Monsterous Birthday Cake

It's my friend Lynn's birthday this week and since she is in the middle of moving hoose I thought I could have her over for tea, away from all the boxes and moving paraphernalia. And of course you can't have a birthday tea without cake... My train of thought went cake ... Halloween ... Monsters ... Red velvet ... Cookie Monster.

 

I have made mini cookie monsters in the past but this is the first large one I have tried or red velvet cake so a little concerned about how it will turn out.

 

I found the red velvet recipe from Pinterest ... It is a strange recipe as I have never put buttermilk and vinegar in the same recipe before. But they seem popular recipes and i liked the challenge.

Cakes turned out good, although next time I'm gonna try more food colouring as these are more pink velvet cakes.

 

The BLUE icing is a cream cheese frosting with lots of blue food colouring

 

The eye was made from fondant and the pupil

is a chocolate button

 

Ii think I can safely say that the cake was a success.. We had very full bellys and a bit if a sugar buzz.

Operation Pumpkin Pie

 

I know pumpkin pie isn't a very Scottish or British desert but I remember my Mam making it for wis at Halloween or Guy Fawkes Night and for a week afterwords having it in my packed lunch ... Sad I know but this is one of my vivid memories of being peerie. Anyhow, I know it isn't exactly Halloween but it is the 23rd and for me that is close enough.

 

I used my Mam's recipe for the filling but used Pinterest to help me with a pastry base (I wanted to try my own rather than shop bought). I found this highly recommended Martha Stewart recipe (first time I'm knowingly used one of hers) and it work ok, it's really short but a little bit of plugging up the holes and it looked fab. As this was the most stressful part I forgot to take photos.

I make my own pumpkin purée mainly because that is what my mam does but you can use canned puree in the filling recipe (below).


Making Pumpkin Puree:

You will need a small to medium sized pumpkin or butternut squash, cut it into chunks and roast in the oven at gas mark 5 for an hour (time may vary due to the size of the chunks). Do not worry about skinning the pumpkin at this stage it is much easier to do this once it has roasted and cooled.

Then add the peeled and cooked chunks of pumpkin to the food processor and pulse until its as smooth as you like it.

For mam's recipe you need a can of the puree so I pour the evapourated milk into a jug and use the empty can to measure out the puree. Any leftovers I have frozen to use again for another pie or ravioli.

Pumpkin Pie Filling:

Whisk 2 eggs with the 'can of puree' then add 6.5 oz of granulated sugar, 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger and 1/4 tsp of ground cloves and stir till combined. Add the evapourated milk and stir again.

At this stage it smells amazing and I struggle not to taste it

Whilst I was doing this my pastry was chilling in the fridge I take it out and prick with a fork and blind bake for 10 minutes at gas mark 7 just cause I have a phobia of soggy bottoms (thanks Mary Berry) I then pour the filling into the pie crust and bake at the same temperature for 15 minutes then reduce to gas mark 4 for 45 minutes (this is rough so please keep an eye on it for the last 10 minutes).

The pie comes out much darker but don't worry its not burnt

 

Your house will smell amazing and you will feel very festive and autumnal when you eat it. Some of my friends think that it is wierd having a sweet 'vegetable' pie but most have been converted once they've tried it.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or warm with vanilla or original ice-cream.

 

Happy baking guys ... if you try this please let me know either on twitter or in the comments box below.

 

Thanks!