Pride O' Pumpkin Cake: Add Chocolate Chips! Retro Ad with Recipe

Here's an easy recipe for a Pride O'Pumpkin Cake to "spice up your autumn." This Ad appeared in 1953. I just love Vintage Recipes! The original recipe did not include chocolate chips, but I add them! After all, I'm always dying for chocolate. Another note: Use pure canned pumpkin, not pumpkin spiced puree. You're adding your own spices. Make sure they are fresh. Happy Fall.

 

1953 Ad 

Ingredients

2-1/4 cups sifted cake flour 

3 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon soda 

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon ginger 

1/2 teaspoon allspice 

1/2 cup butter or other shortening 

1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1 egg and 2 egg yolks, unbeaten 

3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk 

3/4 cup canned pumpkin  (unspiced)

1/2 cup finely-chopped walnuts 

1/2 cup chocolate chips (or more if you like it that way!) 

Directions

Measure sifted flour, add baking powder, salt, soda, spices. 

Sift together three times. 

Cream butter, add sugars gradually and cream well. 

Add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating until light. 

Add flour alternately with buttermilk in small amounts, beating after each addition until smooth. 

Add pumpkin and nuts. 

Mix well. 

Bake in 2 round 8-inch layer pans, line on bottom with paper, in moderate oven (350 F) for 30 to 35 minutes, or until done. 

Cool.

Frost with fluffy frosting, tinted orange (or not) or a nice fluffy pumpkin frosting

Apple Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake: Fall Equinox

Happy Fall Equinox! I love Autumn with its infinite variety of apples.  Here's a great way to make the most of the apple harvest. This fabulous Chocolate Chip Apple Bundt Cake (recipe originally from Sunset Magazine) is a great way to celebrate the Fall Equinox. I use tart apples in this recipe because I like the combination of tart and sweet. Try different apple varieties. You can use your favorite dark chocolate, chopped, instead of chocolate chips.
Apple Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Ingredients 
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups apples - peeled, cored and diced
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks)

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease and flour one 9 or 10 inch Bundt Pan.
In large bowl, cream butter with sugar. Beat in eggs. Add water and vanilla.
Stir flour, cocoa, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg together. Beat this mixture into creamed mixture.
Fold in chopped apples and semisweet chocolate chips (or chocolate chocolate chunks).
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cake tests done when toothpick is inserted near center. Do not overbake. Start checking at one hour.
Transfer to a rack to cool.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PECAN COOKIES: Go nuts on Pecan Cookie Day!

Pecans and chocolate are a marriage made in heaven! I've posted recipes for Chocolate Pecan Sandies, definitely a pecan cookie, but this recipe for Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies is one of my favorites and the perfect way to celebrate National Pecan Cookie Day!

This recipe is adapted from Woman's Day, April 1, 2006. As always, I suggest you use the very best ingredients. I use chopped pecan toffee in the recipe, and I use 15 ounces of 70% chocolate in place of the original 2 10-oz milk chocolate bars. I also use DARK cocoa. And, FYI, there are over 1000 varieties of pecans. Whichever you choose, you'll go nuts for this recipe!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PECAN COOKIES

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2⁄3 cup packed light brown sugar
2⁄3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3⁄4 tsp baking soda
3⁄4 tsp salt
2 1⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
2⁄3 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
10 oz chopped pecan toffee 
1-1⁄2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
15-oz dark chocolate (70% cacao), chopped coarsely (or dark chocolate chips)

Coarse Kosher salt (optional)

Directions
Heat oven to 375°F. Have baking sheets ready.
Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla in large bowl with mixer on medium speed 1 to 2 minutes until fluffy. Beat in eggs, baking soda, and salt until combined. Add flour and beat on low speed until blended.
Stir in cocoa powder, chopped toffee, pecans, and chocolate.
Drop rounded tablespoons dough about 1 1⁄2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Optional: sprinkle lightly with coarse Kosher salt.
Bake 8 to 9 minutes until edges are golden brown.
Cool on sheet 1 to 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Noodle Kugel: Breaking the Fast

The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, starts tonight. This is a fasting holiday. The day, and the fast, is over at Sundown tomorrow night. This is a great dessert to make in advance for the Breaking the Fast at the end of the day.  Note: If you're taking this to a kosher household for the Break Fast, check with your host if they are having a dairy meal. I love this Chocolate Chip Noodle Kugel (aka Noodle Pudding). FYI: It's great any time!

A bit of  history about Kugel. Kugel is a traditional Ashkenazic Jewish dessert or side dish. Kugel is Yiddish for ball, but it is sometimes translated as pudding or casserole, and related to the German Gugelhupf. The first Kugel were plain -- made from bread and flour, and salty rather than sweet. About 800 years ago, the flavor and popularity changed when cooks in Germany replaced bread mixtures with noodles or farfel. Eventually eggs were incorporated. The addition of cottage cheese and milk created a custard-like consistency which is common for today's dishes. In the 17th century, sugar was introduced, which gave the option of serving kugel as a side dish or dessert. In Poland, Jewish women sprinkled raisins and cinnamon into recipes. Hungarians took the dessert concept further with a hefty helping of sugar and sour cream.

Today many people add corn flakes, graham cracker crumbs, ground gingersnaps, or caramelized sugar on top. Some people layer the dish with sliced pineapples or apricot jam, but since this is a chocolate blog, here's a recipe that includes chocolate chips! Enjoy this for the Break Fast or any time!

Chocolate Chip Noodle Kugel

Ingredients:
12 oz pkg medium wide egg noodles, boiled & drained (I use Manischewitz)
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
8 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 pint (16 oz) cottage cheese (large curd)
2 cups sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Butter sides and bottom of 9 x 13 Pyrex or another Pan.
Beat together eggs and sugar. Add cottage cheese, sour cream, melted butter, and vanilla, and mix with wooden spoon.
Fold in cooked noodles and chocolate chips.
Pour mixture into buttered pan.
Bake at 350°F for 40-60 minutes until just set.