Chef Lauren Chattman demos how to make a simple Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Pound Cake:
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Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Pound Cake
From: "Cake Keeper Cakes" by Lauren Chattman
Makes: 8 servings
INGREDIENTS
• 1 3⁄4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves
• pinch nutmeg
• 1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1⁄4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin purée
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1⁄3 cup milk
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat the inside of a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust it with flour.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, cloves and nutmeg in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary.
4. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the pumpkin purée and vanilla. Stir in the milk.
5.Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, 1⁄2 cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake the cake until it is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 minutes to 1 hour. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, invert it onto a wire rack, and then turn it right side up on a rack to cool completely.
TIPS
Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper at room temperature for up to three days or in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic, for up to one week.
How to use Halloween candy to decorate your table. Yeah, like that's going to last very long in my house! :) This year's best-selling Halloween candy is still candy corn - and sour watermelon rinds. I really like what she did with the various new flavors of candy corn for a floral decoration. Her ideas are fast and easy too!
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Pumpkin Carving Tips and Demos - this is too funny - they now have power tools to gut that pumpkin called, creatively enough, The Pumpkin Gutter:
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Creative costume ideas - I still like it best when a 10-year-old girl came to my door on Halloween. I didn't recognize what she was supposed to be since she had all these weird magazines hanging off of her clothes and her wide-brimmed crunched hat was askew, so I asked. Her answer was hilarious. She said, "I'm an attacking tourist!" For families searching for inexpensive non-scary costumes for the whole family these selections are both creative and pretty tame, some amusing.
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Creative costumes for your pets! From the DIY guys comes inexpensive funny costumes for your dog like going as a piece of tuna sushi, a Hershey's kiss or a skunk, a unicorn, a camel or the Best of Show: an X-Ray machine...
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*** Thanks for visiting, everyone, and come back often for a good grin along with a yummy chocolate recipe!
