Pumpkin makes cakes soft and tender with a glowing orange colour in a way nothing else can! This Pumpkin Cake is perfectly spiced and comes with a tangy cream cheese frosting. The only thing that could make it better? Maple syrup. So I added it!

Pumpkin cake

This is a pumpkin cake recipe for people who want:

• an easy, foolproof recipe (just wait until you see how simple it is!);

• a cake with excellent pumpkinness* that’s not overwhelmed by the use of excessive store-bought spice mixes;

• a crumb that’s springy, soft and moist, rather than tight/dense or airy/delicate (like angel cake);

• a big cake to feed lots of people without the deft required to cut tall layer cakes into 16 tiny slivers; and

• a cake with except frosting-to-cake ratio. Specifically, a cream cheese maple frosting. A dreamy combination with pumpkin!

So if all that sounds good to you, read on!

* I am not sure that’s a word but it seems fitting here.

Ingredients in Pumpkin Cake

Here’s what you need to make this cake.

Pumpkin puree options

I use fresh because it tastes better and takes 8 seconds to puree. Plus, canned pumpkin isn’t readily available here in Australia. But canned works perfectly fine!

Canned pumpkin is a convenient option if you can get it and it works perfectly for this cake. But if you use pureed fresh pumpkin, you’ll be rewarded with a better tasting cake! It’s just a plain fact that freshly cooked pumpkin tastes better than something that’s been sitting in a can for months / years. Yes, we made and compared them side by side.

Use what works for you!

To make your own pumpkin puree, just boil chunks of pumpkin for 10 minutes or until very tender. Then blitz – it literally takes 8 seconds.

Pumpkin cake batter

Here are the other ingredient you need for the batter:

• Flour – Plain / all-purpose flour. Self raising flour (also called self-rising flour) will work but it won’t rise as much. I haven’t tried this cake with gluten-free flour.

• Oil – Any neutral flavoured oil like canola and vegetable oil. Using oil instead of butter keeps this cake moist. Why? Because butter firms up at room temperature whereas oil does not. So cakes made with oil are more moist. However, the trade-off is that butter tastes better than oil. In this cake, we’ve got other flavours at play here – the pumpkin and cinnamon. So I don’t miss the butter!

• Baking powder – This is what makes the cake rise. As a side note, the original version of this cake used a combination of baking soda and baking powder. However, over the years, I’ve found that using only baking powder gives the cake a softer crumb. Plus, we cut out one ingredients.

• Cinnamon – Flavour! Classic combination with pumpkin.

• Sugar – Regular white sugar, or caster sugar / superfine sugar.

• Large eggs at room temperature, which means eggs that are 55-60g/2oz each sold in cartons labelled “large eggs”. They need to be at room temperature, not fridge cold, so they blend into the ingredients better. More information on the right eggs for baking here!

• Salt – Just a touch, to bring out the other flavours in this cake. Standard baking practice these days.

Cream cheese frosting

There is no better frosting for pumpkin cake! Here’s what you need:

• Cream cheese – use BLOCK, not the spreadable cream cheese in tubs (too soft). If you can only get the spreadable cream cheese, add extra icing sugar to correct the consistency.

• Softened unsalted butter – softened but not super soft / borderline melting.

• Icing sugar aka powdered sugar – 🇦🇺 Australia, use soft icing sugar, NOT pure icing sugar (which is used for things like royal icing ie sets hard).

• Vanilla extract – For flavour.

• Maple syrup – UGH, forgot to put it in the photo! This is for drizzling on top. I wanted to put it in the frosting but it made the frosting too loose.

How to make Pumpkin Cake

WHY CAN’T ALL CAKES BE THIS EASY???!!

1. Whisk wet – Whisk the eggs, oil, sugar and pumpkin puree.

2. Add dry – Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt then whisk until combined. Batter. Done!

3. Bake in a 23 x 33 / 13 x 9″ lined pan (or thereabouts) at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced) for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. See the video for my easy way to line the pan!

4. Frosting – While the cake is cooling, make the frosting! Just beat the cream cheese and butter for a minute on high until creamy. Then add the icing sugar (powdered sugar) in 3 batches, starting the beater on low to avoid a snowstorm. Once it’s incorporated, crank the beater up to high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until the frosting is fluffy!

5. Slather the frosting on the cooled cake, and use the back of a spoon to make swirly dents for maple syrup to pool in.

6. Drizzle with maple syrup, as much as you want / dare, then sprinkle liberally with roughly chopped pecans.

And now it’s time to dig in!

Making this cake might be the best decision you make in October. It’s totally straight forward. Your kitchen will smell amazing. It’s big enough to share with those you deem worthy.

And that moment when you take the first bite of that soft cake loaded with beautiful pumpkin flavour, mingling with that tangy cream cheese frosting mixed with rivers of maple syrup and the littering of soft pecans….

I challenge you to stop at one piece. (Even if you cut yourself a very, very big one). – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Fresh or canned pumpkin? I’m in the fresh camp!

