October-Cake

 One inspired evening (after a bottle of wine or so) Jordan and I devised the name for a dessert named Octobercake!

After coming up with the name, we then proceeded to develop the ingredient list:

(Note: Jordan wrote. My spelling is minimally better.)

The next morning I woke up with the urge to create said Octobercake, which required coming up with a slightly more defined recipe.

So the plan became that we would make an oatmeal/ gingersnap cookie crust, with a layer of pumpkin pie and a layer of pumpkin cake and then possibly top it with some sort of frosting.

I would like to pre-cursor that this is NOT a healthy recipe. I tried to make some healthy substitutions, and in theory since pumpkin is a vegetable, you are getting in a veggie, but nonetheless this is definitely a “sometimes” food :P

We began with a gingersnap cookie crust:

To make the gingersnap cookies I used:

·      1 stick butter, unsalted

·      1/2 cup white sugar

·      1/3 cup brown sugar

·      1 egg (or ¼ cup egg substitute)

·      ¼ cup molassess

·      2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

o   (all purpose flour is fine too—I keep the whole wheat on my counter so it is the easier option for me)

·      ½ teaspoon baking powder

·      1/2 tablespoon ground ginger

·      1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·      1/8 teaspoon salt

1.     Pre-heat oven to 325*

2.     In a medium to large bowl: Cream together slightly softened butter and sugars.

3.     Add egg and molasses and mix.

4.     In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, spices and salt.

5.     Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix.

6.     Roll dough into balls and place on a greased or lined cookie sheet.

7.     Bake in pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes.

Since I made the cookies with the intention of smashing them up to make pie crust, I just made a few large cookies. Feel free to make them whatever size you want.

Pie Crust:

·      1.5 cups smashed gingersnap cookies.

·      ½ cup plain, dry oatmeal

·      4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

·      1 teaspoon cinnamon

·      Pie tin

1.     Either using the gingersnap cookies you just made, or store bought ones, crush them up using a food processor or squishing them with a blunt object.

I personally added mine into a food processor, which I discovered did not work, so I proceeded to crush them with the end of my immersion blender – because when I tried to use that as a blender, it turns out the cookie bits just get stuck inside of it.

2.     Add oatmeal, cinnamon and melted butter. Continue the swishing together process until combined.

3.     Once the crumbs are relatively evenly crumby and moist, spread crumbs over the pie tin. (You may wish to spray with a nonstick spray first, I did not do this, and it stuck.) Using your hands (Wash them first!) spread the crumbs out evenly along the bottom and the edges of the tin. Voila!

Alternatively to this step, you could just use a premade graham cracker crust pie, but the gingersnap really does add something!

Then for the pumpkin pie layer:

·      1 large can plain pumpkin, or 2 cups of pureed, baked sugar pumpkin

·      1- 12 oz can unsweetened evaporated fat free milk

·      ½ cup brown sugar

·      ¼ cup white sugar

·      2 eggs (or ½ cup egg substitute)

·      1 tablespoon cinnamon

·      1 teaspoon ginger

·      ½ teaspoon nutmeg

·      ¼ teaspoon cloves

1.     Preheat oven to 425*

2.     In a large bowl mix sugars, spices and eggs.

3.     Add in pumpkin and evaporated milk and mix.

4.     Pour into pie crust you made (or bought). Fill only about half way.

5.     Begin baking in oven for 30 minutes.

6.     Start making your pumpkin cake batter!

Pumpkin Cake layer

·      ¾ cup sugar

·      ½ cup applesauce

·      2 eggs (or ½ cup egg substitute)

·      1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (again, all purpose can be used instead)

·      1 teaspoon baking soda

·      ½ teaspoon baking powder

·      1 teaspoon cinnamon

·      ½ teaspoon ground ginger

·      1 cup pumpkin (OR I justed used ~1 cup of the left over pumpkin pie mix from above!)

1.     Check on your pumpkin pie layer, after about 30-45 minutes the top should look relatively “set”. If the crust starts to burn, cover it with tin foil.

2.     Once the pumpkin pie layer is semi-firm, pour the cake layer on top of it, filling up the pie tin.

3.     Turn oven down to 350*

4.     Bake Octobercake for about 40 minutes at 350*, or until cake layer is cooked through (you can do the toothpick test for this.)

And now you have an October Cake! 

It is particularily good served with either: vanilla ice cream, light whipped topping or a cream cheese frosting.

I tried this cream cheese frosting on it (I honestly prefer just the ice cream on it though. )

·      1 cup light cream cheese

·      1 tablespoon vanilla extract

·      4 tablespoons butter

·      ~2 cups confectioners sugar

1.     add all ingredients into a bowl and blend with mixer (or shear arm power!) You may need more confectioner’s sugar.

2.     Add to cooled cake. 

Life update

Much has occurred since I have actually ‘written’:

As on July 15^th:

I am officially a Registered Dietitian (RD)!

July 31^st:

I am engaged to be married

Mid August:

Got laid off from one of my jobs.

August 30^th:

I have a Masters Degree in nutrition.

September 1^st:

Moved from Cambridge to Gloucester.

So, I am now officially:  Jamie L Doherty, MS RD LDN -- Unfortunately despite all of those cool letters I finally have after my name, I have not had to opportunity to use any of them.  I have been getting rather depressed lately, namely due to the job search.  I have applied to literally hundreds of jobs, had a few interviews, and gotten a lot of rejection and “thanks, but no thanks” emails.

I am thankful to still have my job at MGH as a diet technician, however, since I have spent the last 6 years getting all of those credentials, I would really LOVE to use them.

Yesterday I was temped to write a long whiny post regarding my woes, however, no one wants to read that- even me! So I will chalk it up to:

·      Woe is me

·      Blah blah blah—the economy.

·      Catch 22- no one hired you without experience but you cannot get experience without being hired… but Wait a minute! What about my years of school, internships and diet technician/ nutrition assistant positions?? Those are not experience??

Anyway… that is my story morning glory.  Hoping to see more of you, dearest blogspot page J

For now, I at least have Leo to keep me company on the couch. 

Jamie and Leo- signing out!