Currently baking from The Art & Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet.
This wasn’t the last recipe I had intended on trying. I had a cinnamon banana cream pie recipe earmarked, but then I realized if I didn’t use up the pumpkin I had left from the Pumpkin Walnut Bread recipe, it was going to end up in the trash.
As I read through the recipe, it seemed fairly ordinary, so I wasn’t expecting too much from it. I had everything it called for in my kitchen, so that was a plus. The recipe called for a maple cream cheese frosting, but I was feeling particularly lazy and decided to go with a simple sprinkling of powdered sugar instead.
The batter came together in no time and, surprise, it tasted fantastic! It was smooth and creamy and tasted perfectly of pumpkin. The spices didn’t overwhelm the pumpkin flavor but complimented it nicely. I reluctantly poured the batter into a greased and floured bundt cake pan and put it in the oven. I ended up baking the cake for about 45 minutes; the recipe called for one hour.
Once the cake cooled, it came out of the pan easily, which, for me, isn’t always the case with my bundt cake pan (the knife scars on the bottom of the pan testify to my frustration). It was everything the batter had promised it would be (don’t you hate it when a great tasting batter bakes up into something mediocre?). I didn’t even miss the frosting, although I have a feeling that the frosting would be . . . the icing on the cake. Hah! I can’t wait for an occasion to bake this cake for somebody (hint, hint).
And since I can’t leave well enough alone, I want to try adding some chocolate chips or nuts (almonds!) to the batter next time I make it.
So that’s it for “The Art & Soul of Baking.” My final thoughts on this particular cookbook? Well, there were some hits, but also some misses. I found several recipes I’ll add to my favorites list, like the herbed fougasse and the salted peanut caramel sauce, but overall, I don’t think it was a homerun cookbook. Next up, I’m going healthy! I’ll be cooking out of ”Whole Grains, Every Day Every Way” by Lorna Sass.
Thank you.
Your photography isn’t a work in progress at all! I really enjoy it. Thank you for making the recipes from this book, I’ve been looking for some review. This is a cookbook I’ve thought about baking all the way through as well; there are some really tantalizing recipes. If you make any more, please let me know!
Hmmm…. I might have to get the cookbook off the return-to-the-library table and look up this one. I read thru the recipes that you blogged about and found that I didn’t love ANYONE enough to work that hard. I didn’t even try to make ME the lemon cake. This though, might be a nice treat to take to work. Wonder if the library has the Whole Grains cookbook…
Does valentines day count for an occasion? Or old people’s day, I can make up a few more if need be. How about I think spring is coming? Whatever it takes to get free cake I am all for it. And this one I can almost smell already. This cake and a cold glass of milk please.