Pumpkin Bars

I am really using dengue recovery as an excuse to eat, aren't I? I know I will regret this when I step onto the scale. But for now my scale will be lying underneath my chest of drawers doing what it does best - collecting dust. Hah!

After baking Lemon Bars and getting super addicted, I thought why not try another recipe using pumpkin. As it is, I love pumpkin. I reckon if I can get addicted on Lemon Bars, I would probably fall victim to Pumpkin Bars as well. Why am I doing this to myself? I don't know. The dengue virus is really messing up my brain.

Before I can make these Pumpkin Bars, I need pumpkin puree. I don't think I have seen any canned pumpkin puree on our supermarket shelves and even if there is, I would prefer to make my own. I opted for the bake method instead of steaming.

Bake pumpkin on the oven and scoop out the flesh.

It is quite simple. I baked half a pumpkin in the oven for 40 minutes and once it was cool enough to handle (but still warm), I scooped the flesh out and immediately mashed it using a fork. I don't own a food processor or a hand-held blender simply because there are too many gadgets in my kitchen and they are taking up a lot of space. And collecting dust :)

The recipe from Joy of Baking  is made in a 9"x 13" pan and since I only have a 9" x 9" pan, I contemplated scaling the recipe down. But after much thought, I decided to follow the quantities in the recipe except that I scaled down the pumpkin puree and heavy cream slightly and reduced the amount of sugar. I am really glad that my pan accommodated the quantity of the ingredients quite well. In fact, I think I can use the full recipe with no problems. See, the pumpkin bar is really quite flat and thin.

For the Hazelnut Shortbread Crust, instead of using roasted whole raw hazelnuts, I opted for ground hazelnuts which I toasted in a pan until fragrant. Nothing beats starting from scratch as the ground hazelnuts are not as fragrant. Next time, I will invest a bit more time to make my own ground hazelnuts.

I couldn't wait to have a taste as soon as the Pumpkin Bars came out of the oven. But I held my horses and waited for it to cool completely. I learnt from Laura in the Kitchen that to get clean cuts, use a hot knife. So I dipped my knife in hot water like what I usually do to slice cheesecakes.

But I did get lazy and did not dip after every cut. And that resulted in less that perfect slices. But it didn't matter. My first bite was pure ecstasy. Wow! The pumpkin layer was so "lemak" (creamy) and delicious and then you get that buttery nutty taste from the crust. I must really bake these Pumpkin Bars again!

Pumpkin Bars

Recipe source : Adapted from Joy of Baking

Ingredients for Hazelnut Shortbread :

- 65g ground hazelnuts

- 130g all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt

- 113g salted butter, softened

- 2tbsp light brown sugar

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method for Hazelnut Shortbread :

1. Toast ground hazelnuts in a pan until fragrant. Set aside to cool.

2. Once cooled, combine the ground hazelnuts with flour and set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

4. Add vanilla extract and continue to mix.

5. Add flour mixture and continue to beat until a soft dough forms.

6. Press the dough evenly and firmly into a lined 9" baking pan.

7. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the shortbread is set and beginning to brown around the edges.

Ingredients for the Pumpkin Filling :
- 2 large eggs

- 340g pure pumpkin puree (In future I will go for the original 425g)

- 100g light brown sugar

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 tsp cinnamon sugar

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 250ml heavy cream

Method for Pumpkin Filling :

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs

2. Add pumpkin, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon sugar and salt and whisk to combine.

3. Gradually stir in the cream.

4. Pour the filling over the pre-baked crust and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the filling is set in the center (mine was done at 35 minutes).

5. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

6. Once cooled, lift the pumpkin bars from the pan by holding on to the edges of the baking paper.

7. Place on a cutting board and slice into bars.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and hosted by Eileen of Eileen's Diary.