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Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe video above. Beautiful moist pumpkin cake with maple cream cheese frosting! A very easy, very forgiving recipe. Nothing gives cakes colour, texture and flavour like pumpkin!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Western

Keyword pumpkin cake

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 12 – 20

Calories 431cal

Author Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

Pumpkin puree options

• 1 2/3 cups fresh pumpkin puree , I use this (Note 1)
• 15 oz / 425g canned pure pumpkin , 1 can (Note 1)

Other cake batter ingredients

• 4 large eggs 55-60g/2oz each), at room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups white sugar (or caster/superfine sugar, Note 2)
• 1 cup vegetable or canola oil (or other neutral flavoured oil)
• 2 cups plain/all-purpose flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp cooking / kosher salt (Note 3)

Frosting

• 6 oz / 180g cream cheese block, at room temperature (Note 4)
• 1 cup / 225g unsalted butter , softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups soft icing sugar / powdered sugar , sifted (Note 5)

Finishing

• 1/3 – 1/2 cup maple syrup (don't be shy!)
• 1/2 cup pecans , roughly chopped

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Spray and line a large pan around 9 x 13" / 22 x 33cm with baking paper with overhang. (Note 6)
• Batter – In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Bake – Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto cooling rack to cool completely (~ 2 hours) before frosting.
• Frosting – Spread frosting on then use the back of a spoon to make swirly dents. Drizzle over maple syrup, concentrating on the dents to create maple syrup pools! Sprinkle with pecans. Then serve.

Frosting

• Cream butter – Place the cream cheese and butter in a bowl. Beat for 2 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
• Add the icing sugar in 3 batches, starting the beater on low after each addition to avoid a snowstorm. Once incorporated, turn the beater up to high and beat for 3 minutes or until the frosting is light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Use frosting immediately.

Notes

1. Using pureed fresh pumpkin makes a cake with better pumpkin flavour. Use 800g – 1kg / 1.6 – 2 lb pumpkin. Peel, remove seeds, cut into large chunks. Put in boiling water and cook for 10 minutes or until very soft. Drain, leave in colander set over the hot pot on the turned off stove to steam dry and fully cool (around 30 minutes). Then blitz to puree (I use a stick blender) and measure out 1 2/3 cups (400g) and use per recipe.

Canned pumpkin is a popular canned vegetable product in America. You can sometimes find it in the international section of stores that carry American goods. It’s actually very good – it’s just pure pureed pumpkin.While I’d never use some canned vegetable products, I’ll happily use canned pumpkin.

2. Sugar – This can be cut down to 1 1/4 cups if you’d like it slightly less sweet.

3. Salt – I know this looks like a lot but it really brings out the pumpkin flavour in this cake. Be sure to use cooking / kosher salt (coarse salt in the UK). If you only have table salt then reduce to 1/2 teaspoon.

4. Cream cheese – If you can only find the spreadable tub sort which is softer, you’ll likely need to add more icing sugar.

5. Icing sugar – Australia, be sure to use soft icing sugar not pure icing sugar (which sets hard).

6. Cake shape – This cake is so moist and extremely versatile. Make it as a round cake, bundt cake, loaf pan, muffins (25 min).

7. Recipe source – A fantastic recipe received back in 2016 from a regular reader, the wonderful Dorothy from Tennessee!

8. Storage – This cake will stay fresh for 5 days in the fridge. Bring to room temp before serving.

Nutrition assuming 16 servings, including frosting.

Nutrition

Serving: 116g | Calories: 431cal | Carbohydrates: 52.3g | Protein: 3.4g | Fat: 24.3g | Saturated Fat: 10.2g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 348mg | Potassium: 108mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 3750IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1.3mg

Originally published in November 2016. Recipe slightly improved (I now only use baking powder as I find it makes the cake rise more evenly), recipe writing improved (I’ve come a long way in 7 years!), sparkling new photos and a brand new video with me IN it!

More pumpkin recipes

Maple Roasted Pumpkin with Chili and Feta

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Soup

Honey-Cinnamon Pumpkin Lentil Salad

Easy Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Butter Sauce

Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup

Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad

Pumpkin recipes

Life of Dozer

Today – visiting a local community garden just a few minutes from home called Happy Hens. What an extraordinary oasis! 100% volunteer run in a beautiful location by the water, filled with an abundance of herbs and vegetables. Everyone is welcome – so locals, drop by to see it and say g’day! Might even see you there. ~ Nagi & Dozer xx

And from the original publication date in 2016:

a) Cruel
b) Cute
c) Funny
d) All of the above

The post Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Lightly battered pan-fried chicken breast with an elegant white wine lemon sauce. It’s like Chicken Piccata, but a thicker sauce, more of it, no capers, with subtle lemon flavour. It’s got a terrific crust that soaks up the sauce! Lovely restaurant dish that’s simple to make at home.

Chicken Francese

Chicken breast, being a lean, neutral flavoured protein, is a terrific blank canvas to get creative with. Stuff it, sear it, crumb it, bake it, fry it, marinate it, poach it – see the many, many ways I cook it in my chicken breast recipe collection!

Today, we are battering and saucing. The battering is a little unique. Chicken Francese is dredged in egg then pan fried which gives the chicken a lovely golden crust with excellent sauce clinging capabilities.

Speaking of the sauce! It’s an elegant white wine sauce that’s savoury with a subtle brightness from lemon. It doesn’t taste winey because it’s reduced to cook out the alcohol. And it’s not meant to be really lemony, it just has a subtle flavour from the juices of lemon slices put into the sauce. I personally think most recipes use way too much lemon which makes it lip-puckeringly sour.

Also, not all recipes thicken the sauce, it’s thinner. I am firmly in the thickened sauce camp. Like so:

So, if all that sounds good to you, read on!

