kabocha teacake
SUMMERY SUMMARY / GOING FALL IN
oh my gourd, it’s fall y’all! although i have so many recipes queued up to share, it seems like every time i sit down to write a blog post, 2020 takes another hit and i withdraw - feeling a complete loss of words to fully articulate the grief, frustration, hopelessness, exhaustion, anger, and numbness each event has left me with. most recently, all the fires that painted much of the west coast like scenes from bladerunner, followed by the passing of rbg (spent much of the past weekend rewatching the movie and documentary). and as much as it all makes me want to go into hibernation and blast wake me up when september (or 2020) ends, i’m hit with the reality that it’s already almost october and time waits for no one, not even a pandemic. with that in mind, here’s a quick visual recap of sights that have taken my breath away & reminded me to appreciate the priceless gift of fresh air throughout my summer in seattle:
and now i’m ready to fall into pumpkin spice and everything nice like this kabocha teacake recipe. even though seasons are more conceptual in california, fall is my second favorite season (just behind summer of course, because i mean…look at the pictures above) because i love cozying up in a oversized sweater with a pumpkin latte and slice of freshly baked pumpkin bread. i know kabocha teacake sounds fancy, but here’s a little secret: it’s just a pseudonym for pumpkin bread. i substituted kabocha for pumpkin purée because my pumpkin cravings were premature and all the pumpkin things had yet to hit the grocery stores. thank god my mom always has a ginormous kabocha squash lying around (mother knows best). to prepare kabocha purée:
preheat oven to 375°f. do some arm stretches, maybe even a couple quick pushups to warm up your arm muscles.
carefully cut the kabocha in half, then place them face down on a baking sheet lined with foil/parchment paper.
roast in oven for 1 hour or until entire kabocha is tender when you poke it with a fork. scoop out the seeds and cut off the caramelized edges that were touching the pan (i snack on it like a fresh terra chip). scoop out the kabocha flesh and let cool completely in a bowl or container.
once the kabocha chunks have cooled, process them in a food processor or blender. if it’s too dry and chunky, add some hot water to help break it down until it resembles canned pumpkin purée consistency.
ps. the original recipe yields two loaves. i prefer a taller pumpkin bread so i just fill up a loaf pan until it’s 1” from the top and bake the remainder in a muffin pan at 375°f for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
kabocha teacake
recipe adapted from once upon a chef
ingredients:
15 oz kabocha purée
1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups (256 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter,
at room temperature
1½ cups (350 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
8 oz bar of bittersweet chocolate
roughly chopped
for topping, optional
pepitas (pumpkin seeds), roughly chopped
millet
instructions:
in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir kabocha purée, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves with a rubber spatula. once the kabocha is warmed through, remove from heat and let cool completely. while waiting for the kabocha purée to cool, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
place unsalted butter and sugar in a stand mixer with paddle attachment (or large bowl if using hand mixer) and process at medium speed until just combined. add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. continue mixing for a few minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy. add the cooled kabocha purée and blend just a little longer.
add dry mixture from step one to the mixing bowl and stir just until combined. mix in the chocolate chunks
set the oven rack to one level just below the center and preheat the oven to 325°f. while the oven preheats, grease a loaf pan with oil or butter and line with parchment paper. using a rubber spatula, pour the batter into the loaf pan, leaving about 1” of space from the top of the pan (save the remaining batter for a mini pumpkin bread or muffins). top with pepitas and millet.
bake for 65-75 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (except for traces of delicious melty chocolate), rotating the pan 180° after 30 minutes. let cool for at least 10 minutes before carefully removing it from the pan to divide and conquer.
