“The cactus bloom as the summer is here
I struggle each day – the heat is hard to bear,
I look outside and the sun is too bright
I waited six years to see the Queen of the Night,
I’ve never seen the sky so clear and dry
And I crave for monsoon clouds to cry,
The summer hot sun seems a bit mean
The fall and winters are already in my dreams,
What can save me? Pumpkin and coconut
Here come the fresh spiced home made donuts”
Good news! My newly designed website is almost complete, and soon I’ll be able to share this site’s whole new look with you. It’s been a crazy few months, emailing back and forth and communicating with people all over the world to get the site up and running – I feel like I’ve lived in several different time zones at once for the past few months. I want to offer my sincere thanks to all the professionals, friends and family who have supported me in completing this project. While sometimes I really hate how complicated and technical technology can be, I’m so thankful to be able to stay connected with people around the world.
Tuscon’s big bloom night happened last week. After nearly six years living here, I finally managed to experience the Queen of the Night bloom at Tohono Chul Park. It was incredibly beautiful, and so magical and surreal. I almost wish the magical night could have lasted forever – not just for the cactus blooms, but because I never look forward to another hot summer day. The temperature seems to rise every single day, and it’s becoming hard to bear the heat. Summer in Arizona leaves me low on energy and feeling like I’m being slowly roasted by the sun. Sigh!
As I suffer through the heat, I hold on to magical moments like the cactus blooms to keep me going, but I also dream of fall and winter. Thinking of fall these last few days has made me crave pumpkin. Pumpkin spiced everything is the taste of fall, and I settled on pumpkin coconut spiced baked doughnuts to satisfy my seasonal cravings. Everyone loves home made doughnuts – even people who spell it donuts, although I never understood which was right – and there is no need to wait for a special season to enjoy them.
While American donuts are usually yeasty and fried, some can be baked into mouthwatering mini cakes. They are soft, flavorful and make a delightful breakfast or a perfect dessert. For these pumpkin coconut spiced baked doughnuts, I used coconut cream and some saffron to add a mild sweet note to offset the spiced pumpkin. The combination was exactly what I’d been craving, and when you try this recipe, you may find it whispering in your ears… bake me… eat me… savor me!
I’m off to California to visit family and friends, but I will leave you with this home made doughnut recipe so you too can dream of fall while I’m away. Happy summer!
- 115 grams (4 oz) flour
- 55 grams (2 oz) almond meal
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 80 grams sugar
- 1 ½ eggs
- 120 grams pumpkin puree
- 60 grams coconut puree
- 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- A pinch of saffron soaked in a teaspoon of water
- 3-4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- Preheat the oven to 400°
- Lightly grease the doughnut pan.
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to whisk the eggs and sugar.
- Add pumpkin puree, coconut cream and vanilla and whisk.
- Fold in dry ingredients and buttermilk to the above mixture.
- Pour the batter into the doughnut pan and fill till ½ the well is filled.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool for 5 minutes and transfer onto the cooling rack to cool completely before coating.
- In a shallow dish mix together sugar, cinnamon and desiccated coconut.
- Melt the butter in a pan.
- Dip each doughnut in butter and then in sugar mixture and transfer onto the wire rack.
~NJOY~
2 Comments
Beautiful esha
awesome recipes