Ingredients in Chicken Francese

Here’s what you need to make Chicken Francese:

• Chicken breast is the cut commonly used for Chicken Francese. We only need 2 because we cut them in half horizontally to form 4 thin steaks in total. Get big ones, so one piece makes a sufficient serving for a meal. You could also get chicken breast that’s already cut / pounded thin, usually sold labelled as “chicken schnitzel” here in Australia (it comes un-crumbed).

  Boneless thighs will also work. Pound to even thickness to get a nice flat surface on both sides so the egg batter cooks evenly.

• Eggs and milk whisked together make up the batter than the chicken is dipped in before frying.

• Flour is used to thicken then sauce and for coating the chicken before dipping in the egg. It makes the egg cling better to the chicken and also makes the crust a little bit crispy.

• Wine –  Chardonnay is the best all-rounder cooking wine, in my opinion, for flavour. It is the only white wine I stock for cooking these days. No need to use an expensive one! Pretty well documented by cooking authorities that there’s no need to use expensive wine for cooking. Buy discounted bottles – I use ~$15 bottles discounted to ~$5. 

  Substitute with non-alcoholic white wine. Else, leave out the wine and add 2 – 3 tablespoons lemon juice to make a lovely lemon sauce instead.

• Chicken stock/broth is the other liquid that makes up the sauce.

• Butter for the sauce and olive oil for cooking the chicken. We discard the surplus olive oil (which gets black bits in it) before adding the butter.

• Lemon – Cut into slices then pan fried before adding back into the sauce. A very specific Chicken Francese step! More on this in the How To Make section below.

• Parsley for optional garnish.

How to make Chicken Francese

A nice, leisurely 15 minute cook. We first pan-fry the battered chicken cutlets then make the sauce in the same pan. The chicken is returned into the sauce at the end so the crust gets soaked in the sauce, as well as re-warming the chicken.

1. Cut each breast in half horizontally to form 4 thin steaks in total.

2. Flour coating – Mix flour, salt and pepper on a plate (I use my fingertips). Coat the chicken in the flour first, shaking off excess, then set aside on a plate while you heat the oil in the pan, ready to cook.

3. Egg dredge – Once the oil is hot, dip the chicken in the egg, coating both sides, then hold it up for a couple of seconds to let the excess drip off.

4. Cook chicken – Put the chicken straight into the pan. Then continue to coat the remaining chicken pieces.

5. Cook the chicken for 3 minutes until golden. Flip, lower heat to medium, then cook for 4 minutes until the chicken is golden (target internal temperature 68°C/155°F). Then remove onto a plate. The chicken will rest while we’re making the sauce. It’s ok if it cools down, it will warm up when we put it back in the sauce.

6. Pan fry lemon slices – Next, cook the lemon slices for about 1 1/2 minutes until lightly browned or they become soft (usually the latter for me). In this step, the lemon slices are soaking up the tasty bits left in the pan from cooking the chicken (it’s called fond). This flavour is then released into the sauce when we pop the lemon slices in at the end.

   This is a step that is unique to Chicken Francese! Great technique.

7. Clean the pan by giving it a quick wipe down with paper towels. You’ll see there are lots of black bits from cooking the chicken. No need to wash with detergent, just get rid of most of the black bits.

8. Roux – Next, we move onto the sauce. Melt the butter over medium heat then cook the flour for 1 minute to cook out the raw flour flavour. This pasty mixture in the pan is called a roux and this is what thickens the sauce.

9. Make the sauce – While stirring, slowly pour in half the stock. Keep stirring until the roux is mixed into the stock. Then you can pour the remaining stock in along with the wine, salt and pepper. Then mix to combine.

   Lump free! The technique of stirring while you slowly pour in some stock should prevent lumps forming in your sauce. But if you end up with pesky lumps, swish a whisk across the surface of the liquid to remove them, taking care not to scratch the non-stick surface of the pan. Worst case – strain it.

10. Simmer to thicken – Simmer the sauce for around 4 minutes, stirring every now and then, until it thickens into a syrupy consistency.

11. Sauce thickness – This is what you’re aiming for. About the thickness of maple syrup. It will thicken more when the chicken is returned into the pan, from flour bits in the crust mixing into the sauce.

12. Finishing – Once the sauce is the right thickness, it’s time to bring it all together! With the pan still on the stove, pop the chicken pieces back in along with the lemon slices and let it simmer for about 30 seconds to warm through and bring the flavour together.

    Then spoon sauce all over the chicken, then it’s dinnertime!

How to serve Chicken Francese

This recipe makes a generous amount of sauce because it’s hard to make less in large pans. You’ll end up with over a cup in the pan in addition to the sauce clinging to the chicken. That’s a good amount to serve this over mashed potato (or faux mash), rice, or other similar starchy vehicles (risoni/orzo, couscous).

On the other hand, if you choose bread for mopping (as pictured), then you might not use all the sauce. But, having too much sauce is a much more desirable position to be in than not enough sauce (*her heart thuds in fear at the thought*) and this precious liquid gold is going to make your morning scrambled eggs or a plain omelette SO MUCH MORE EXCITING. Who wouldn’t want white wine lemon sauce on their breakfast eggs???! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

UPDATE in response to reader questions – YES I use the leftover egg to make an omelette! There is less than the equivalent of 1 egg left so it makes a thin omelette crepe. As long as you cook the omelette through thoroughly, and because it’s so thin, you can, it is fine to eat even after dipping raw chicken into it!

