This is a fairly easy recipe. It calls for mini chocolate chips but feel free to experiment, I like to reduce the amount of chips and add in raisins. Chopped walnuts or pecans are also good. This recipe also works very well if you reduce the sugar. I always cut the sugar by one cup, using 1 1/2 cups.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups SUGAR
1 cup OIL (vegetable oil, nut oil, whatever you like to use)
3 EGGS
3 cups AP FLOUR (in the U.S. AP=All Purpose, outside the U.S. whatever kind of flour you would normally use in muffins or pie crusts)
2 tsp BAKING SODA
1 tsp CINNAMON
1 tsp NUTMEG
1/2 tsp SALT
1/4 tsp CLOVE
optional 1 tsp VANILLA
1 15 ounce can solid pack PUMPKIN (425 grams) (any hard winter squash can be used, like butternut)
1 cup MINI CHOCOLATE CHIPS (and/or raisins/nuts)

Procedure

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees with rack set at second lowest position. Grease and flour a Bundt pan.

In a bowl, add sugar, eggs and oil, mix well. (also add vanilla if using it)
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk to combine.
Add dry ingredients and pumpkin to the wet ingredients, about a third at a time mixing well, repeat until all the dry ingredients and pumpkin is added.
Add in chocolate chips, raisins or any other additions.

Let's Bake!

Put batter in prepared Bundt pan, place in oven and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 60 - 65 minutes.

After the cake is cool, you can either glaze it or dust it with powdered sugar (powdered sugar = confectioners or icing sugar)

I was watching the tube site when I came across a recipe for making Creme de Cacao, a chocolate flavored liquor. In a nutshell, you take cacao nibs and soak them in high proof alcohol (vodka or rum) and after 2 weeks it's done. You strain the cacao nibs and add enough simple syrup to balance the bitterness of the cacao. I decided to use rum as I don't have high proof vodka (100 proof was suggested). I have some 151 proof rum which I mixed with some 80 proof rum to achieve a tad higher than 100 proof. Today was the two week mark, so I strained it and added some simple syrup. I started with 13 ounces of rum, but after the cacao nibs took their share I had 8 ounces of Creme de Cacao. I added 2 ounces of simple syrup (most people would probably add more) for a net result of 10 ounces of the good stuff.



The whole point of Creme de Cacao is, of course, the Brandy Alexander, a nice dessert drink.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (15 ounce, 425 g) can pumpkin, solid pack
1 (12 ounce, 340 g) can evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed)
1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie pastry

DIRECTIONS

Mix sugar, salt and spices in small bowl.
In large bowl, beat eggs, stir in pumpkin, stir in spice mixture.
Slowly stir in evaporated milk.
Line pie pan with pie shell,
Pour into unbaked pie shell.
Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, reduce temp to 350, bake 40-50 minutes longer.

Pie is done when a knife inserted about midway comes out clean.
Cool for about 2 hours before serving.
Leftovers should be refrigerated.

Sweetened condensed milk can also be used, although with a little different result. If using sweetened condensed milk, omit the sugar.
Pumpkin pie is usually also seasoned with nutmeg, ginger (not fresh, from the spice aisle) - ½ teaspoon of each, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, but I omit them because I don’t like it in pumpkin.