pumpkin cake

Today we're talking about cake.  Pumpkin cake to be precise.  There's salted caramel involved as well (because duh...you should know by now that I'm obsessed with it).

I made this cake for my birthday way back in October!  Yes, I know that was more than a month ago, but my life is just calming down after our crazy Fall season on the farm, and I'm very slowly catching up on all of the Fall themed things I shot but didn't have time to blog.

Also....Yes, those are leaves on my cake. #noregrets

Anyhow.....I knew that I wanted a pumpkin cake, and I had dreams of a brown butter swiss meringue icing situation with salted caramel drips. Alas, it was not meant to be, as my icing majorly failed, and I had to improvise with whipped cream instead.  Of course this happened with half an hour of daylight left, and family arriving for my birthday dinner.  Talk about STRESS!!

Nonetheless, it was mighty delicious, but very messy, as whipped cream isn't the best for layer cakes.  Cutting the cake was a bit of an adventure, as the messy, imperfect photos below can attest to.  And maybe there was a birthday-life-lesson in there somewhere, since life doesn't always turn out the way you imagined.  It's often messy and imperfect, but when in doubt, caramel drizzle makes everything better.

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Pumpkin Cake

yields: approx. three 6-inch cake layers

ingredients:

1 1/3 cup butter (browned)

3 1/3 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

4 eggs

15 oz pureed pumpkin (about 2 cups)

2  2/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

directions:

1)  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

2)  First you'll want to brown your butter, and allow it to cool slightly.  Using a stainless steel saucepan or frying pan is great since you'll be able to see when the butter starts to darken.  Place your butter in a large pan over medium heat.  Swirl the pan to help your butter melt and cook evenly.  It will take a few minutes, but your butter should start to foam a little bit on top, and then will start to darken.  Keep swirling, and once it reaches a dark tan colour then remove from heat and set aside to cool.  It will smell a bit nutty and taste extra delicious!  (You can always skip this step if you're short on time, and just melt your butter instead).

3)  In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice.  Mix well, and then set aside.

4)  In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy.

5)  Add your browned butter, pumpkin, milk and vanilla, and mix well.

6)  Gradually add your dry ingredients to the wet ones, and mix until just combined.

7)  Distribute batter between your greased cake pans.  (If you don't have 3 pans, you can bake  1 or 2, and then remove your cake from the pan(s) once the cake has cooled a bit, wash the pan, re-grease it, and bake the next one.  The cake will likely rise a bit differently since the batter has sat for a while!  I bit the bullet and purchased 3, and it makes life so much easier!)

8)  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Frost your cake with your desired icing - I recommend using Amy's Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Frosting (recipe here).  Or you can use whipped cream for a messy look like me!  I added homemade salted caramel between each layer, as well as on top of each piece as well.  Have fun with it!

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Happy Cake Baking!

-Kelsey

pumpkin spice loaf (in a pumpkin pan!)

Oh hey there!  I am so excited to talk about this pumpkin loaf/cake situation today!  Seriously...so excited!  I love pumpkin so much, and ever since creating a pumpkin cupcake recipe last year I've been obsessed with pumpkin cake.

Now, these last few weeks have been CRAZY on our farm.  Our apple trees are nearly picked clean, and pumpkins are flying out of the fields!  It's a hectic, exhausting, wonderful time of year.  We get to see the reward of our hard work from Spring and Summer, and it makes our family so happy to see so many people come out and experience the farm.  Sharing in our bounty is one of the best things about being a farmer.

That being said....I'm not gonna lie, but I'm VERY VERY excited for November 1st to come along, because that means we get to rest!  Hurray!  The season has been long, and our bodies are ready for a break.  And obviously that means we need to eat more cake.  Right?  Right.

Also, let's talk about this loaf pan for a minute.  It's shaped like pumpkins.  I die.

I know that shaped loaf pans like this aren't the most practical, but I NEEDED this one...because, hey, I'm a pumpkin farmer!  My friend Amy (from Constellation Inspiration) called me on the phone to tell me about a Williams Sonoma sale where this puppy was 75% off!  (CALLED people...not just texted!  That's true friendship right there. hahaha).

So, here we are.  I have a pumpkin loaf pan, and I regret nothing.

*Note: this recipe works just fine in a normal loaf pan! ;)

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Pumpkin Spice Loaf 

recipe: Kelsey Siemens
yields: one 9x5 loaf

directions:

1)  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2)  First you'll want to brown your butter, and allow it to cool slightly.  Using a stainless steel saucepan or frying pan is great since you'll be able to see when the butter starts to darken.  Place your butter in a large pan over medium heat.  Swirl the pan to help your butter melt and cook evenly.  It will take a few minutes, but your butter should start to foam a little bit on top, and then will start to darken.  Keep swirling, and once it reaches a dark tan colour, remove from heat and set aside to cool.  It will smell a bit nutty and taste extra delicious!  (You can always skip this step if you're short on time, and just melt your butter instead).

3)  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice.  Mix well, and then set aside.

4)  In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy.

