Made with just pumpkin puree and spice cake mix, these baked pumpkin donuts take just 10 minutes to whip up and 15 minutes to bake. 

If you want to get fancy, you can even add a delicious maple drizzle with chopped pecans for the perfect pumpkin season treat. 

After making my 2-ingredient pumpkin bread a couple of years ago, I knew I needed to make pumpkin doughnuts with spice cake mix! These soft and fluffy doughnuts are cake doughnuts (so no need for yeast or frying oil), so they’re a breeze to make.

Using a ready-made cake mix means no need to measure anything out or use any fancy equipment for this easy recipe. Now, if you do want to go the extra mile with these pumpkin donuts, then you can cover them in my favorite maple drizzle! 

why you’ll love these 2 ingredient pumpkin donuts

• Quick: Whip up a batch of these cake donuts in under 30 minutes!
• Easy: You only need 2 simple ingredients to make these easy pumpkin donuts.
• Pumpkin: It’s the best combination of pumpkin and spice flavours for all of those fans of pumpkin spice during the Fall season.

Ingredients needed

Pumpkin: You need just one can of pumpkin puree; make sure you’re using 100% pumpkin puree, and not pumpkin pie filling. Canned pumpkin pie filling already has sugar and spices in it, which we don’t need here.

Spice Cake Mix: You’ll want a 14-15oz box or 375 grams box of spice cake mix. Spice cake mix is perfect in these pumpkin donuts because of all the warm spices. See my tips below on how to enhance the pumpkin spice flavour further.

How to use boxed cake mix to make homemade pumpkin donuts

I personally love using a spice cake mix. I find that the spices are perfect with the pumpkin! You can swap it out for vanilla or French vanilla cake mix. If you want the same amount of spices, make sure to add 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice (and then it’ll be 3-ingredient baked pumpkin donuts!) 

How to make these homemade baked pumpkin donuts

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°Fahrenheit and spray two donut pans with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, mix the pumpkin puree with the spice cake mix until smooth.

Step 3: Fill a large piping bag with the donut batter (or use a ziplock bag with a corner snipped off).

Step 4: Pipe the batter into the donut pan, filling each about three-quarters full, dividing between the 12 spaces in the donut pan.

Step 5: Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Step 6: Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to completely cool.

Step 7: If you want to drizzle over a maple glaze, let the donuts cool completely. Mix the melted butter, maple syrup, and icing sugar until smooth. Drizzle over the donuts or dip them into the glaze. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. 

Tips & Tricks

• Only have one donut pan? Bake the first batch and let them cool for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack. Spray the pan again with cooking spray and pipe the next batch of donuts. 
• To enhance the pumpkin spice flavor of these donuts, add ¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ¼ teaspoon of both ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg to the pumpkin puree and spice cake mixture. 
• If you want a loaf cake instead, then you should try my 2-ingredient pumpkin bread!

Variations on these cake mix donuts

• Cinnamon sugar: Make a cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat these donuts in instead.  Brush the donuts with melted butter (or dip them in) and then gently toss in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. 
• Cream cheese icing: Swap out the maple glaze for cream cheese icing! 
• Brown sugar glaze: Try a brown sugar glaze for these donuts by melting 2 tbsp milk, 1 tbsp butter and 1/4 cup lightly-packed brown sugar in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir well to combine and then whisk in 1/2 cup powdered (icing) sugar and 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon until well combined. Let sit for 5 minutes to cool and then glaze the cooled donuts.
• Powdered sugar: Toss the cooled homemade donuts gently in powdered sugar.

common questions about this pumpkin donuts recipe

How to store these donuts

I find that baked donuts taste best on the day of baking. If you do have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. 

More easy pumpkin recipes to make from the blog

• Easy No-Bake Biscoff Cookie Pumpkin Truffles Recipe
• Pumpkin Spiced Oat Smoothie
• Quick Pumpkin Whipped Feta Dip with Crispy Sage

Print

2 Ingredient Baked Pumpkin Donuts (with cake mix)

Make these 2 ingredient pumpkin donuts with just pumpkin puree & spice cake mix! Top with maple icing & pecans for the ultimate Fall dessert.

