Anyone can turn their kitchen into a cozy fall haven when they bake these seasonal recipes.
Spice Cake
When we say “spice,” we mean warming, fragrant flavours and there are so many fit the bill for fall. Take any white or vanilla cake recipe and add a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg and/or allspice to the flour. Add an extra dash of vanilla extract to help boost the spice. That being said, you could easily swap out the vanilla for a dash of dark rum, whiskey or orange extract. Easy: you can do this with a box cake and ground spice. Advanced: buy whole spices, toast them, mill them in mortar and pestle then sift them into the flour. Use vanilla bean in place of vanilla extract.
Berry or Apple Crisp
Cut up apples or use berries (frozen work just fine as this can be cooked from frozen) for this crisp. Fruit sheds water naturally when cooked, but if you want more of a “sauce” under the crust, dust the fruit in just a little sugar and let it sit until it starts to shed moisture. Then toss in cornstarch – again, just a little! This will self create a sauce while cooking. Pour the mixture into a greased casserole dish. You should have just enough fruit to come up to about half or three quarters of the dish. Next, in a bowl, mix quick cooking oats, brown sugar, butter or margarine and cinnamon (feel free to add nutmeg, ground cardamom, all spice and/or ginger). The mixture should be crumbly, not wet and sticky. Cover the top of the berries with this layer. Now simply bake until the sauce underneath bubbles. It’s a no measure, quick and easy dish that smells heavenly. Enjoy it with ice cream!
Hot Chocolate
Does anything say “fall” like a steamy mug of hot chocolate topped with marshmallows? Well, put away that coco mix because you are going to make this one from scratch. The quick and easy version is to melt chocolate into milk, stir, add a pinch of salt and sweeten to taste. From there, you can get really creative. Add a touch of cayenne and use a cinnamon stick as a stir/stick garnish for Mexican hot chocolate. Add a turmeric and a dash of pepper for a savoury, healthy boost. Mix a little espresso powder in for an energy kick!
The Scents of Fall in Your Kitchen
This fall try these and other recipes to bring the scent of the season home. There are endless ways to put your own spin on baking and cooking, so get creative and have some fun.
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