2 pie crusts (you can use store bought or homemade)
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 egg, room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice
pinch of salt
1 egg (for egg wash)
Glaze
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 Tablespoons milk or cream
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
Method
Pop Tart
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside
Roll out half of your pie dough on a well-floured surface. Cut the dough into a roughly 12″ x 8″ rectangle using a sharp knife. Carefully roll the dough back around your rolling pin and roll out onto your prepared baking sheet
In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, egg, brown sugar, pumpkin spice and salt until smooth. Set aside
Whisk a large egg with a little bit of water. Use a pastry brush to brush the outside inch of dough on the baking sheet. Spread the pumpkin filling in the centre of the bottom crust, leaving about a 1 inch border on all sides
Roll out and cut, the second pie crust to the same size as the first one and carefully place the second piece of dough over the first, using your fingers to slightly push dough together around the edges. Use a large fork to make indents along the border of the pop tart, then poke fork lightly in the centre of the pop tart to allow air to escape
Brush the whole top of the pop tart with the remaining egg wash
Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, until the dough is light golden brown. Allow to cool fully while you make the glaze
Glaze
To make the glaze, combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and use a whisk to mix until smooth
Spoon the glaze evenly over the cooled poptart, the spread over the surface of the poptart. Use as much glaze as you like. Cut into 8 equal size pieces
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar, or ½ tsp lemon juice or vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup mascarpone
1/2 cup pecans, chopped and lightly toasted
2 oz dark chocolate, chopped
2 oz white chocolate, chopped
Method
Pumpkin Curd
Add all ingredients except the butte, to the saucepan and whisk to combine
Heat over a medium-low heat until the sugar has dissolved completely and it is slightly bubbling
Continue to heat until the curd thickens slightly. When it’s ready it should coat the back of a spoon. Once you can draw a line on the back of the spoon with your finger without it running back together, it’s ready
Remove from the heat. Add the butter in small chunks, stirring and letting it melt into the curd before adding the next few chunks
Let cool completely and then put in the fridge to chill until you’re ready to use it
Meringue
Preheat your oven to 250°F. Cover a large baking tray with baking parchment and trace a circle, about 9-10 inches in diameter, on to the paper. Turn the paper over so the drawn-on side is facing down but still visible
In a clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer, using whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until frothy, then add the cream of tartar and whip to soft peaks.
Reduce the speed to medium-low and with the whisk continuously running, add in the salt and the sugars a spoonful at a time, until thick and satiny
Spread the meringue inside the drawn circle, creating a nest by making the sides a little higher than the centre. Place in the oven and bake for 3 hours, then switch off the oven but leave the meringue inside until completely cool: this will take about 2 hours.
Once cool, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to assemble
To Assemble
Once your meringue has fully cooled, place the cream and mascarpone in a large bowl and whisk for about 1 minute, until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over-whisk, If the mixture begins to split use a spatula to fold a little more cream into the mix to bring it back together
Carefully spoon the cream/ mascarpone mixture into the centre of the meringue. Add a layer of the pumpkin spice curd on top – as much or as little as you like
Sprinkle over ½ the dark and white chocolate pieces
Add another layer of the whipped cream and finish by sprinkling with the remaining chocolate pieces and the toasted pecan pieces
Serve and enjoy!
Tips:
Add you sugar in SLOWLY. I usually add it a Tablespoon at a time and let the mixture whisk for a couple pf minutes before I add the next. When all your sugar has been added you can check if its ready by dipping the back of a spoon (or your clean finger!) into the meringue mixture. Check by rubbing it. If it feels grainy- you need to whisk for about 2-3 more minutes. If it feels smooth – you’re good to go!
