Easy Spider Web cake

This tangy sweet orange cake with whipped cream cheese frosting and a spooky spider web on top using dark chocolate ganache is a delicious Halloween treat. It's so simple to make on short time to satisfy both kids and adult's sweet tooth. All you need is very basic cake ingredients. No fancy decoration is needed. 

Halloween Gingerbread House

Halloween is just a few days away. We are done decorating our porch. Halloween Gingerbread House was on my bucket list since couple of years years. I promised to my 4th grader to make Halloween Gingerbread House from scratch this year no matter how hectic my work schedule was. I Just finished assembling this cookie house couple of days back. It doesn't look too spooky but enough Halloweeny! I had used my  Snowflake Cookies recipe and got some Halloween themed candies from supermarket to decorate. I painted the house with coco water for dark color. We made two houses and some cookies but completely finished one house only because we ran out of candies. The house is totally edible but it sits on the kitchen counter top as a decorative piece.

How to make Pumpkin Puree

 

Fall means pumpkin season and this is the time of the year pumpkin pies, pumpkin latte, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancake, pumpkin cookies are served. Sounds so very pumpkiny. So why not make your own pumpkin puree instead of buying canned one. It takes a bit longer time and effort but in the end it is very satisfying to make pumpkin puree from a fresh pumpkin while it is in season.

It is important to choose the right pumpkin for puree. Sugar pumpkin that has darker skin or cheese/fairytale  pumpkin more like butternut squash  are two varieties that good for making pumpkin puree.

Three years back my first pumpkin puree from scratch didn't taste that good. My little one brought a tiny sugar pumpkin from her field trip. It became very pale yellow color and stringy while roasting. This year I have decided to make with fairytale pumpkin for its bright orange color and sweet firm flesh. Our neighborhood Indian grocery store carries whole and small cut pieces fairytale pumpkin. 

I used 4 1/2 lb pumpkin. It can be either roasted or boiled. I like roasting. Wash the pumpkin with cold water. Scrape out the seeds and stringy pulp. Line a swallow heavy duty baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place cut side down and roast  for 40-50 minutes or until fork tender. Roasting time depends on the size of the pumpkin. Let it cool enough to handle. Peel the skin and cut into small pieces.Now drain excess water through a colander or strainer and add to a blender or food processor. Puree it up until pumpkin is smooth and creamy. If the puree is still too watery strain it through a cheese cloth-lined strainer for couple of hours. Makes two 8oz cups rich thick puree. Total time is 1 hour and 25 minutes from start to finish.

Now puree is ready to be  used in sweet and savory dishes. Store leftover puree in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days or freeze it up to 2-3 months in the freezer safe individual containers. Don't forget to date and label. For the best result I will always recommend deep orange fleshed pumpkin/butternut squash. There are great recipes with pumpkin puree beyond pumpkin pie and I will post some recipes with this puree shortly.

Happy Cooking!