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Chicken Francese

Recipe video above. Lightly battered pan-fried chicken breast with an elegant white wine lemon sauce. It's like Chicken Piccata, but a thicker sauce, more of it, no capers, with subtle lemon flavour. It's got a terrific crust that soaks up the sauce! Lovely restaurant dish that's simple to make at home.

Doesn't taste winey because the alcohol is cooked out, leaving behind magical flavour only wine can bring to sauces.

Course Mains

Cuisine Western

Keyword chicken breast recipe, chicken francese, chicken french, chicken in white wine sauce

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 368cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Chicken & coating:

• 2 large chicken breasts , skinless boneless (250-300g / 8-10oz each)
• 1/4 cup flour , plain / all-purpose
• 1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp milk (any fat %)

Cooking & sauce:

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon , thinly sliced 0.3cm / 1/8″
• 50g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp flour , plain / all-purpose
• 2 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium
• 1/3 cup Chardonnay or other dry white wine (Note 1)
• 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (no pepper!)
• 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley , for garnish (optional)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Cut each breast in half horizontally to form 4 thin steaks in total.
• Whisk eggs and milk in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Flour coating – Mix flour, salt and pepper on a plate (I use my fingertips). Coat the chicken in the flour, shaking off excess, then set aside on a plate.
• Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
• Cook chicken – Dip the chicken in the egg, allow excess to drip off, then put into the pan. Cook for 3 minutes until golden. Flip, lower heat to medium, then cook for 4 minutes until the chicken is golden (internal temp 68°C/155°F). Remove onto a plate.
• Lemon – Add the lemon slices to the pan. Cook for a minute or until the lemons go soft / brown, then turn and cook the other side for 30 seconds. Remove onto a plate. (Note 2)
• Wipe the pan clean using paper towels.
• White wine sauce – Still on medium heat, melt the butter in the pan. Add flour and stir for 1 minute using a wooden spoon. While stirring, slowly pour in half the stock. Once the flour is dissolved into the liquid, stir in remaining stock, then the wine and salt. (See Note 3 for lumps tip)
• Thicken sauce – Turn the heat up slightly then simmer for 3 – 4 minutes or until the sauce thickens into a syrupy consistency.
• Sauce it! Return the chicken and lemon slices to the pan, then spoon the sauce all over the chicken. Sprinkle with parsley then serve the chicken with the sauce (use it ALL!).

Notes

UPDATE – Yes, I use the leftover egg to make a thin crepe-omelette! Cook it through thoroughly so it’s safe to eat even after dipping raw chicken into it. I actually had this in the video but cut it out because I thought the video was too long!!

---

1. Wine –  Chardonnay is the best cooking wine, in my opinion. Pretty well documented these days that there’s no need to use expensive drinking wine, buy discounted bottles for cooking (I use ~$15 bottles discounted to ~$5). 

Substitute with non-alcoholic white wine. Else, leave out the wine and add 2 – 3 tbsp lemon juice to make a lovely lemon sauce instead.

2. Pan frying the lemon slices makes them soak up the tasty flavour left in the pan by the chicken (it’s called fond!) which is then released into the sauce at the end when we put the lemon slices in. So don’t skip this step!

3. Lumps in sauce – The method of stirring while you slowly pour in some stock should avoid lumps. But if you end up with pesky lumps in your sauce, swish a whisk across the surface of the liquid to remove them, taking care not to scratch the non-stick surface of the pan. Worst case – strain it.

4. Serving – Pictured with pan seared asparagus (drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, pan sear in hot pan until lightly charred. Do this while the sauce is simmering). For sauce mopping, I used bread but mash (or faux mash), rice and similar are excellent sauce-soaking options.

5. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge though the crust does loosen.

6. Nutrition per serving assuming all the sauce is consumed.

Nutrition

Calories: 368cal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 148mg | Sodium: 783mg | Potassium: 656mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 507IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 2mg

Life of Dozer

It was worth trying.

The post Chicken Francese appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

A magnificent Chocolate Cream Pie with a chocolate biscuit base, a creamy smooth chocolate custard filling, topped with clouds of cream. Also known as a chocolate pudding pie, it tastes like a cross between chocolate mousse and Chocolate Bavarian Pie!

Chocolate Cream Pie

As a kid, I’d get so excited on the rare occasion my mother would splurge on a chocolate bavarian pie. I’m talking about the kind sold in the freezer section of supermarkets. Not a fancy patisserie cake made with the beautiful French bavarian cream, crème bavaroise.

I thought it was the best thing ever. Just the right amount of crumbly biscuity base. That chocolatey creamy filling.

And it would still be the best thing ever had I not learnt to cook it myself! While the biscuit base isn’t too different, the chocolate layer is absolutely no comparison. Homemade has real chocolate flavour and a mouthfeel that store-bought never will.

My childhood bavarian pie also evolved with the addition of a generous cloud of whipped cream, which is just heavenly with the chocolate filling, Hence, re-christened as a Chocolate Cream Pie.

I could eat this every day. I predict you will feel the same!

What’s in a Chocolate Cream Pie

This Chocolate Cream Pie is a classic combination with:

1. chocolate cookie base – made from Oreo cookies which gives it an extra intense chocolate flavour.