I know it sounds a long time but cooking (and cooling) your meringue as per the recipe ensures you’ll have the crispiest shell, with a chewy inside, and minimal cracks. But don’t panic! If you’re meringue does crack, or break, you can piece it back together and under the filling no on will know! Pavlovas are best when they look rustic anyway.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray/brush donut pan with non-stick spray. Set aside
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together in a large bowl until combined. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, milk, liquid smoke, and vanilla extract together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then fold everything together gently just until combined and no white streaks of flour remain
Using a piping bag, pipe the batter into the donut pans, filling about halfway
Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the edges and tops are lightly browned. Cool donuts in the pan for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Re-grease the pan and bake the remaining donut batter
Leave to cool fully before glazing
Glazes
In a small saucepan, combine the milk glaze ingredients
Cook over low-medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the glaze is warm, the sugar has melted and, after a brief pause, starts to form a crust on top. Remove from heat
Dip one side of each doughnut into the glaze, gently shaking it to allow any excess glaze to drip off. Be sure to stir the glaze between each doughnut to prevent a crust forming in the pan. If the glaze in the pan sets too quickly, simply heat over a gentle heat, stirring till it is smooth again
Set donuts on a cooling rack for the glaze to set
Once all the doughnuts are glazed, add the coffee glaze ingredients to the remaining glaze. Stir the glaze until all the espresso powder has dissolved. Add a drop of brown food coloring, if using and stir to a uniform color
Pour the espresso glaze into a piping bag, and drizzle over the doughnuts (preferably with a piece of parchment paper under them)
Sprinkle a pinch of pumpkin spice mix, if using, over each donut to finish and set aside to fully set
And here we go again. After the summer that wasn’t it’s time to seek solace in all things autumnal. Shades of ochre and ember signaling days dwindling in trade for shaking out cozy TV blankets; warming comfort foods and pumpkin. All things pumpkin! As much as we deride it Pumpkin, or more to the point Pumpkin Spice, has a unique and habitual place in our hearts.
Yes- we role our eyes with derision at the comically esoteric figure of “Becky” swaddled in her fall knitwear, demanding her PSL but we’ll all still be in the coffeeshop line-up with her- upsizing our regular morning caffeine to the mythical spice-laden liquid crack of meme heaven. Aside from the trees, foodie feeds all over social media turn fall shades of red and orange, taken over by recipes and plates of pumpkin inspired/ derived foods and bakes. How do we love pumpkin? Let me count the ways.
You may be thinking I’m lining up for an utterly dismissive and scathing post on pumpkin affairs, but let me say no. I’ve become as much a fan of warmly spice fall bakes as Becky (albeit with less of a penchant for chunky knit cardigans). So here we are at this recipe- my love for the Canuck stalwart that is the Nanaimo Bar embracing the gentle spiced earthiness of pumpkin. The first attempt at this recipe had me overshooting the mark on the addition of the pumpkin puree. The filing layer wasn’t so much the familiar creamy spreadable mixture as it was pourable, in fact pretty much bordering on soup. So- it was back to the recipe board with that one! After some tweaking a more workable result was achieved- creamy, orange-tinted and subtly spiced.
Keep these bars in the fridge to avoid them becoming too soft and undesirably squishy. I personally think the creamy pumpkin layer tastes so much better when chilled too. But that’s just my personal preference and I guess the only way for you to find out is for you to make them yourself- so what are you waiting for?
Makes 18 bars
Ingredients
Base layer
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup cocoa powder, natural
1/4 cup fine sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp ground ginger
Middle layer
1 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
3 Tbsp pumpkin purée
2 Tbsp custard powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Top layer
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, broken/ chopped into pieces
1 Tbsp corn syrup
2 Tbsp butter
Method
To prepare the base layer
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper
In small saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, cocoa and sugar, stirring occasionally until butter has melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool
Stir in egg, graham cracker crumbs, ground ginger and coconut
Transfer to your prepared pan. Press firmly and level as much as possible
Bake for 10 mins, then remove and leave to cool completely
To prepare the middle layer
In bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together icing sugar, butter, pumpkin, custard powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, vanilla and salt. Spread the mixture evenly over bottom layer; smooth and chill for at least an hour
To prepare the top layer and finish
In a bowl set over barely simmering water, melt chocolate, corn syrup and butter together, stirring occasionally, until smooth and shiny. Pour over the pumpkin layer and smooth
Chill in the refrigerator overnight, or 2 hours minimum. Cut into bars (6 x 3). Keep the cut bars in a covered container either in the refrigerator (3 days) or frozen (3 months)
*To cut the bars, run a sharp knife under hot running water until the blade is hot. Quickly, and carefully, slice down through the bar layers into the number required- here is use 5 x 2 cuts to give 18 bars.
Crumbs In My Beard 