5)  Add your browned butter, pumpkin, milk and vanilla, and mix well.

6)  Gradually add your dry ingredients to the wet ones, and mix until just combined.

7)  Lightly grease your loaf pan, and fill 3/4 full.

8)  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

9)  Allow loaf to cool, then remove from pan, and carefully level the "top" of the loaf which will become the bottom.  Flip the loaf over so that the pumpkins are on the top, and serve!  You may choose to dust with icing sugar right before serving.

ingredients:

2/3 cup butter (browned)

1  2/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

2 eggs

7.5 oz pureed pumpkin (about 1 cup)

1  1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

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Happy Fall Baking!

-Kelsey

P.S. Since a few people have been asking, here's the link to a similar pan!  The exact one isn't available any longer.  =)

orchard adventures with amy & victor (there's pie, galettes, and cake...oh my!)

Ahhhh....I am SO SO EXCITED to share this shoot with you all!  ALSO....please mentally prepare yourself for sooooo many photos!!

Amy (of Constellation Inspiration) and Victor and I got together again for an epic adventure, this time in my hometown of Abbotsford!  First stop was Oldhand Coffee, where Amy and I ordered hot drinks even though it was a million degrees outside (but they're so much prettier than cold drinks...hahaha), as well as a plethora of baked goods.  Such a good start to our afternoon!

From there, we headed to the farm, where Amy and I proceeded to whip up the browned butter Swiss Meringue buttercream, and Victor helped my dad figure out how to fly his new drone.....HA!  Once we had the cake iced, we packed all of our props and food up, and headed out to the orchard on two of our mini farm vehicles.  (They are a bit like golf carts, except covered in dirt.  Haha.)  It was quite the sight to see!

We set up this beautiful table that I got from a local shop (The Market by Spruce Collective) in the middle of the orchard, nestled between a row of apples and plums.  The sun was low in the West, and we had pretty dreamy light to work in as it set.  Amy had the Lumineers playing to set the mood, and the whole evening was pure perfection.

So, I baked two pies and two galettes for the table!  One was a classic apple pie (recipe here), and the other pie was strawberry rhubarb (recipe here).   Amy baked a heavenly apple cake with brown butter swiss meringue buttercream icing, and you can pop over to her blog to find the recipe and read her version of the day!

Victor is amazing, and put up with our shenanigans throughout the night.  Apparently Amy and I can't keep a straight face around each other.  Haha.  I seriously love shooting with these two....so much more fun than by myself!  Although I must say that I just feel like a big derp next to stunningly photogenic being that is Amy.  Seriously, that girl knows how to work the camera! <3

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Photography: Victor Yuen | Table: The Market by Spruce Collective | Kelsey's Dress: Spruce Collective |
Amy's Dress: Old Navy | Location: Willow View Farms

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We're already dreaming up a winter shoot...so stay tuned!

-Kelsey (& Amy & Victor)

p.s. apparently a "feeding amy photo" has become a thing at the end of our photo shoots......I'm not mad about it ;)

mint ruffle chocolate cake topped with cherry blossoms

YOU GUYS!  I finally had the courage to try a ruffle cake, and guess what?  It was actually super easy, and so fast!  Seriously, I think it was way faster icing it this way compared to what I usually do.  Crazy!

Also, our cherry trees are blossoming, and it's pretty much heaven.  I really wish the blossoms would last all Summer!  They are just so bright and happy.  Oh well, I'll enjoy them while they're here!  And that means putting them on a cake.  Heck yes!

So for this cake I kept it nice and simple with my go-to chocolate cake recipe, and then used Linda Lomelino's Swiss Meringue Icing recipe for the icing.  I love the SM icing since it's fluffy, but sturdy, and it's not so sugary sweet like buttercream!  

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Chocolate Cake

(adapted from Our Treasured Recipes by Central Heights MB Church)

directions:

1) Mix together all dry ingredients; then pour all wet ingredients over top and mix until moist.

2) Pour batter into three 6-inch round cake pans.

3) Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes for [or until a toothpick comes out clean].

Ingredients:

3 cups Flour

2 cups Sugar

2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

2/3 cup Cocoa

1 TBSP Vanilla

2 TBSP Vinegar

3/4 cup Margarine (melted)

2 cups Warm Water

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Swiss Meringue Icing

recipe by: Linda Lomelino

ingredients

whites from 8 large eggs

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1 3/4 cups unsalted butter

4 tsp vanilla sugar

directions:

1)  Place your egg whites and sugar into a heat proof (stainless steel or glass) bowl, and put the bowl over a sauce pan on the stove with simmering water.  (The water shouldn't be touching the bowl).

2)  Whisk the eggs and sugar constantly until the sugar has melted, or the mixture has reached 140-150 degrees F (or 65 degrees C).

3)  Remove from heat, and beat on high until your mixture is cool, white and fluffy.  This may take 5-10 minutes, so just keep mixing!