2. chocolate filling – it’s essentially a pudding, a creamy-but-light custard chocolate filling. If you want to get fancy, it is in fact a type of French chocolate custard called crème pâtissière. Fancy it may sound, but it’s actually a surprisingly simple custard that you see contestants in reality cooking shows frantically stressing about making silky smooth and thick, rather than gritty and runny.

   I’m sorry, but I don’t get it. It’s not hard to make. Not if you follow the very few simple steps required to make it! You’ll see in the recipe video.

3. whipped cream – the pie is topped with a mound of fluffy lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream.

Dreamy is a word that comes to mind!

Ingredients in Chocolate Cream Pie

1. Chocolate filling ingredients

This custard / pudding is thickened with a combination of cornflour/cornstarch and egg yolks, enriched with butter and cream and flavoured with melted chocolate. It is DIVINE!

• Chocolate – I use a combination of 70% cocoa dark chocolate and milk chocolate for my ideal balance of chocolate flavour intensity (70% cocoa) and creamy chocolatey-ness (milk chocolate).

• Egg yolks – This helps the custard thicken and set as well as giving it a luxurious mouthfeel that frozen Sara-Lee chocolate bavarian pies can ever compare to!

  Also, here is a list of what I do with leftover egg whites.

• Cornflour / cornstarch – This is also used to thicken the custard.

• Cream and milk – The liquids for the custard. Cream is not typical for custards but it adds richness here! You can just use milk, if you’d prefer.

• Butter – This adds yet more richness into the custard.

• Sugar for sweetness (this is not overly sweet), vanilla for flavour and a pinch of salt to bring out the flavours (standard sweet baking practice these days).

**Forget Cool Whip** Shortcut recipes for chocolate pie fillings are pretty common on the internet. Some are made with Cool Whip (Australia, we don’t have this and I hope we never do, it’s an artificial thickened “cream” filling), or boxed chocolate pudding powder, marshmallows (too sweet for my taste), or a simple ganache filling (which is very dense and very rich).

For me, I believe that there are some things that should be done right. And if we’re going to make a homemade Chocolate Cream Pie – let’s make the best one we can! I promise it trumps boxed pudding powder.

2. Oreo Cookie pie base ingredients

I like making Chocolate Cream Pie with an Oreo Cookie pie crust. Made with crushed Oreo cookies, there’s terrific texture contrast with the creamy filling and an extra hit of chocolate. I also like the dark almost-black colour.

Here’s what you need:

• Oreo biscuits – I like using Oreo cookies for the texture and flavour, I find they’re more chocolate-y than most other chocolate biscuits. But any plain chocolate biscuits / cookies will work fine here, such as Arnott’s Chocolate Ripples.

• Melted butter – This is what makes the Oreo crumbs hold together to form a crust.

vanilla Whipped cream

And here’s what you need for the fluffy mound of whipped cream:

• Whipping cream – Make sure you use cream that can be whipped. Not all creams are, some are made for just pouring or dolloping. Read the label to check. And – NO LOW FAT! 🙂

• Vanilla for a touch of lovely flavour.

• Sugar – Not too much. Just a bit, to lightly sweeten.

How to make Chocolate Cream Pie

This is an almost no-bake recipe. The crust is baked for 10 minutes to make it extra crisp. The custard-pudding filling is cooked on the stove, poured into the crust then refrigerated overnight to set.

1. how to make the pie crust

I use a food processor to blitz the Oreo cookies. It takes seconds!

1. Blitz – Roughly break up the Oreo cookies by hand and drop into a food processor. Blitz into fine crumbs (~5 – 10 seconds). Add melted butter then blitz briefly just to mix through. The mixture should resemble wet sand.

2. Press – Pour into a 22.5cm/9″ pie tin. Use your hands / rubber spatula / something flat to press the crumbs firmly into the base and walls.

3. Bake for 10 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160° fan-forced). This makes the pie crust crisper.

4. Deflate – The crust puffs up in the oven. Gently deflate using a rubber spatula or similar – the base and walls. This too makes the pie crust crisper and firmer.

2. how to (EASILY) CUT A ROUND FROM PAPER

Before we get into the fun chocolate filling making part, a quick little tip for how to cut a circle from paper. Do this before you start the custard so you can cover the custard as soon as you pour it into the crust. It prevents a skin from forming on the surface which starts pretty quickly.

1. Baking paper – Tear a sheet of baking paper larger than the pie tine, then fold in half.

2. Fold in half again.

3. Then fold into a triangle.

4. Keep folding to form a long thin triangle.

5. Measure how large your pie dish is by placing the tip of the triangle above the centre of the pie tin. Cut off the end.

6. Then unfold. Voila! Neat circle that covers your pie!

3. how to make the chocolate filling

The chocolate filling ingredients are simply whisked on the stove which thickens into a custard as it heats up. The custard is pourable when hot, then sets so it’s cuttable once refrigerated.

1. Whisk dry – Place cornflour, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk to combine.

2. Add liquids – Add milk, cream and yolks. Whisk to combine. Then whisk every now and then over medium high heat (or medium for strong gas stoves) as the mixture is heating up. Once the liquid is hot (around 3 – 5 minutes, you’ll see steam), turn the stove down to medium low and start to whisk constantly to ensure the base doesn’t catch. You will feel and see the mixture starting to thicken into a custard.

   45 second whisk to finish – When the mixture starts bubbling (around 4 minutes), whisk constantly for 45 seconds then take it off the stove. To see the bubbles, you will need to pause whisking. They will be slow, lazy bubbles! See video at 1:49 here.