Course Dessert

Cuisine american-inspired

Keyword donut, pumpkin, pumpkin spice

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12 donuts

Author Jess

Ingredients

For the donuts

• 14-15 oz can pure pumpkin purée
• 14-15 oz (375 grams) box spice cake mix

Optional topping: maple glaze with chopped pecans

• 1 tbsp butter, melted
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 cup icing (powdered) sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

Optional topping: cinnamon sugar

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray two donut pans (6 donuts each) with cooking spray.
• In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the pumpkin purée and the spice cake mix until fully combined and smooth.
• Fill a large piping bag with the batter or (you can also use a large ziptop bag and then cut one of the corners, about 1 inch wide, to make a homemade piping bag).
• Pipe the batter into the donut pan, filling each about three-quarters full, dividing between the 12 spaces in the donut pans.
• Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the donuts to a cooling rack.
• Note: If you only have one donut pan, let the first batch cool in the donut pan for 5-10 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. Spray the donut pan again and pipe in the next batch of donuts. Follow the baking instructions above.
• Optional: use the maple glaze or cinnamon sugar toppings below

Optional topping: maple glaze

• When the pumpkin donuts are completely cooled, remove from the pan. If desired, make the icing by mixing together the melted butter, maple syrup and icing sugar until smooth. Drizzle the icing over each donut and then sprinkle over chopped pecans if desired. You can also spread the icing or dip the donuts tops into the icing before topping with finely chopped pecans.

Optional topping: cinnamon sugar

• Melt the butter in a bowl and set aside. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in another bowl and set aside. Dip the donuts in the melted butter, making sure to get both sides of the donut and letting excess butter drip off. Then, dip the donut in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, coating all sides. Repeat until all donuts are done.

Notes

• To enhance the pumpkin spice flavor of these donuts, add ¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ¼ teaspoon of both ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg to the pumpkin puree and spice cake mixture. 
• Can I make these gluten-free? You definitely can! Use a gluten-free cake mix to make these 2 ingredient pumpkin donuts and follow the same steps in the detailed instructions above.
• A great substitute for a piping bag is to use a ziplock bag with a corner snipped off.

The post 2 Ingredient Baked Pumpkin Donuts (with cake mix) appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

A couple of months ago I was chatting with my friend Clare and we realized we had fond memories of having tea and coffee with our grandma’s, always over delicious baked goods.

Clare mentioned that her and her Great-Grandmother had a tradition when she would go over to visit that involved teacups. Given my love for pretty serving pieces that I love to use, I had to know more!

We got together one afternoon and over my Oma’s Apple Sponge Cake, I chatted with Clare about her memories while I photographed her amazing antique teacup collection.

Having both an English Grandmother and Great-Grandmother it only made sense she’d have a love for all things tea!

As a child Clare spent days and nights with her Great-Grandmother, learning to quilt, sew and taking several tea and cookie breaks in between. Each time when she would leave her Great-Grandmother’s house she was allowed to pick one tea cup from the china hutch, to take home and begin her own collection.

The collection is comprised of family heirlooms from New Brunswick that were brought across country when the family moved and lots of fun colourful pieces that were acquired over the years – creating this lovely backdrop for endless entertaining possibilities.

As you can see, Clare has this amazing collection of teacups that carry such special memories and whenever she uses one of those teacups, she can be transported back to those lovely afternoons with her Great-Grandmother.

For me, seeing Clare’s collection reminded me a lot about my Oma (German grandma).  A tradition that I can remember since I was very young was having ‘coffee’ around 3-3:30PM every afternoon which involved everyone sitting down, enjoying coffee from teacups and of course a delicious baked good.

That is where this simple Apple Sponge Cake comes in as its a cake I remember having at ‘coffee’ and its the perfect accompaniment to coffee or tea.  It’s a light sponge with a buttery outer crust that forms from baking the cake in a springform pan. Plus the apples add the perfect sweetness and you can top this cake with either an apricot jam glaze or simply icing sugar.

Total time: 75 minutes (30 minutes preparation, 45 minutes baking)
Servings: 10-12
Equipment: springform pan, electric mixer

Ingredients:

2 large apples (i.e. Gala), peeled and each sliced into about 16 slices
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 tsp lemon zest
3 eggs
2 cups all- purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp milk
2 tbsp butter, melted

For the topping you simply sprinkle icing sugar over the cake once cooked OR make the apricot topping:
2 tbsp apricot jam
1 tbsp water

Instructions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350F and butter the springform pan.

Peel the apples and cut each apple into about 16 slices. Set the apples aside.

