How to make Saffron Spiced Pumpkin Panna Cotta with Ginger Cake

Ingredients

• 1 small sugar pumpkin, about 2¼ lbs, cut in half and pulp and seeds removed

• ½ cup whole milk
• ¼ cup whipping cream
• 0.33 cup pumpkin puree
• 4 tsp brown sugar
• 4 tsp granulated sugar
• 2 cloves
• ¼ tsp allspice powder
• ¼ vanilla bean, split and scraped, but pod reserved
• Pinch of saffron
• 2 gelatin leaves, softened in a little cold water
• ½ oz candied ginger, finely diced (about 1 tsp)

• 1½ cups boiling water
• ¼ cup molasses
• ¾ cup honey
• 0.33 cup corn syrup
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1½ cups flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp powdered ginger
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 0.66 cup sugar
• 1 egg

Pumpkin Puree
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place pumpkin, cut-side down, on a baking sheet and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Scrape out the pumpkin flesh, puree in a blender and pass through a sieve.
Pumpkin Panna Cotta
2. Lightly grease four2½-inch ramekins.In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients except gelatin and candied ginger. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and remove and discard the vanilla pod. Wring the gelatin to remove excess moisture and dissolve it in the pumpkin mixture. Allow the mixture to infuse for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, then pour into the ramekins.
3. Chill in the refrigerator for about 3 hours.
Ginger Cake
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, combine water, molasses, honey, corn syrup and baking soda. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and salt.
5. In the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until the mixture becomes pale in colour. Add egg while continuing to mix. Add a third of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the molasses mixture. Continue to alternate adding dry ingredients and the molasses mixture until all ingredients have been incorporated.
6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for another 30 seconds. Pour batter into a 5-inch square cake pan and bake until the cake is springy to the touch, about 30 minutes.
7. Allow to cool, then cut into four 2½-inch squares
Saffron Syrup
8. In a small saucepan, simmer all ingredients together until mixture becomes thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool, then remove and discard the vanilla pod.
Spiced Tuiles
9. Preheat the oven to 3 50° F and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
10. Sift together flour, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
11. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar using the paddle attachment until the mixture is fluffy and pale in colour. Gradually add egg whites and vanilla, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl to make sure that the ingredients are fully incorporated. Add dry ingredients while continuing to mix, then scrape the sides of the bowl again.
12. Using an offset spatula and a 3¾inch x 1¼-inch rectangular template, spread a thin layer of batter across the template onto the baking sheet. Remove the template to leave a rectangle of batter. Repeat until you have made sixteen tuiles.
13. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes or until golden brown.