   Lumps? Don’t fret! Take it off the stove and whisk vigorously, you should be able to whisk them out. Once smooth, return to the stove and continue. As a last resort, you can strain the custard at step 5.

3. Melt in chocolate – Remove off the stove. Add butter, chocolate and vanilla and whisk until the chocolate melts and the filling is smooth.

4. Thickness – The custard should have a thickness like honey. It will be pourable, but won’t mound.

5. Pour the custard straight into the pie crust.

6. Smooth the surface.

4. Setting and decorating

7. Cover – Immediately cover with a round piece of baking/parchment paper, pressing lightly so it is in contact with the surface. This will prevent a skin from forming. (Don’t use cling wrap, you’ll peel a thick layer of custard off which I know you’re thinking well then I get to lick it all off! But the reality is it’s actually quite difficult to do off cling wrap. Yes, I know from first hand experience. Stick with paper!!)

8. Refrigerate for 12 hours+ – Cool on the counter. Then refrigerate for 12 hours+ to ensure the custard fully sets.

   Don’t try to shortcut it and don’t think that you can cut a slice at the 3 hour mark because it seems pretty set! If you cut out a slice before it’s fully set, you will break the custard in the whole pie and it will never set again. Again, I know this from first hand experience from testing variation iterations of this Chocolate Cream Pie as well as this recipe, this recipe and this recipe!

9. Cream – Carefully peel off the paper then top with whipped cream.

10. Garnish with a sprinkle of grated chocolate, if desired. Then, it’s ready to devour!

Matters of serving and eating

Because it’s a pie, it’s best to serve it out of the pie tin. Removing the whole pie would be risky! Cut in the pie tin and lift (pulling the first slice out neatly is always a little tricky, if necessary, I will resort to a rubber spatula to get right underneath). The Oreo cookie crust holds together when sliced (see video and photos) but it crumbles a bit as you start eating it which makes the whole eating experience even better. Because, imagine this:

A big mouthful of rich, smooth, chocolatey filling with clouds of fluffy cream PLUS little bits of crumbled Oreo cookie…..

It’s just perfection!  – Nagi xx

PS If you want to make this ahead, do it up to 2 days ahead without the whipped cream weeping, then stabilise the whipped cream by adding marscapone. Information about stabilised whipped cream here, recipe is in the notes of the recipe card below.

Watch how to make it

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Chocolate Cream Pie

Recipe video above. This is a magnificent yet surprisingly straight forward pie that can be made days in advance of serving. A biscuit base, filled with a creamy pudding / chocolate custard filling and topped with clouds of cream that's made entirely from scratch. No pudding mix around here!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Western

Keyword Chocolate bavarian pie, chocolate cream pie, chocolate pudding pie

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Cooling / refrigeration 15 hours hours

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 10 – 12

Calories 521cal

Ingredients

Crust:

• 25 Oreo biscuits , whole with filling in tact (244g / 8.5 oz) (Note 1)
• 60g / 4 tbsp unsalted butter , melted

Filling:

• 1/4 cup cornflour / cornstarch
• 2/3 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups milk (whole or reduced fat, not zero fat)
• 1 cup cream (pouring or thickened/heavy), or sub with milk (Note 2)
• 4 egg yolks from large eggs (Note 3 for leftover whites)
• 2 tbsp / 30g unsalted butter , cut into 1cm / 0.5" cubes
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g/ 5 oz dark 70% cocoa chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (Note 4)
• 75g/ 3 oz milk chocolate , finely chopped (Note 4)

Whipped cream

• 1 1/2 cups thickened / heavy cream , for whipping
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Optional garnish

• Chocolate , for grating (optional decoration)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160° fan-forced).
• Cut round paper – Cut a round piece of baking / parchment paper, the size of the pie dish (to prevent skin forming on custard). (Note 5)

Oreo cookie crust:

• Blitz – Break up Oreos roughly by hand and place in a food processor. Blitz into crumbs (~10 sec). Add butter, blitz to mix through. Mixture should resemble wet sand. (No food processor? Bash in ziplock bag with a rolling pin).
• Press – Pour into a 23cm / 9" pie dish. Spread crumbs out and press firmly into the base and up the walls using your hands, spatula or something flat.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven – the crust will be slightly puffed. Press down gently using a rubber spatula (makes it even crustier!) then allow to cool on the counter before filling.

Filling (see video, it's helpful):

• Whisk dry, then wet – Place cornflour, sugar and salt in a large saucepan. Whisk to combine. Add milk, cream and yolks. Whisk to combine.
• Heat to thicken – Turn heat onto medium high. As the mixture warms up, whisk every now and then, but not constantly. As the liquid starts to get hot at around the 3 – 5 minute mark (you'll see steam), turn the stove down to medium low and start to whisk constantly. You will feel and see the mixture start to thicken. Got lumps? See Note 6!
• 45 second whisk – When you see slow, lazy bubbles (~6 minutes, you will need to pause whisking to see bubbles), whisk constantly for 45 seconds then take it off the stove.
• Chocolate and butter – Add butter, chocolate and vanilla. Whisk until chocolate melts and filling is smooth.

Assembling / setting custard

• Pour hot filling into pie crust, filling it right to the top, smooth surface. Gently place round baking paper on surface. (Surplus custard? Note 7)
• Cool on the counter for 2 hours then refrigerate for 12+ hours to allow the custard to fully set.
• Whipped cream – Beat whipped cream ingredients in a bowl on high for 2 to 3 minutes until softly whipped.
• Topping – Carefully peel back paper. Pile on the whipped cream, then grate chocolate across the surface.
• Serving – Keep the pie in the pie tin. Cut and serve!

