Halloween is a few weeks away and
Jenny Kales stopped by to share with us this yummy recipe from Callie's Kitchen. A perfect treat for a cold Autumn night with a hot cup of cider. One lucky reader will win an Amazon e-book of
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A Halloween Recipe from Callie’s Kitchen: Pumpkin Spice Loaf Cake
October means Halloween, and for many of us it also means “pumpkin spice” everything! I’m happy to share a heart-warming recipe for a good old-fashioned baked treat that will fill your house with the autumnal scents of pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin-pie spice. Hungry yet?
In fact, pumpkin spice loaf cake is exactly the type of thing that my amateur sleuth, Callie Costas, would serve in “Callie’s Kitchen,” her on-the-go meals business. Being Greek American, Callie loves to use cinnamon in so many of her dishes – the smell alone draws people into her shop. Well, when she’s not the prime suspect of a crime, that is. For more on that, please check out my culinary cozy mystery, “On the Chopping Block: A Callie’s Kitchen Mystery.” And yes, it has recipes! Book 2 in the series, called “Spiced and Iced” is set at Christmastime and will be on Amazon for pre-order later this month.
Now – back to the pumpkin cake! It is crazy good and so versatile. You can serve it for breakfast, brunch, snacks, with a cup of tea in the afternoon – you name it! Plus, it’s easy to make and you get two loaves out of the recipe. Freeze one for later or give it to a friend. They will love your for it!
I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Callie’s Pumpkin Spice Loaf Cake
Topping:
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons dark brown or light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, slightly softened
Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 15 oz can of solid pack pumpkin
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2-1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
Make the topping first:
Blend together flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon in a small bowl with your fingertips or a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Set aside.
For the cake:
Place rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray Pam with flour on two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin, sugar, eggs and oil. Add flour mixture to large bowl and stir gently until well combined.
Divide batter between loaf pans. Sprinkle half of topping over each. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean 50-60 minutes.
Cool loaves in pan on wire rack for 45 minutes, then turn out of pan and let cool completely on rack, about one hour.
Wrap well in plastic wrap and foil to keep refrigerated for about a week. Can also be frozen up to one month.
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About the author:
It all started when a family member gave me “The Bobbsey Twins” series and Nancy Drew. The first mystery story I ever wrote, age 9, was “The Case of the Missing Brownies.” Spoiler alert: turns out, the dog was the culprit.I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in English and spent several years as a copywriter and corporate communications marketing writer for many top Chicago companies. When I had my first child, I started freelancing for a wide variety of clients. In particular, I’ve written for many parenting publications including TODAY Show Moms and Chicago Parent magazine. When I discovered that my oldest child has a life-threatening food allergy, I started The Nut-Free Mom blog, an award-winning resource for parents in my situation.
Since I almost always have my nose in a mystery novel (culinary cozy mysteries especially), I decided to take the plunge and write my own cozy mystery. My first novel features a Greek-American heroine (I married into a Greek-American family) who lives in a picturesque waterfront town inspired by the Geneva Lakes in Wisconsin (always a favorite place to visit). I’m also working on ideas for other novels — including series follow-ups to my first novel. I’m an enthusiastic member of the stellar mystery writer’s group, Sisters in Crime, and their incredibly helpful sub-group, The Guppies. I’m also a member of Mystery Writers of America and recently spent the day in Chicago attending Mystery Writers of America University, a series of courses taught by top mystery authors.
I love to write about food. Food is a big part of my novel and my amateur sleuth has a food-related job. One of my proudest foodie/writer moments was when my essay and cookies were semi-finalists in the Chicago Tribune’s annual Christmas Cookie and Essay Contest. I wrote about how a 1950s Greek church cookbook helped me find a way to recreate my favorite childhood Christmas cookies in nut-free fashion so that they were safe for my daughter to eat.
My version of the Greek butter cookie, kourabiethes.
When I’m not working at the computer, I’m an avid reader, cook and baker. I’m addicted to Masterpiece Mystery series (DCI Banks, Inspector Lewis), BBC America mystery series like Broadchurch and my favorite Netflix go-to, Midsomer Murders. I enjoy retro/vintage everything – fashion, music, movies, ads, home décor, and cookbooks.
I live in the near Western suburbs of Chicago with my wonderful husband, two daughters and one cute but demanding Yorkshire terrier.
My website:
www.jennykales.wordpress.com
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