4)  Once the mixture is cool, start adding butter, very gradually.  The mixture may look curdled, or soupy, but just keep mixing!  You may need to mix it for 10-15 minutes to help the egg whites and butter come together nicely.  *Linda also says that you may need to refrigerate it for a few minutes if it's too soft, or place it back over the heat if it's too stiff.  It's a tricky one, but it's worth it!  I always find mine gets too soft and I have to cool it for a bit before it works.

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Cake Assembly:

First, use a large serrated knife to level the tops of your cakes.  Place the first layer onto your cake plate, spread icing onto the layer as even as you can (and as thick or thin as you'd like).  Add the next layer, spread icing onto it, and finally add the top layer of cake.  Spread icing over the entire cake in a thin layer.  Allow to chill in the fridge for a bit if it feels unstable at all before you start icing the ruffles.

Use a large piping bag with a petal icing tip (mine was a #103).  I like to place my piping bag into a very large cup to make filling it with icing nice and easy.  Fill the icing bag, and twist the end securely so that you have a good grip on it.  (Sometimes I'll clip mine shut with a bag clip to make twisting it down even easier as my icing is used up.)

With the fat part of the icing tip closest to the cake, you'll want to hold your piping bag almost straight up and down, parallel to the side of the cake.  Slowly start squeezing out the icing, and start to make a back and forth motion of consistent lengths.  This is hard to explain, and I found this youtube tutorial very helpful to watch!  You want to keep your icing bag a bit higher than where the next ruffle edge should sit, so that it gently folds down as you continue moving up.  You'll get the hang of it once you start piping.

Make sure that when you get to the top, you do a ruffle right up to the edge and over the top.  Repeat your ruffles all the way around the cake.   I chose to just smooth out the top of my cake and top it with cherry blossoms, but feel free to finish it however you'd like!

Serve and enjoy!

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Happy Cake Baking friends!

-Kelsey

hand-dipped animal crackers and a carnival cake

Oh hey there!

Guess who I saw again?!  AMY!!!  Seriously, if we lived a bit closer together I'm pretty sure we'd be baking together every single week.  (In case you missed it....here is the epic cake we created last time we were together!)

So I drove out to Van a couple weekends ago, bringing homemade corn chowder, fresh biscuits, butter, hand-dipped animal crackers, caramel popcorn, and a whole lot of food props.  Ha!  

Amy and I had decided on a carnival themed spread, and while we started the night out strong....it ended in a bit of chaos.  Underbaked cake, running out of eggs, a failed attempt at white chocolate drips, giggle fits (while trying not to cry), and an unfortunate use of a cone on top of the cake as a decoration.  Oh man!  We ended up baking more cake, scraping off our "candle wax" drips, and decided caramel corn was more suitable for a cake topping.  It was a bit stressful!  But hilarious now that we think back on it.  

Honestly, I think it was the thought of getting delicious doughnuts the next morning at Lucky's that kept us both going.  We both agreed that we've learned our lesson, and will stick to more "rustic" styles from now on!  Ha!

So, I was in charge of the animal cracker situation....and this is what I came up with!  I had no idea where to find dipped animal crackers, except at Menchie's as a topping for your fro-yo.  Ha!  I thought...why not just make them?  I would have liked to bake my own animal crackers as well, but the small animal cookie cutters that I found online wouldn't ship to me in time.

I ended up buying normal animal crackers and just dipping them in white melting wafers.  I used gel food colouring to dye some of the wafers pink, and was super happy with the results!  

Also, this isn't really a recipe, more of just sharing what I did, and what technique I found gave the best results!

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Hand-dipped Animal Crackers

Directions:

I first sorted through all of the animal crackers, removing (ahem...eating) all of the broken ones, and then kept the best ones for dipping.  A few of the animals looked super odd and just like blobs once dipped (I'm looking at you Mr. Crocodile!), so I sorted a few animals out as well.  I found that anything with distinct legs or shapes (like the bears, zebras, and camels) worked the best!

Lay out parchment paper, set out the sprinkles, and melt down white melting wafers.  *If you're colouring the wafers, now is the time.  I used my normal gel food colouring and had no problems!

Grab an animal cracker, and gently place it face down into the melting wafers, and press down until the sides are all covered, but leave the back undipped (this is personal preference, but it made way less mess and the animal shapes were more defined. 

Gently pick it back up, and shake of the excess chocolate.  Place onto the parchment, and cover with sprinkles.  Before the chocolate sets, carefully use a toothpick to move the cracker a few inches away.  This will help the legs become more defined, and keep any weird pools or drips from forming.  (This will become more evident once you try it!)

Repeat those steps for as many crackers as you'd like!  You may need to re-melt the wafers as needed. Let the crackers completely set, and then store in an air-tight container until ready to eat.

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Now here are a few sneak peeks of what the final spread looked like!  And pop over to Amy's blog, Constellation Inspiration, to get the funfetti cake recipe, and see even more photos!  I can't wait for our next baking date!  

#bakewith amy #andkelsey

And HUGE thanks again to Victor for putting up with our nonsense, and completing our squad.  All photos of the final spread are by him!

-Kelsey