Notes

1. Oreos – You will need 2 standard Oreo packets. There are 14 in each packet so you’ll use all of one packet and all but 3 in the 2nd packet.

Plain chocolate biscuits/cookies, like Arnott’s Chocolate Ripples, can also be used though the colour is not as an intense dark chocolate brown.

2. Cream – I like to add cream into the filling because it makes it just that touch more creamy and rich however, most chocolate custards / crème pâtissières are made with just milk. So you can just use milk if you wish – the filling may take 30 seconds or so longer to thicken.

3. Leftover egg whites – Here’s my list of what I do with them and all my egg white recipes can be found in this recipe collection.

4. Chocolate –I make this with a combination of dark and milk chocolate because the dark provides that intense chocolate flavour and the milk lightens the colour of the filling so it contrasts with the dark crust. You could make this entirely with milk or dark chocolate. 

Australia: For the 70% cocoa, Plaistow from the supermarkets is fine, Lindt is great! US: Ghirardelli is great too.

Chips or melts can be used as well, for a better quality option. However, I recommend using chocolate purchased from the baking aisle, not eating chocolate, as some brands are designed to not melt very well!

5. Cutting round – See recipe video at 55 seconds here. Fold a sheet of baking/parchment in half, then half again. Keep folding to make a long thin triangle with a pointy end. Measure how large your pie dish is by placing the tip of the triangle above the centre of the pie tin. Cut off the end, then unfold. Voila! Neat circle!

6. Lumpy custard? That’s ok! If you get them while on the stove, take it off the stove and whisk vigorously, this will remove most. If you’ve still got lumps after the chocolate is melted through, just strain the custard into the pie crust. 

7. Surplus custard? You might, it depends how high up the wall of the pie tin your crust goes. If you go all the way up you should use it all. If you have spare, just pour into a little ramekin and have a secret custard pot for yourself! (Maybe do this anyway 😈)

8. Storage – This pie will keep for around 3 days, then I notice the base starts softening a bit. Keep in the fridge. 

Stabilised cream – To prevent the cream from weeping, add 100g / 1/2 cup mascarpone into the cream, then beat until whipped. This will stabilise it so it doesn’t deflate for 2 – 3 days. More on stabilised cream here.

Nutrition per serving assuming 12 slices.

Nutrition

Serving: 173g | Calories: 521cal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 142mg | Sodium: 114mg | Potassium: 186mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 1069IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 3mg

Originally published in 2017. It’s such a personal favourite, I really wanted to re-publish it with better photos and a much improved recipe video. My skills have improved over the past 5 years with lots of practice!

Life of Dozer

Normally when I re-publish a recipe, I add a new Life of Dozer photo. But this one from 2017 is so lovely, I don’t want to change it!

From 2017, as originally published:

Not just food photos that Dozer photobombs….. This is a magnificent sun rise we had earlier this week. Once a year thing. Pretty, isn’t it?

The post Chocolate Cream Pie appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

How to make roasted pumpkin so much more fabulous with very little effort? A dash of maple syrup for extra caramelisation. Kick of fresh chilli. Plus a sprinkle of feta and shower of walnuts! Serve as a side, a meal, pile on toast or crostini. It’s delicious any which way!

Maple roasted pumpkin with feta and chilli

Something magical happens to pumpkin when you roast it. It intensifies the sweetness and caramelises beautifully.

I’d happily eat it plain. But here, we step it up a notch with a few simple additions that work so well with pumpkin. A dash of maple syrup for extra caramelisation. Plus a hit of fresh chilli, soft nutty crunchy of walnuts and creamy pops of salty feta…..you know this is going to be good!

That’s dinner, right there. Or a mighty delicious side.

Ingredient you need

Here’s what you need to make this.

The roasting stuff

• Pumpkin – Any eating pumpkin. I typically use Kent or Jap which are common varieties here in Australia. Do not use pumpkin intended for Halloween carving, it’s not very pleasant to eat.

  Alternatives – Butternut pumpkin (called butternut squash in the States) or sweet potato!

• Maple syrup – or honey.

• Dried chilli flakes – also called red pepper flakes. I use the regular type you get from ordinary grocery stores but you could absolutely use Asian or other types of chilli flakes. Just be mindful of spiciness!

• Red onion – substitute regular onion, eschalots (US: shallots) or the white part of green onions (I often have bunches in the fridge with the green parts unceremoniously hacked off for garnish purposes so am always looking for uses of the white part).

• Walnuts – Or other nuts of choice. Almonds and pecans come to mind first. Pinenuts, pepitas and other small nuts/seeds would also work but I’d toss them in partway through cooking so they don’t burn into tiny little black (bitter) pellets.

Finishes

• Chilli – This is optional because it’s more for visual than spiciness, because we get enough spiciness from the dried chilli flakes. Large chillis, like the cayenne pepper pictured, aren’t very spicy. Good life rule to remember: the larger the chilli, the less spicy it is!

• Danish feta – This is the feta type that is a bit more creamy than Greek feta. Greek feta also works, though I do like the way Danish feta sort of smears as it semi-melts on contact with the hot pumpkin.