For the sponge cake, use an electric mixer or hand-mixer with a whisk attachment.  Whisk the soft butter for 2 minutes on medium speed.

Add the sugar, vanilla extract, salt and lemon zest, whisking for 2 minutes on medium speed until you obtain a smoothie mixture, scraping the sides of your mixing bowl as needed.

Whisk in the eggs one at a time, mixing for about 30 seconds on high speed after you add each egg.

In a separate bowl, mix together your flour and baking powder.

Then, add the flour mixture into the mixture in two instalments, alternating with the milk, whisking on medium speed briefly after each addition (flour-mix-milk-mix-flour-mix-milk-mix).  You will have a mixture that is more like a dough than a batter once all is combined.

Transfer the mixture into the springform pan and smooth the top to make it even.

Arrange the apples in two circles on the sponge cake mixture. Then melt the 2 tbsp of butter and pour the melted butter over the apples.

Put the cake in the bottom third of the even to bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

As the cake is getting close to being done mix the 2 tbsp apricot jam with 1 tbsp water in a small pan. Bring to a boil and then immediately remove from the heat.

As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, pour the apricot jam mixture over the cake.

Then, release and remove the ring part of the pan. Loosen the cake away from the bottom of the pan, then leave to cool on a wire rack.

Alternately, if you don’t use the apricot jam mixture as a topping when the cake has cooled sprinkle the top with icing sugar.

Then, enjoy a piece of this delicious cake with a cup of tea or coffee and family or friends!

This cake is best enjoyed within two days of baking.

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Teacups, Grandmas and Apple Sponge Cake appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

My Mom has been making basil pesto since I can remember, usually pairing it with pasta that is topped with chicken and fresh tomatoes.

When I was a kid I was always intrigued by this green sauce but now as an adult basil pesto is absolutely one of my FAVOURITE summer sauces! I’m not kidding when I say I could eat this pesto by the spoonful.

The flavour of basil mixed with a few simple ingredients including garlic, parmesan cheese, pine nuts and olive oil is one of the best combinations around.

This is my Mom’s simple and Easy Basil Pesto recipe.

Total time: 10 minutes
Servings: makes 1 cup
Equipment: baking sheet, food processor or blender

Ingredients:

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 cups of basil, packed
3 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
Cook’s Note: If you don’t love pine nuts, you can easily substitute with almonds or walnuts.

Instructions:

Pre-heat your oven to a low broil setting. Spread the pine nuts out on your baking sheet and toast 3-4 minutes, until they start to turn golden. Remove from the oven and let cool.

In your food processor, add the basil, pine nuts and garlic and pulse until everything is chopped into small pieces.

Next, add in the salt and pepper and stream in the olive oil while your food processor is running on low until everything is combined.

Then, transfer the pesto to a bowl and stir in the parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust with extra salt and pepper if needed.

Personally, I like to let the pesto sit at least an hour in the fridge before eating AND the sauce is even better the next day.

Plus, you can use this sauce in so many different ways! I love to use basil pesto as a sauce on pita pizza’s, on pasta topped with fresh chopped tomatoes and with one of my dinner recipes, Pesto Baked Chicken.  You could also use this basil pesto to make a fresh salad using sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and topped with this pesto – the opportunities are endless!

So dive on in to making this basil pesto this summer and if you want freeze a batch to take out when the weather gets cooler.

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Easy Basil Pesto appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

This is my husband Scott’s family biscuit recipe that I’ve used as the base and then added my own little spin to it with white cheddar and fresh thyme.

The dough come together ever so simply and the cheddar adds a wonderful cheesy touch.

Now, how would you enjoy these delightful biscuits? Might I suggest you eating them fresh out of the oven with a dollop of butter OR toast the biscuits for the perfect egg-sandwich for breakfast OR eat them as the perfect accompaniment to a big family dinner.

Total time: 45 minutes
Servings: 10-12
Equipment:  cup or circle cookie-cutter, baking sheet, rolling pin

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup white cheddar cheese, finely shredded
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2/3 – 1 cup of milk
1/2 cup white cheddar cheese, finely shredded (for topping)

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 400F.

In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cream of tartar, 1/3 cup shredded white cheddar and thyme.

Next, using two knives or pastry cutter, chop the butter into the flour mixture until small pieces of butter remain.

Then, stir in 2/3 cup of milk to get a soft dough (add in a bit more milk if needed).

