A few days ago I baked these lovely Pumpkin-Ginger-Cupcakes from “Klitzeklein“. 
They were quite easy to make and the flambéing was fun. The dough is nice, moist and filled with loads of spices. It goes very well with the dark chocolate icing and the fluffy meringue topping – and it taste like a mouthful of pure autumn! 
I can really recommend this recipe! You can find it here. 
By the way, this is my new (hand-crafted) étagère, which I bought at a market in my village. I’ve wanted one for such a long time – and when I saw this one I simply couldn’t resist… 😉 ❤
autumn
Harry Potter’s Pumpkin Cookies
‘Come an’ see what I’ve bin growin’,’ said Hagrid, as Harry and Hermione finished the last of their tea.
In the small vegetable patch behind Hagrid’s house were a dozen of the largest pumpkins Harry had ever seen. Each was the size of a large boulder.
‘Gettin’ on well, aren’t they?’ said Hagrid happily. ‘Fer the Hallowe’en feast … should be big enough by then.’
‘What’ve you been feeding them?’ said Harry.
Hagrid looked over his shoulder to check that they were alone.
‘Well, I’ve bin givin’ them – you know – a bit o’help.’– Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, p. 90.
I love Harry Potter’s magical world! And always when autumn comes I wish more than anything that my Hogwarts letter hadn’t been lost…
As some sort of consolation for all fellow muggle-born witches and wizards whose Hogwarts letter never found its way to them I’ve got here a lovely Harry Potter- inspired recipe: Pumpkin Cookies with a lightning bolt-shaped glaze.
They are easily made and – if you’ve got the pumpkin puree ready – also very quickly. When I bake them I listen to a Harry Potter audiobook or the wonderful soundtrack…and it feels almost as if I were at Hogwarts myself… Believe me, you ought to try it, too!
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Harry Potter’s Pumpkin Cookies
Preparation time: 10 min (if you’ve got some pumpkin puree ready) or 1h 30 min (if you don’t)
Baking time: 15-18 min
Yield: 40-50 cookies
Ingredients:
- 110g butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup muscovado sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree*
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. (freshly) ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp. ground cloves
- 1 ½ sifted powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp. milk
- 1 tbsp. melted butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
* Just buy a pumpkin which is suited for baking (≠ those which are ideal for soup). Wash, cut open, remove the seeds and the skin and chop into small cubes. Cook with a bit of water until the pumpkin starts to “fall apart”. This will take about 30-60 minutes depending on your pumpkin. Now you can create the puree by simply stirring the pumpkin pulp with a (non-electric) whisk. Let it cool down. If you don’t need it all at once you can store the rest in your freezer.
Preparation Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Mix butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and smooth.
- Add pumpkin puree, egg and vanilla extract until the whole mixture is well combined.
- Combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and add gradually to the butter mixture. The dough should be soft but still malleable.
- Form round dough balls about the size of a teaspoon and put them onto prepared baking tins (probably you’ll need about 3 tins until you’re done).
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 15-18 minutes.
- Combine sifted powdered sugar, milk, melted butter and vanilla extract to make the glaze. Fill the glaze into a piping bag with a small nozzle. Pipe a lightning bolt on every cookie (once they’re cooled down).
(recipe after http://www.verybestbaking.com)
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To get a printed version: Download the pdf.
(Both English and German versions available!)
Chai-Latte Cupcakes
Autumn has officially begun – and, while the pumkins in my garden still need a bit of time until I can harvest them, Chai-Latte powder is always at hand!
These cupcakes are cute and small and they have such a lovely flavour. I discovered the recipe about a year ago and today I just felt like baking those tiny cupcakes again. Why don’t you give it a try, too?
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Chai-Latte Cupcakes
Yield: 24 (mini) cupcakes
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
For the muffins:
- Chai-Latte instant powder (as much as for 3 Cups)
- 125g (warm) butter
- 75g muscovado sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 80g ground almonds
- 180g flour
- 5 teaspoons of baking powder
For the topping:
- 2 egg whites
- pinch of salt
- 80g sugar
- confectioners’ sugar
Preparation Instructions:
- Boil 125ml water and pour it over the Chai-Latte powder. Let it cool down.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C.
- Combine butter, sugar and a pinch of salt. Whisk until very creamy for about 4-6 minutes.
- Stir in one egg/egg yolk at a time.
- Add ground almonds. Then, sift flour and baking powder on top. Add the Chai-Latte-mixture. (Don’t whisk too much now!)
- Fill the dough into the prepared muffins tin. Bake the muffins in the middle of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, whisk the egg whites (with a pinch of salt) until almost stiff. Carefully add the sugar while still whisking. Whisk for 3 more minutes until the mixture is glossy and stiff.
- When they’re done, take the muffins out of the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 280°C now.
- Put muffins on a baking tin. Pipe small meringues on top of the muffins. Bake the muffins in the hot oven for 1-3 more minutes (or until the meringue is slightly brown on the edges).
- Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve when cooled down completely.
(recipe after “Muffins & Cupcakes – Neue Ideen für kleine Kuchen und Törtchen” by Anne Haupt)
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To get a printed version: Download the pdf.
(Both English and German versions available!)
Betty The Baking Princess 