Most weekends, outside of Walker’s football or other various sporting activities, we try to keep our days pretty free since we are usually so busy during the week.  A lot of this free time, Corby designates to reading time.  He can spend hours and hours reading the Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition or various magazines that have come in throughout the week.  Sometimes, when I would like to be doing something outside, I can get very slightly annoyed by all this superfluous reading, but most of the time, and this weekend being a prime example, the reading pays off.  Walker, who was waiting for Corby to take him to the aquarium, was less enthusiastic about waiting, but he is not as into recipe finds as I am.  In the Wall Street Journal Weekend edition this past weekend, they had an interview with Blackberry Farm’s Sam Beall.  What is not good about Blackberry Farm- I mean, this is a place that has gift bags waiting for you when you leave.  Dying to go!  It is a great interview, and if you can find a copy, it is definitely worth reading.  The best part is the recipe for Blackberry Farm’s Steamed Pumpkin Puddings with Tennessee Rum Hard Sauce.  This needs to be shared!  I am so excited to try this!

Steamed Pumpkin Puddings with Tennessee Rum Hard Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tbsps unsalted butter, melted, plus 8 tbsps unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1 cup natural cane sugar

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup buttermilk

Roasted pumpkin seeds to garnish

For the hard sauce:

4 tbsps unsalted butter at room temperature

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

2-3 tsps fine dark rum

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Brush insides of six 6oz ramekins with melted butter.  Invert ramekins on a baking sheet and refrigerate to set butter (about 5 minutes).

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and coriander.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment or large bowl with a hand mixer, beat 8 tbsps butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, followed by yolk and vanilla, beating well and scraping down side of bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition.  Beat in pumpkin puree and scrape down bowl.

4. Add flour mixture in thirds, alternating with buttermilk, beating each time only until the batter is smooth.

5. Divide batter among ramekins, keeping rims clean.  Pick up each ramekin and gently tap on counter to remove any air bubbles.

6. Take a lidded baking dish or Dutch oven large enough to hold ramekins with at least 1/2 inch of space between and line it with a folded kitchen towel (to hold ramekins steady).  Arrange ramekins in baking dish.  Pour enough very hot tap water into baking dish to come halfway up the sides of ramekins.  Cover baking dish tightly with lid.

7.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a pudding comes out clean and the top springs back when gently pressed, 30-40 minutes.  Remove lid and let puddings cool in water bath for 20 minutes.

8. Make hard sauce: In a medium bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer set to high speed until fluffy.  Reduce speed to low and add confectioners’ sugar.  When sugar is incorporated, increase speed to high, and beat until light and fluffy.  Add nutmeg and rum and beat a few more seconds.

9. Invert each ramekin onto a dessert plate and garnish with pumpkin seeds.  Serve with hard sauce.