On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out and knead for about 30 seconds.  Then roll the dough out to a 1/2 inch thickness and cut into circles.

Cook’s Note: A glass cup makes a perfect cookie-cutter to cut out the biscuits.

Place the biscuits onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.

It will be hard to resist eating one of these right out of the oven so I say just go for it! Break a warm biscuit open, top with butter, sit back and enjoy!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

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For as long as I can remember I have LOVED anything with apples – from desserts to pancakes to muffins, apples and cinnamon are a classic combination that I just adore.

My Mom used to make these muffins when we were growing up and they did not last more than a day (maybe two) in our house.

Just baking these muffins will give your house this lovely scent of home baked, cozy comfort which is especially lovely with the coolers days approaching.

These muffins are full of apples with a slightly caramel taste and the crumbled topping puts them to another level of deliciousness.  So here they are, Momma’s Apple Muffins!

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Equipment: muffin tin, muffin/cupcake liners, 1 large mixing bowl, 2 smaller bowls
Servings: makes a dozen large muffins

Ingredients:
Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon

Muffin Batter:
1 ½ cups firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil (I actually used avocado oil and it worked great!)
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 ½ cups flour
2 cups peeled & diced apples (about 2 large apples, Gala or a firmer apple work well)

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 325F.

Mix all of the topping ingredients with a fork and set aside.  Peel and dice the apples, set aside.

Combine the brown sugar, vegetable oil and egg in a large bowl – whisk until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, baking soda, salt and vanilla.

Measure out the flour in a small bowl and then alternate adding the flour and buttermilk mixture into the brown sugar bowl, stirring until just combined after each addition to create your batter.

Once all of the flour and buttermilk mixture has been added, fold the apples into the batter.

Spoon the batter into your muffin tin and sprinkle the top of each muffin with the topping.

Bake for 30 minutes or until done.

These muffins will last about 2-3 days in an airtight container (if they’re not all eaten by then!)

I even like them better the second day when the crumbled topping has softened a bit.

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Momma’s Apple Muffins appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

It’s a bit funny as a lot of my pancake memories link back to eating them for dinner instead of breakfast.

Growing up my Oma would make these delicious apple pancakes for dinner, yes, for dinner. As a kid this was one of my absolute favourite meals (for obvious reasons) – does it get better than pancakes topped with cinnamon and sugar?!

The actual German name for this dish which I can remember from growing up is “Apfelkrapfen” (‘up-full-grep-fen’) – this word actually translates directly to mean ‘apple fritter.’  However, in my Oma’s recipe we always cooked them in a frying pan on the stove-top.

The recipe is a simple crepe-style dough in which you dip whole apple slices, then cook them.

Such simple ingredients with such a delicious outcome – you can make these for breakfast, lunch/brunch or (my personal favourite) dinner.  Heck you could probably even serve them for dessert!

I have not eaten or made these in at least 10 years  so when I made them the taste and smell immediately transported me back to being a kid – I could picture myself and my brother in my Oma’s kitchen eating them up.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Equipment: Small & Large Mixing Bowls, Frying Pan (Optional: Apple Corer)
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

Crepe Dough:
4 eggs
1 ½ cups whole milk (3.25%)
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp sugar
pinch (1/8 tsp) salt
Extra: ½ cup whole milk (3.25%) in case you need to thin out your batter
Extra: butter for the frying pan when cooking

Apples:
6 large apples peeled & cored (Gala apples are my preferred apple but Granny Smith would work too)
**Helpful tip: If you don’t have an apple corer, you can simply use a small knife.  Use the knife to cut around the core from both ends and then press from one end to pop the core out.  Once you cut the apple slices you might have to trim a bit if there is any core left.

Cinnamon-Sugar Mix:
½ cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
**Helpful tip:  You can double, triple this sugary mix if you need to OR add more cinnamon or sugar to adjust the taste to your liking.

Instructions:

Mix the wet ingredients together (eggs and 1 ½ cups of milk) and set aside.

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, then whisk in the sugar and salt.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, whisking until you get a smooth batter.  If for some reason your batter is not as smooth as you like it and/or a bit thick, this is where the extra ½ cup of milk comes in.  Gradually add a few drops of milk and whisk again – repeat this until your batter smooths out then set aside.

Next up are the apples.  Peel and core the apples.