  If you are making to really impress, go premium by using goats cheese!

• Parsley – For pretty green finish.

How to make Maple Roasted Pumpkin with Chilli and Feta

This is a recipe that’s more about the finishes. The pumpkin is roasted with onion and walnuts, all tossed with maple syrup. Then once cooked, sprinkle with feta, red chilli and parsley. Then get stuck in!

1. Cut the pumpkin in 2.5cm / 1″ cubes. To do this I cut into 2.5cm / 1″ slices first. Using a rocking motion as you slice down helps make this easy.

2. Cut the skin off.

3. Then cut into cubes.

4. Pile onto a large paper lined tray with the onion slices and walnuts. Toss with olive oil, maple syrup, salt and chilli flakes then spread it out. The more space between the pumpkin, the better. If the pumpkin is too cluttered, it will stew and go mushy instead of caramelising.

5. Roast for 30 minutes, tossing once at the 20 minute mark, until the pumpkin is light golden and cooked through. You won’t get intense golden colour on the surface, not like plain roast pumpkin cubes (such as in this recipe), because the maple syrup will burn on the edges of the cubes before the surface goes completely golden.

   Also, the onion will get quite dark brown. If you notice at the tossing point that it’s getting a little too brown, just push/pile them all together or bury under pumpkin. This will protect them!

6. Finishing – Give the pumpkin a gently toss to coat it in all the tasty tray juices. Then transfer to a serving platter – single layer is nice for even sprinkling coverage and neat presentation. Sprinkle with fresh chilli, feta and parsley, then serve!

Or – jumble and pile

I know I said a single layer presentation looks nice and neat. But actually, for maximum flavour-melding-more-rustic presentation (aka Nagi style), do most of the sprinkling on the tray, reserving some for garnish. Then transfer into a serving bowl. Flavour jumbling will occur during transfer and piling.

Finish with reserved feta etc to pretty it up.

Whichever way you go, single layer neatness or jumbled piled up rustic-ness, it still rates the same on the deliciousness scale. Which is, in case you hadn’t guessed, very, very high.

Tell me if you serve this as a side or inhale it as a meal! – Nagi x

PS In case you didn’t know I have a whole category of pumpkin side dishes as part of the vegetable and salad side dishes corner of this website! Mostly relatively low effort, like this one, with a scattering of show-offs for special occasions.

PPS This is not the first time I’ve combined pumpkin. See also here and here.

Watch how to make it

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Maple Roasted Pumpkin with Chili and Feta

Recipe video above. A seriously delicious, low-effort way to serve roast pumpkin: with a dash of maple syrup for extra caramelisation, a kick of chilli, warm crunch of walnuts and salty pops of creamy feta.

Serves 3 as a main or 6 as a side. I made this with pumpkin but it is just as delicious made with squash or sweet potato!

Course Roasted, Vegetables

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 3 – 6

Calories 165cal

Author Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

• 2 lb / 1 kg pumpkin , peeled, cut into 2.5cm / 1" cubes (whole, unpeeled weight – Note 1)
• 1 red onion , peeled, halved, then cut into 1cm / 0.4" wedges
• 1/2 cup walnuts , roughly chopped (Note 2)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp maple syrup or honey (sub brown sugar Note 3),
• 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
• 1 – 1 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes , adjust to taste (Note 4)

Garnishes (Optional)

• 3/4 cup Danish feta (or Greek feta, or upgrade to goats cheese)
• 1 large red chilli (cayenne pepper), deseeded, finely minced
• 1 tbsp parsley finely chopped

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F (180°C fan-forced).
• Toss – Place the pumpkin, onion and walnuts on a large, paper lined tray. Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup, then toss to coat (hands really is best). Sprinkle with chilli and salt, toss again, then spread out on a tray. Don't crowd them else they will stew instead of roast!
• Roast for 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin is lightly browned and cooked through, tossing once at the 20 minute mark.
• Finishes – Remove from the oven. Gently toss again, then transfer to a serving platter in a single layer. Crumble over feta, sprinkle with parsley and chilli. Or do the sprinkling on the tray then pile into a bowl. Serve immediately!

Notes

1. Pumpkin – Any type for eating is suitable (not Halloween carving). Or butternut or sweet potato!

2. Nuts- Feel free to use other nuts. Large ones similar size to walnuts will take the same time. If using pine nuts, sunflower seeds or pepitas (or other small nuts), add them halfway through the roasting time.

3. Brown sugar sub – Mix with olive oil then toss to coat.

4. Chilli flakes – 1 1/2 tsp has a decent warm, unmissable hum but not super spicy. 1 tsp is more subtle. Feel free to skip it!

5. Leftovers will keep for 3 days.

Nutrition assuming 6 servings.

Nutrition

Serving: 214g | Calories: 165cal

Recipe update: This is an old recipe from 2015 that was in desperate need of spruced up photos, a recipe video tutorial and most importantly, recipe improvements! The same recipe, just tweaked to fix.

More delicious things to make with pumpkin

Roasted Pumpkin with Yogurt Sauce and Pine Nuts

Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad

Pumpkin Soup

Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup

Honey-Cinnamon Pumpkin Lentil Salad

Cinnamon Roasted Pumpkin

Creamy Baked Pumpkin Risotto

Pumpkin recipes

Life of Dozer

Don’t miss Dozer in today’s recipe video!! Did he get to taste test….??

The post Maple Roasted Pumpkin with Chili and Feta appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.