Frosting

I am a strong believer that it is more important for frosting to taste good than look good, although both can ought to be true at the same time. No fondant for me. And, I am not a fan of of Royal Icing that dries candy hard. Both look great and hold up extremely well but don't please the palate. I will take a frosting that sticks to your fingers and melts in your mouth, hands down.

I also think that having some frosting at the ready in the freezer should be a Homemade Staple. Frosting makes every homemade baked good extra special -- cakes and cookies, muffins and quick breads, May I suggest you keep a package of graham crackers on hand to frost on those days when an unexpected treat might simply serve a guest or ailing family member exceptionally well.

Cream Cheese Frosting tops my family's list of favorites with a touch of tang to complement its sweet creaminess. This frosting is simple enough for every day and delicious enough to top a celebratory cake, too. It is also versatile as you can easily alter the flavor with a simple addition. Play with the recipe. Add a few tablespoons pure maple syrup. Or the rind of a lemon or orange along with a tablespoon of its juice. Or a teaspoon of ground cinnamon or ginger.

I usually double this recipe so that I can freeze half as I did last week, when I made Pumpkin Spice Cake. After freezing two cup portions of pumpkin puree each autumn from my remaining pie pumpkins, I am always ready to bake pumpkin based baked goods such as this to delight and warm loved ones before spring thaws. Both recipes follow and may become regulars in your home as well.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 4-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature

¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

In a medium mixer bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla, 3 to 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating till smooth.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

4 large eggs

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

¾ cup vegetable oil

2 cups pumpkin purée (homemade or canned)

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon table salt

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or line 2 pans of 24 cupcake cups.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until light and lemon-colored. Gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy. Add vegetable oil in a thin stream, beating constantly. Mix in pumpkin purée.
3. Sift together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger, and cloves. Blend into pumpkin mixture, half at a time.
4. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan. Bake at 350º for 45 to 50 minutes for cake or 20 to 25 minutes for cupcakes, or until cake(s) spring(s) back when lightly touched in the center. Cool pan on a wired rack.

Yield: 16 to 24 servings

Staples

Every pantry includes the basic and necessary food items for a particular cook's kitchen. Launching Gatherings and the Culpable Cook in 2016, I thought I might focus on the Homemade Staples I rely on in my cooking. As I transition from one college town to the next, one home to the next, one kitchen to the next, I want to remind myself that my family's defining foods will remain to comfort us through the changes ahead. Just as our personal props, our core belongings that define us no matter the context, will accompany us to a new stage, so will our favorite foods and dishes accompany us for new gatherings on location in a new setting.

The week after my last post, Launch, about digging into bread pudding, I made an old family favorite of German origins for Julia, Jenny and David's daughter, who is a good friend of my older daughter. Spätzle, a soft egg noodle of southern Germany, are often eaten at our house as dumplings in chicken noodle soup or along with Schnitzel.

These delicate noodles were a regular part of my diet during my junior year abroad, studying in Freiburg, Germany. You can use a slotted spoon to make them, but I received a Spätzle maker from my sister many years ago, and it has gotten plenty of use. If you make Spätzle and enjoy them, this utensil is quite affordable and readily available now on the web.

If you are pressed for time, you can skip the garlic entirely and make a simpler egg noodle without it, although the garlic does lend an incredible amount of flavor. For Julia, I made a traditional dish of Spätzle with cheese and ham called Käsespätzle und Schinken which also follows. Traditionally, I like to add a side of something sweet like apple slices or applesauce and tart like pickled red cabbage to complement the Emmentaler and ham and complete the meal.

Spätzle

1 head garlic

Olive oil

½ cup milk

¼ cup finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves or basil leaves

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

¼ teaspoon sea salt

3 eggs, beaten

2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1. Brush garlic with olive oil, wrap in aluminum foil, and roast at 450˚F for 1 hour until soft. Cool.
2. Squeeze roasted garlic cloves from their skins into a bowl and mash with a fork to a paste. Add milk, parsley or basil, butter, salt, and eggs, stirring until smooth.
3. Put flour into a large mixing bowl; form a well in center. Slowly pour in garlic-milk mixture, stirring with a fork to form a smooth batter.
4. Bring a 5 quart pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Set Spätzle maker over the pot. Work in batches, scraping batter through holes into water and cooking until dumplings rise to the surface, about 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to transfer dumpling to a baking sheet.
   

Käsespätzle und Schinken

3 tablespoons butter

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cups diced ham

1 cup grated Emmentaler cheese

5. Heat butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add dumplings, stirring constantly, cook until lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
6. Stir ham into dumplings and continue cooking until warmed through; sprinkle with cheese.
7. Broil with rack 5 inches from heating element until cheese melts, about 2 minutes.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings