Pumpkin Brownie

by Lou Robbie

These pumpkin brownies are incredible….I even surprised myself with this one! The bitterness from the chocolate works so well with the earthy sweetness of the pumpkin and the warming spices too. Make sure to have a nice warm drink, tea or coffee or a spiced latte, if thats your preference, and get cosy with this sweet autumn treat!

Liz on a previous post laid the foundations for this recipe and gave instructions on how to make your Autumn Flavour Kit with pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice mix, check it out and come back here to make these brownies. I’m a little bit obsessed with the pumpkin (aka Kuri squash) at the moment, I’ll be cooking them for all things sweet and savoury over the next few months.

Once you have your pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice at hand, there is an endless amount of autumn baking recipes to sift through and experiment with. My first thoughts were cake, cookies, bread and then this brownie. I did extend my research to the US where many bakers have a whole catalogue of spiced pumpkin recipes. I did a bit of tweaking with this recipe and the result was much better that I could have hoped for!

I really hope you make them and enjoy them,

Lou

Ingredients – makes 16 squares

For the brownie batter

For the pumpkin batter

  • 225g granulated sugar
  • 180g pumpkin puree 
  • 170g butter, melted
  • 2 large eggs , at room temperature
  • 200g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice** (follow the link Autumn Flavour Kit to make your own or add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon mixed spice)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and butter and line with parchment a 9×13-inch (23×33- cm) baking tray.

For the brownie batter

  1. In a mixing bowl beat (with an electric mixer) or whisk together the melted butter and sugar. 
  2. Then crack in the eggs and beat for a few minutes until pale in colour.
  3. Using a sieve, sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Gently mix with a spatula to combine. 
  4. Finally, fold in the chopped chocolate and spread evenly in the prepared pan.

For the pumpkin batter

  1. In a mixing bowl beat or whisk together the melted butter and sugar. 
  2. Then crack in the eggs and beat for a few minutes until pale in colour. 
  3. Gently stir in the pumpkin puree. 
  4. Using a sieve, sift in the flour, baking powder and pumpkin spice. Gently mix with a spatula to combine. 
  5. Pour the pumpkin batter on top of the brownie batter.
  6. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. You want the brownie to be a bit gooey so don’t over bake.

Sowing the Seeds of Love

by Kenneth Keavey

These lyrics from ‘Tears for Fears’ may not have been talking about plants, but they do describe activities on the farm this week.

The last seven days have been a stretch on the farm for all sorts of reasons. We are very lucky to have, in every area of our business, strong teams and the farm is no exception.

When you don’t need to ask and yet the lads put in 12-hour days to get the sowing done before the rain you know you have special people. 

In vegetable farming it is about a great many things but right at the top of the list is timing.

Getting the timing right is powerful stuff and the race against the rain in the West of Ireland is always a close call and fraught with uncertainty.

I am relieved that the carrots, parsnips, beetroot, and spinach are all now in the ground. There is more to sow, but the first batches are sown and that has for now stilled the vague buzz of concern at the back of my mind that we will not win the race against the weather.

The first tomatoes, cucumbers and a host of broccolis, cabbages, kales, romanescos and more are all planted and making good progress.

So, we march on, the first weeding is happening the first harvest of new season crops too, our own gorgeous lettuce and spinach, chard, radish parsley and more.

‘Feel the pain, talk about it’ another lyric from the same great song. There has been hard work certainly, pain a little, satisfaction at a job well done for sure. But there is pain in the modern world of food production and we in our own little way we are attempting to set that right.

Although we have been very busy with the work of growing food our care for the land has certainly not been forgotten, the wildflowers, the hedges and wildlife, the trees, the birds and beehives, the pigs and the foxes, the work on those long term valuable investments has already been done in quieter days.

The fruits and benefits of which now we can see.

Every day I am so grateful to be able to do this, I am grateful to you for giving us and our farm the opportunity to thrive.

Your choice to get a box from us is an amazingly positive thing and you should know it is making a difference for you and your families health, and for the health of the planet.

Thank you.

Kenneth

PS: Have you tried our new repeat order system yet? You can set up an order for delivery every week and you can pause it or change it at any time.  So if you need certain things each week why not add them to your regular fruit and veg order and never miss your order deadline again?