Pumpkin Cinnamon rolls

I love making these pumpkin cinnamon rolls. It's just so fun to see the swirls and colours come together, as the rolls rise and bake. I know, I'm a nerd. I made them again just the other day, so I could take some to work as treats for the people I work with. They never last long around my house, and in the office it was the same.

 The recipe that I used to make these called for a caramel icing. This is one of the things that drew me to the recipe, but I found it just a little too overwhelmingly sweet. So this time I decided to try the rolls with a simple glaze. I think it worked out really well.

Pumpkin Cinnamon rolls
[printable recipe]

Ingredients:
ROLLS
1/3 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg, beaten
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 cup plain flour
1 cup bread flour

FILLING:
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, melted

ICING:
4 tbsp butter
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3-6 tbsp hot water

Method:
1. Prepare rolls: In a small saucepan, heat milk and 2 tbsp butter until just warm and butter is almost melted, stirring constantly
2. In a large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar and salt. Add milk mixture and beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Beat in egg and yeast. In a seperate bowl, combine flours. Add half of the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture. Beat on low speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl frequently. Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly (dough will be very soft). Turn into a lightly greased bowl, then grease the surface of the dough lightly. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Turn onto floured surface. Knead a few turns to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make dough easy to handle. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12x10 rectangle.
4. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush the surface of the dough with melted butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the top of the dough. Beginning with the long side of the dough, roll up jelly-roll style. Pinch the seams to seal. With a sharp serrated knife, gently cut the roll into twelve 1 inch slices. Place rolls cut-side-up in a greased baking pan.
5. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30-45 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 180°C. Bake the rolls about 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the pan to a baking paper lined wire rack. Cool the buns 10-15 minutes.
7. While the rolls are cooling, prepare icing: Mix butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Add hot water 1 tbsp at a time until the icing reaches the desired consistency. Drizzle over the top of the rolls and serve. 

Tarta de Santiago recipe

I found this recipe in the latest issue of the Gourmet Traveller magazine and thought it would be perfect to make for my Dad's birthday. After all the help he's been giving me with my apartment, and getting things done there it was the least that I could do. I had pretty much no storage in the apartment when it was built, apart from the kitchen cupboards but now I have pantry cupboards, wardrobes and a great cupboard in the bathroom all thanks to Dad :)

The addition of the dulce de leche made it just all the more appealing. Yum! The Tarta de Santiago is traditionally decorated with a fancy cross stenciled in icing sugar, but I thought the heart would mean a bit more to Dad. It looks quite sweet, I think!

Magnolia Bakery's Lime Pie

My gorgeous twin nieces, Indi and Maggie were baptised recently. Don't they look gorgeous in their little outfits?! I was so happy to be asked to be Maggie's (on the right) Godmother. This is the second time I've become a godmother (the other time was my other beautiful niece Ruby) and it's always so special to be asked.
The girls were so good, they're just very relaxed, happy babies. Everything went well, especially when the priest poured the water over their heads. No crying!

We had a really nice family lunch at my sister's house afterwards and I was asked to make a Lime Pie for it. I've made this pie a few times before and it's just so easy to make and delicious. It's from one of the places I visited while in New York, Magnolia Bakery so you know it's going to be great. I love citrus desserts, and I think this one has the perfect level of lime flavour - a little tangy without being too over the top.

Recipe Source:
The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes From New York's Sweetest Bakery

Starbucks Pumpkin Pound Cake Recipe

I know it's been ages since I mentioned my new apartment but I've finally had an update this week. I was able to see the inside at an inspection held by the real estate agency. It was exciting to be able to see inside (rather than just driving by and trying to see what had been updated all the time), and while I was a little overwhelmed at how small the apartment is, I'm now looking forward to seeing what it will look like once I've moved in. It's going to be an interesting challenge getting that balance between having all that I need in there without it looking cluttered. Here's a sneak peak, I'll post more photos once I'm all moved in and have it decorated the way I want it. Isn't it pretty though?!

What better excuse to do some baking and to try out one of my many pinned recipes on Pinterest? I had a tin of pumpkin purée in the pantry so I thought I'd try out this recipe for Starbuck's Pumpkin Pound Cake. Although apparently this recipe is for a modified and slightly more healthy version of the Starbuck's one it still tastes fantastic. The spices also add a lot of flavour to what's a very dense but moist cake. 

Starbucks Pumpkin Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup Plain Flour

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Ground Cloves

1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1/2 cup Fat Free Vanilla Yoghurt

3 Egg Whites

1 cup Canned Pumpkin

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a loaf pan, set aside. 

2. Sift the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves and nutmeg into a mixing bowl. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, yoghurt and egg whites. Whisk thoroughly until blended. Stir in the pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture. Stir until completely incorporated.

4. Pour into pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

5. Once cool, drizzle with a glaze or top with cream cheese icing (if desired)

Source: Something Swanky recipe for Starbucks Pumpkin Pound Cake