**Helpful tip: If you don’t have an apple corer, you can simply use a small knife.  Use the knife to cut around the core from both ends and then press from one end to pop the core out.  Once you cut the apple slices you might have to trim a bit if there is any core left.

Then, cut into approximately 1/2-inch slices – for me each apple gave me about 6 slices.

Then, mix the cinnamon and sugar together and set aside.

Now, time to cook! At this time give your batter another good stir.

Turn your frying pan to medium and add butter to melt and cover the bottom of the pan (approximately 1 tbsp).   As soon as the pan heats up and butter is melted (and before butter turns brown), using a fork or knife (chefs choice) grab an apple slice, dip into the batter letting excess drip off and then place in the pan.

I fit about 6 slices per batch in my frying pan.

Cook for 5 ½ minutes (batter will start to bubble on top and edges will start to brown).

Flip and cook another 4 ½-5 minutes until both sides are golden.

Take the batch out of the pan and serve immediately.  Then, start the process over again with butter in the pan and dip and drop the apples into the pan for the next batch.

Cook’s Note:  After a few batches I found I needed to give my pan a good clean with a paper towel as some of the leftover butter started to brown quite a bit.  Then you can start with a few more batches.

If you want to keep them warm in order to serve more than one batch at a time, turn your oven to 200F and you can keep the pancakes warm on a baking sheet until ready to eat.

Cook’s Note:  If you find one side of the pancake is getting darker than the other, just turn your dial down a bit to just under medium – you might have to adjust as you go depending on how hot your stove-top gets.

Lastly, serve up the pancakes and cinnamon-sugar mix for each person to customize their plate.

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Apple Pancakes appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

We would all gather at the table, the aroma of coffee in the air and enjoy coffee & cake every afternoon around 3PM.  I absolutely loved this tradition – I mean really, which kid wouldn’t love cake mid-day?!

While I liked the cake part of ‘coffee time,’ having everyone together at the table just being together was what I loved most and remember most.  It was a pretty neat tradition and one I still talk about to this day.

I had my mom send me some of my all-time favourite recipes of my Oma’s, specifically related to ‘coffee time’ and today I’m sharing with you Blueberry Streusel Cake.  When I baked this recently I opened the oven and this wave of sweetness plus baked blueberries hit me, it smelled EXACTLY like it did 20 years ago at the cottage; it was like being transported back in time.

Perhaps this cake will inspire you to start your own coffee & cake tradition.

Prep time: 1 hour for cottage cheese step + 1 hour to prep & bake
Equipment: 15″ x 10″ (approximately) Cookie Sheet, scale & stand mixer (if you choose to use)

Ingredients: (Recipe serves 12-16)

Dough:
200g cottage cheese (drip/drained for 1 hour prior to use in recipe)
6 tbsp milk
1 egg
8 tbsp vegetable oil (only use vegetable oil, do not use olive oil)
100g sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
400g flour
4 tsp baking powder

Blueberry Streusel Topping:
4 small blueberry containers, washed and dried
Streusel:
65g melted butter
100g flour
65g sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

**Special Step:  Measure out the cottage cheese.  Rest a sieve on a bowl, put the cottage cheese in and let it drip/drain for 1 hour.  Once most of the liquid is gone, empty liquid and press the cottage cheese through the sieve.  You will end up with a finer curd.

Mix cottage cheese with milk. Then, add the rest of the liquids (egg, vegetable oil, vanilla) and the sugar.

Measure the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl and whisk to combine.

Then mix in half of flour mixture into the liquid mixture. This will start to form a doughy texture.

Knead the rest of flour mixture into the dough you’ve already started to form. I would recommend incorporating the flour gradually, you can use a quarter or half cup to transfer the flour, then knead in until combined. Repeat until the flour is gone. (This part of the recipe is where you get an arm workout OR you can use the knead function if you own a stand mixer at home).

Use butter to grease a cookie sheet.  Then, roll dough to approximately the same size of the cookie sheet – transfer to cookie sheet.  **Helpful tip: I rolled my dough onto a piece of parchment paper approximately the size of the cookie sheet, then used it to help flip the dough onto the cookie sheet.

Layer blueberries onto dough.

To make the streusel topping, measure & then melt the butter.  Combine melted butter, flour, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl – stir until ingredients are combined and form into crumbles (otherwise known as streusels).

Use hands and crumble streusel onto blueberries.

