Pumpkin Butter Tea Cakes with Orange Glaze

These little loaves have a light and springy crumb because there's no butter or oil in the recipe. The pumpkin flavor and warm fall spices are made more decadent with an orange glaze, but feel free to omit it for a light breakfast sweet.

Note: Pumpkin butters typically come spiced and sweetened and thus will vary by brand. I used Williams Sonoma's version, which is well spiced, medium sweet, and light in texture, though it tastes as much of pumpkin as of spices. If you're using a different brand, taste for sweetness and spices and adjust the spices here accordingly.


Special equipment: 3 x 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 mini loaf pan, whisk

Ingredients

serves makes 5 mini cakes, active time 20 minutes, total time 50 minutes

• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• Pinch allspice
• 1/2 cup 2% or full fat Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup pumpkin butter (see note)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
•  
• For Glaze
• 1 2/3 cup confectioners sugar
• 4 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon water

Procedures

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease mini loaf cups with butter.
   
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice;set aside.
   
3. In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, pumpkin butter, and sugar until well combined. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and stir together just until batter is well combined. Fill each prepared cup 2/3 full with batter. Bake until puffed and golden at the edges and a cake tester inserted into the middle of a loaf comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
   
4. For Glaze: If serving cakes with glaze, whisk together confectioners' sugar, orange juice, and water until smooth. Spread the top of each cooled cake with glaze. Let stand 20 minutes or until set before moving.

St John Eccles Cakes

Ingredients

serves makes a dozen cakes, active time 20 minutes, or 1-2 hours if making puff pastry, total time 50 minutes, or overnight if making puff pastry

• 1 3/4 ounces unsalted butter
• Scant 4 ounces dark brown sugar
• 7 3/4 ounces currants
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 egg whites, beaten with a fork
• Shallow bowl of caster sugar
•  
• Puff Pastry
• 1 pound 2 ounces strong white flour
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 4 1/2 ounces cold unsalted butter, diced, plus 1 cup cold unsalted butter
• 1 cup cold water
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar

Procedures

1. Make the puff pastry: Sift the flour into a bowl, then add the salt and the diced butter. Rub the butter in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the water and vinegar, and mix to a firm paste. Shape into a ball, wrap in cling film, and leave in the fridge overnight.
   
2. The next day, take the pastry out of the fridge and leave it to soften for 1-2 hours. The remaining butter should be at the same temperature as the pastry (if the butter is too soft it will melt and ooze out of the pastry, whereas if it is too hard it will break out of the pastry and ruin your puff). A good way to achieve the correct temperature is to put the butter between a couple of sheets of baking parchment (or re-use your butter wrappers), beating with a rolling pin to soften it.
   
3. When the butter and pastry are ready, roll out your pastry. First roll it into a square, then roll out each side in turn to extend the square into a cross. Leave the center thick, keeping the ends and sides square. Place the butter in the center of the pastry, molding it to the right size if necessary. Then wrap the arms of your cross over and around the butter: start by putting the left arm over the butter, then the right arm over the first arm, next the top and finally the bottom arm. The four arms of your cross should add up to the same thickness as the center of the pastry. Now you have butter in a pastry package.
   
4. Turn your pastry so the top seam is on the right-hand side and roll it out on a floured surface into a rectangle about 8 inches wide and 28 inches long. Brush the excess flour off, then fold the rectangle in three, like a letter, with one end of the rectangle to the center and the other end over this. Give the pastry a quarter turn, so the seam is on the right-hand side, then roll out and fold again. Wrap in plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for about 4 hours. Repeat twice more, so you have rolled out the pastry and butter six times, resting it after every two turns. Finally, wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until ready to use. It also keeps well in the freezer.
   
5. To make the filling, melt the butter and sugar together, then add them to the dry ingredients, mix well, and then leave to cool before using.
   
