Making (Autumn-Themed) Marzipan Fruits and Vegetables

I have to confess, I was not happy with the marzipan pumpkins I made for the Boo Cake. The coloring was off and the scoring (i.e the lines) were messy. (If you look at the cake again, you can see that the marzipan sheared as I was scoring it.)

So being me, I set off on a mission to learn more about sculpting marzipan. And the upshot was....? A bit disappointing.

It turns out that there is very little about sculpting marzipan on the web and virtually nothing in print form.  But after experimenting on my own, I concluded that these confections are rather easy (and fun) to make: All you need is basic Play Dough skills, a few ingredients/tools and patience.

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Marzipan: The Great Imitator

They say that art imitates nature. But in the case of these delightful confections, marzipan is the great imitator. Take a peak, and judge for yourself.....

Pumpkins

Butternut squash

Acorn Squash

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Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake

Where has autumn gone? Daylight savings time ended yesterday and Thanksgiving is less than 3 weeks away. So in honor of the fall harvest and the coming holidays, I decided to make a quintessential fall dessert: Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake

I am an absolute sucker when it comes to bourbon. The smell and taste of it (buttery, with hints of carmel and nougat) makes me swoon. (Ok, maybe that is an exaggeration. I quiver, just a bit.) So when I saw this recipe for Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake, originally published in Gourmet Magazine in 1990, I knew I had to make it.

This recipe is a playful variation on a classic pumpkin pie. The crust is made out of graham cracker crumbs, chopped pecans, white and brown sugar and sweet butter. If you don't like pecans, or have a nut allergy, a plain graham cracker crust would work equally well.

The recipe makes enough crust to cover the bottom and the lower edge of a 9 inch spring form pan. Sweet butter softens quickly, so allow the crust to chill for an hour before filling (i.e. to allow it to firm up).

The filling is extremely straight forward. The "wet" ingredients (pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, cream, vanilla and bourbon) are combined in a separate bowl and then folded into the cream cheese mixture (cream cheese, cornstarch, spices and sugar).

I followed the recipe as written, except (Hmm) I doubled the bourbon. 

I have yet to find a spring form pan that doesn't leak. (If you have, please tell.) So to avoid a mess, I baked the cheesecake on a foil lined pan. It was a good move, because the pan naturally leaked!

The cheesecake takes approximately one hour to set in a 350 degree oven. Ovens vary, so don't worry if it takes a little longer. My cake baked for approximately 70 minutes.

I realize that the world is divided into those that like a sour cream topping on their cheesecake, and those that don't.  I fall into the former group, so I went for it. The recipe notes that the bourbon in the topping is optional. Ok, won't even go there. 

The printable recipe is here.

Halloween (Boo) Cake

Devil's Fool Cake?  Check.

Seven Minute Frosting? Check.

 Meringue Ghosts?  Check.

Marzipan Pumpkins?  Check.

A delightful Halloween treat, just for the fun of it? Check.

 Happy Halloween Everyone!

Click here to see how to build the Boo Cake