Bake 20 – 30 min at 350. (Berries will start to burst and bottom of cake will be golden)

Once cooled, dust with icing sugar.

Cook’s Note:  This cake is good covered and stored on cookie sheet pan for 1-2 days.  To make it go a bit further, store in an airtight container.  Also, since the cake overall is on the less sweet side, you could definitely have a piece as breakfast – I may have done this a few times growing up.

While this cake is delicious fresh-baked, it’s even better the next day! Pour yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy.

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Blueberry Streusel Cake appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

I was visiting my brother recently and he told me this story of the first time he made mac & cheese aka ‘Kraft Dinner’ from a box; it was one of his earliest memories of cooking something by himself when he was young.

Mike and I don’t see each other very often but when we do, we catch-up and share stories over many meals.  We have a love for food in common so we decided to make a more grown-up mac & cheese version with some of Mike’s favourite things – peas, pancetta and cauliflower. Oh yes, this was going to be one epic mac & cheese.

As Mike doesn’t do as much cooking as he’d like, it was nice to spend the time cooking this meal together.  We put on some good tunes, a mix of 90s rock/alternative, went to work in his kitchen and a new classic dish was born.

Ingredients: (Recipe serves 6-8)
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 tsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
1/4 tsp each Kosher Salt & Pepper
Penne (700g)
¾ lb pancetta sliced thick (or 8 half-inch slices)
1 cup frozen peas (I like to use the ‘sweetlet’ peas, they have a nice bright flavour)
¾ cup panko bread crumbs

Sauce:
1 small yellow onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
4 tbsp butter
¼ cup flour
3 cups milk (warmed)
¼ cup spicy Dijon
250g or ½ lb of 3-5 year old Cheddar, grated
250g of ½ lb of Gruyere, grated
Hot sauce
Salt & Pepper

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 425F.  Chop cauliflower into florets.  In a bowl, add olive oil and season with chili powder, garlic powder, kosher salt and pepper.  Spread on a cookie sheet and roast, 15 minutes, remove and toss then roast another 15-20 minutes until golden & crisp.  Set aside.

Chop pancetta into half-inch cubes.

In a medium frying pan, heat to medium and add pancetta.  Cook, stirring a few times, allowing the pancetta to get nicely browned about 10-15 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, take out pancetta onto a plate with paper towel to drain the fat. Leave a little bit of the fat in the pan.  Add the onion and garlic to the pan, sautéing until the onion is translucent, about 8-10 minutes. Add the frozen peas into the pan and toss 3-4 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper.  Toss the pancetta back in, turn the pan off and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook the Penne noodles 8-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain and set aside to cool.

Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Lightly butter a 9×13 rectangular baking dish (or other shallow casserole dish)

Grate both cheeses.  To make the sauce, heat the milk in a saucepan over low-medium heat.  While the milk is heating, in another medium pot add 4 tbsp of butter, melting over medium heat.  Once melted, add the flour to the butter, whisking until it forms a smooth paste.  Turn the heat to low, whisking occasionally and let bubble for about 2 minutes.  Make sure it doesn’t start to brown.   Next, whisk in the warmed milk, the spicy Dijon, a few dashes of your favourite hot sauce, pinches of salt and pepper.  Turn the heat back to medium and whisk consistently until sauce is thick, creamy and smooth – about 3-5 minutes..  Turn off the heat and whisk in the cheese until it is all melted.  Taste the sauce – season with more salt, pepper or hotsauce depending on your taste.

Next its time to assemble the dish – first, mix the noodles into the sauce.  Then, add the peas and pancetta mixture plus the roasted cauliflower into the pot with the noodles, gently folding into the noodle and sauce mixture.  And then pour everything into your baking dish.

Top with the panko breadcrumbs.  Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until top is brown and golden.

Now it’s time to enjoy!

I won’t lie, Mike and I both topped our mac & cheese with a bit more hotsauce – I highly recommend the ‘Chipotle Tabasco’ hot sauce.  The smoky chipotle flavour amps up the dish to the next level.

Plus, you can’t have a meal like this without a lovely glass of white wine (well, that’s how we roll anyway).  Pair with a nice tart Sauvignon Blanc or my personal favourite, a Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc.

Cook’s Note: If you have leftovers, it freezes very well. Portion into lunch or dinner servings then you can defrost in the fridge and warm-up in the oven in the future.  I usually warm-up in a covered dish on 400F for about 20-30 minutes.

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

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