6. Roll the puff pastry out to 1/3-inch thick and cut circles approximately 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Onto these spoon a blob of your filling mixture in the center of the circle, and pull up the sides of the pastry to cover the filling. Seal it with your fingers, then turn it over and slash the top. Paint the top with the egg white, then dip it into the sugar. The Eccles cakes are now ready to bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a hot to medium oven; keep an eye on them so that they don’t burn. They can be eaten hot or cold and, as I mentioned earlier, are particularly marvelous when eaten with Lancashire cheese.
   
7. The reason we slash the top of the Eccles cake three times is for the Holy Trinity (well, that’s what I have been told).

Steamed Indian Lentil and Rice Cakes

Special equipment

Blender, bamboo steamer

Ingredients

serves Makes 15 Idlis, serving 8, active time 20 minutes, total time About 12 hours

• 2 cups uncooked rice
• 1/2 cup dry black lentils (husked removed)
• 2 cups water
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Procedures

1. Soak the rice and lentils in water for at least 4 hours and up to 12. Drain, then combine in a blender with 2 cups water and blend on high speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl, season with 1 teaspoon salt, loosely cover, and leave at room temperature until doubled in size, about 8 to 12 hours.
   
2. Grease a small, shallow bowl or deep plate that will fit into a bamboo steamer. Stir the batter and ladle it on to the plate, half way to the top. Steam until a toothpick inserted comes out fairly clean and the cake is spongy to the touch, about 15 minutes. Allow to rest outside the steamer for about 2 minutes. Then cut and serve in smaller squares with mint chutney. Repeat with remaining batter. Idli can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Peppered Hanger Steak with Crispy Rice Cakes

Ingredients

serves Serves 4, active time 40 minutes, total time 1 hour, plus an overnight rest for the rice

• Rice Cakes
• 1 cup sushi rice
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Fine sea salt
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
•  
• Chile-Sweet Soy Glaze
• 1 tablespoon Vietnamese chili-garlic sauce
• 1 red Thai chile, minced, or a pinch of red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 cup kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce, available in Asian markets)
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
•  
• Peppered Hanger Steak
• 4 hanger steaks (about 6 ounces each)
• 3 to 4 tablespoons cracked black pepper
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
•  
• To Finish
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups packed pea shoot leaves or spinach leaves
• 1 teaspoon Vietnamese chili-garlic sauce
• 3 tablespoons Chile–Sweet Soy Glaze
• Fine sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Procedures

1. Make the rice cakes: In a sieve, thoroughly rinse the sushi rice under cold running water until the water runs clear. Place the rinsed rice in a small saucepan with the water and a generous pinch of salt. Bring the rice to a boil, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until most of the water has been absorbed by the rice, about 5 minutes. Cover the pan tightly, reduce the heat to low, and continue cooking for about 7 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 15 minutes. The rice should be tender and all of the water absorbed. (Even very slightly overcooked rice is not a problem in this recipe, as that may help the rice cakes keep their shape.) Scoop the rice onto a small baking sheet lined with plastic wrap. Form the rice into a rough square 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight until cold and set. When the rice has set, cut 8 equal-size triangles of rice cake and set aside until ready to fry and serve.
   
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
   
3. To make the steak: Generously season the hanger steaks with the cracked black pepper and kosher salt. In a cast-iron skillet over very high heat, heat the 2 tablespoons oil until almost smoking. Add the steaks to the pan and sear until nicely browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until steaks are medium-rare, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.
   
4. While the steaks are cooking and resting, finish the rice cakes. Heat the 3 tablespoons canola oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Carefully add the rice cakes to the hot oil. Cook until golden brown and toasty on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the rice cakes and continue cooking until golden brown on the other side, another 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the rice cakes to a plate and cover to keep warm. Set aside, reserving the pan.
   
5. Wipe out the pan you used to fry the rice cakes, if necessary, and add the olive oil and pea shoots. Stir in the chili-garlic sauce, the sweet soy glaze, and season with sea salt and ground pepper. Sauté the pea shoots until just barely wilted.
   
6. Carve each of the steaks into 5 slices. Place 2 toasted rice cakes in the center of each plate, spoon the sautéed pea shoots over one side of the toasted rice cakes, and arrange the sliced beef around. Spoon the sweet soy glaze over and around the steak and serve at once.