Our fall cooking program is back again with our All-Star Chefs sharing some of their favorite seasonal recipes. This year’s program kicks off with the one ingredient that people can’t get enough of this time of year – Pumpkin. BlueStar chefs Alex Raij and Brigette Prather bring you two delicious recipes that feature this must have ingredient.
“Coffee cake is my way of eating dessert for breakfast,” says Chef Prather who brings us this recipe for Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Buttery Pecan Streusel. This cake is ideal for fall mornings because it’s moist, not overly sweet and is perfect to nibble with a cup of coffee or tea. Turn out large batches of your fall baked goods with the extra-large oven capacity of a BlueStar oven like Chef Prather has in her kitchen.
Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Buttery Pecan Streusel from Chef Brigitte Prather
Cake Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup Vegetable oil
- 2 Eggs
- ¾ cup Sugar
- 2 tbsp Sorghum, molasses or maple syrup
- 1 cup Pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
- 1 ½ cups Flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
Streusel Ingredients:
- 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- ½ cup Pecans, chopped
- 1 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup Flour
- Pinch salt
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 1 tbsp sorghum, molasses or maple syrup
- 1 tsp Vanilla
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a medium bowl or large glass measuring cup, whisk the oil with the eggs, sugar, syrup, and pumpkin puree. In another bowl, combine the pumpkin pie spice, flour, salt and baking powder. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry to form a thick batter.
- To make the streusel, melt the butter in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the pecans and toast until fragrant and crisp, about 4 – 7 minutes. Combine the pumpkin spice, flour, salt, sugar, sorghum, and vanilla in a small bowl and add the toasted pecans and butter. Stir to form a crumb topping.
- Spread half of the cake batter into a greased 8×8 baking pan. Sprinkle with about one third of the streusel crumbs, then follow with the remaining batter and the rest of the streusel. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 30 – 35 minutes.
Our next recipe comes to us from acclaimed Chef Alex Raij, owner of the Spanish restaurants Txikito, El Quinto Pino, La Vara, and Tekoa in New York City. Her Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake a la Plancha is one of the must-have recipes at her restaurant Txikito and now you can enjoy it in your own home. “The pumpkin spice makes the house smell nice and the cake is great for breakfast on warm or cold days,” says Raij. The unique combination of flavors along with browning it on a griddle like the one offered by BlueStar creates a hyper-tasty edge you’ll enjoy all season long. Complete this simple but composed dessert by finishing it with ice cream or soft cream and poached fruit on the side.
Txikito’s Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake a la Plancha from Chef Alex Raij
Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups Sugar
- 1 cup Arbequina extra virgin olive oil, or your favorite extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Eggs
- 3 cups All-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons Pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 can (15 ounces) Solid-pack pumpkin
Directions:
- Using the convection: Pre-heat oven to 325°. In a large bowl, combine sugar and olive oil until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin spice in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to egg mixture alternately with pumpkin, beating well after each addition.
- Transfer to a greased 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan (a couple smaller loaf pans could work too). Bake 60 – 65 minutes (less if making loaves) or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. Remove pan and cool completely.
- To serve: Slice the cake into 12 – 16 slices. Pre-heat your BlueStar griddle to medium low heat. Brush the griddle and cake with more olive oil. Brown for about 45 seconds per side (cut-side down) until it releases. Plate and serve with ice cream or winter fruits.
Chef tip: “We love it with vanilla and poached pears, rum raisin and roasted Italian prunes or seared pineapple or simply whipped cream and chocolate sorbet.”
Fall is the time of year when we all start spending more time in the kitchen and why not do it with the incomparable cooking power of BlueStar. The pro-style open burner design and extra-large oven capacity help you produce restaurant-quality results in your own kitchen. Start building your own BlueStar now on our interactive Build Your Own tool now.