat of duck, hazel-hens, and etc.

My recipe of Russian pottage is also without meat.. Definitely, a good piece of fatty pork or beef could makes the pokhlyobka especially rich, so if you’re not a vegetarian you may add it. But I suggest you to try the non-meat option, which is infused with aromatic spices, and delicious pumpkin and thick sour cream make the soup absolutely irresistible!

‘Acoulina cooked absolutely delicious koulebyaks, various pokhlyobki..kvas..soaked apples..’ from the Russian novel ‘Whites, blacks and grays’ by Ivan Lazhechnikov written in 1856.

‘The dinner was absolutely delicious that day: pokhlyobka made from goose meat with wild onions, venison shashlik and slices of bear meat..’ from the Russian novel ‘Plutonia’ by Vladimir Obruchev written in 1915.

Pokhlyobka - The Old Russian Pottage

Servings: 2-3
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

120-130g yellow split peas

3 small potatoes

300g pumpkin or squash

1 medium carrot, sliced

60-70g celery root, cut into small cubes

1 small onion, thinly sliced or finely chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped, optional

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp cumin

2 bay leaves

1.2 l water

1 Tbsp sunflower oil

salt, black pepper to taste

fresh parsley, chopped, for serving

sour cream, for serving, optional

fresh country-style bread, for serving, optional

Preparation

Wash peas, put in a pan, cover with water and soak overnight. Pour out the water. Cover peas with new cold water. Boil on a medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until peas are tender. Skim the foam during the boiling.
Meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat the oil, add spices and fry them for a minute. Add garlic, onion, carrot, celery root and saute vegetables on a medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
Peel and cut into small cubes potatoes and pumpkin.
Add potatoes to the pottage. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 8-10 minutes.
Add pumpkin along with fried vegetables, simmer the pottage for 10 minutes more or until the pumpkin is soft.
Adjust seasoning. If the pottage is too thick, add more hot water and stir through.
Garnish each plate with a dollop of sour cream and chopped parsley. Serve with a slice of bread.

Enjoy the old Russian farmer meal! 🙂

I’m bringing this traditional recipe to all lovely people who’s enjoying the FF party today!

Mrs Pumpkin’s Rolls

Mrs Pumpkin and Mr Squash are in trend this autumn! 🙂 It seems everybody is obsessed with them and cooks lots of dishes. Bright, sweet-smelling and delicious, that is hard to resist and don’t to eat it; moreover pumpkin is a great course of vitamins A, C, B, K, E!

Pumpkin always pairs good with such warming spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla. And it’s amazing how all the cozy autumn spices make cool weather quite easy to enjoy, and bring a sense of comfort on cold days.

Today recipe is for all Mrs Pumpkin’s admires! 😀

These rolls are perfect for weekend breakfast, or simply enjoy it anytime! Cinnamon-scented pumpkin filling, cheese glaze and hazelnuts make rolls crazy delicious!

Pumpkin Rolls with brown sugar and cinnamon

Actually, it was an experiment. I had to use cottage cheese leftovers, and firstly I planned to make cookies; but it seemed bored, besides that I’d made shortbread cookies a day before, thus idea of pumpkin rolls was born!

As you may see, I’m so pleased with the result of my experiment! Perfectly spiced and tender rolls! They can be served with lightly sweeten mascarpone or yogurt instead of cheese glaze. And one more important thing – the dough has no yeast, so the rolls can be easily made in the morning or when you’re short on time and don’t have time to wait for the dough to rise. 🙂

Mrs Pumpkin's Rolls

Servings: 8-10
Difficulty: moderate
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Ingredients

The dough

1 egg, at room temperature

40g brown sugar

120-150g cottage cheese

80g plain flour

110g wholewheat flour*

1/2 tsp/2.5g baking powder

a pinch of salt

1/3 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

20g butter, melted

Pumpkin filling

300g pumpkin

1 medium apple

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

30g mix of dark muscovado and brown sugar/ or only brown sugar (adjust sugar to taste)

20g butter, melted, for brushing the dough

Honey cream cheese glaze

70g Philadelphia cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 Tbsp liquid honey

2-4 Tbsp full fat milk

icing sugar, if needed

hazelnuts, roasted and roughly chopped

Method

For the dough, beat egg with sugar until pale and sugar is dissolved about 4-5 minutes. Add cottage cheese and fold in. Add flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, vanilla and mix in. Stir in butter and mix to combine. The dough should be soft but not sticky. *Add more flour if the dough is too sticky. Cover and keep to rest.
Meanwhile, prepare pumpkin filling. Core and cut in small cubes pumpkin and apple. Heat butter and olive oil in a frying pan, add pumpkin and apple cubes, drizzle with lemon juice; saute on a medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until pumpkin is soft. Add cinnamon and nutmeg, mix and set a side to cool. Blend to get a puree.
Roll the dough out to 37×26 cm rectangle. Brush the dough with melted butter, then sprinkle with brown sugar. Spread evenly the pumpkin mixture on the dough. Cut the dough into 8-10 equal strips, and carefully roll each strip into a ‘barrel’.
Transfer rolls to the baking tray, lined with baking paper and greased. Bake in preheated 180C oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden-brown.
For the glaze, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add honey and milk and beat again. If you want to make the glaze more liquid add more milk and mix. Add icing sugar, if it’s not sweet enough.
Arrange pumpkin rolls on a serving plate, pour the glaze over the warm rolls, and sprinkle with hazelnuts.
Enjoy warm!

Rolls can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days (without glaze). Reheat before serving.