Tio Pepes Pine Nut Cake Recipes

SPINACH AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Wash the spinach, but allow the water to cling to the leaves. Cook the spinach until it wilts in a skillet over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach, pine nuts, and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Season with pepper and serve.

ITALIAN PINE NUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
• Whip the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and egg white by hand or in a mixer fitted with the whip attachment until pale and doubled in volume. Whisk in the oil, lemon zest and vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, sift the flour and salt. Add this to the egg mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the toasted pine nuts and scrape the batter into the prepared pam. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the untoasted pine nuts and bake for about 40 minutes, until the top of the cake is a rich golden brown, with slightly darker golden edges. Cool the cake in the pan before turning out to serve.
• * To toast pine nuts, spread them on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake them for 10 minutes in a 350 F oven. Cool before using.

PUMPKIN-PINE NUT CAKE

Steps:

• Cut the prunes in half and put them in a bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave them to plump for 10 minutes. Drain well and place in a clean bowl. Mix the simple syrup and Armagnac together and pour over the prunes. Let macerate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight. Store the prunes in the maceration liquid.
• Heat the oven to 375°F or 350°F on convection.
• Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and fibers. Use a small sharp knife to score the flesh in a checkerboard pattern, cutting in about 1/2 inch. Rub each half with the butter, sprinkle with the brown sugar, and season with salt. Put the pumpkin on a baking sheet, cut-side up, and bake until very tender and browned, about 45 minutes.
• When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, peel it and put the flesh through a food mill.
• Line a strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth. Scrape the pumpkin puree into the strainer, set it over a bowl, cover with cheesecloth, and weight it. Let the puree drain for at least 2 hours to remove the excess liquid.
• Put the pine nuts, the sugars, and a pinch of salt in a food processor. Pulse to chop the nuts. Slowly add the butter, pulsing until you have pea-sized pieces. Transfer to a bowl and chill until ready to use.
• Heat the oven to 350°F or 325°F on convection. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment. Spray twelve 2 x 2-inch ring molds or 1 1/2-inch square molds with cooking spray and set on the pan.
• Put the pine nuts, all-purpose flour, semolina, salt, baking powder, and sugars in a food processor. Pulse and process until the pine nuts are ground. Add the butter and pulse until well mixed; the texture should be coarse.
• Combine the eggs, pumpkin puree, olive oil, zest, and vanilla seeds (rinse, dry, and save the pod for another use) in a mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add to the processor and process for 30 seconds.
• Coarsely chop half of the drained prunes and fold into the batter. Fill the molds two-thirds full. Top with the streusel, filling the molds. Bake until a tester comes out clean and the streusel is browned, about 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
• Let cool briefly, then remove the molds.
• Put the warm cakes on dessert plates and garnish with the remaining prunes and the maceration liquid.
• You could use canned pumpkin puree.