I never celebrated Halloween as a child, so I'm always tempted to do more now. I don't go as far as dressing up and treat or treating though. I first made pumpkin pie two years ago, where I used fresh pumpkin and then carved it into a lantern. This year I decided to try out Libby's tinned pumpkin puree for a change. I know it's what lots of Americans use, so I figured it would probably turn out fairly authentic. It took a while to decide between the recipe on the tin or the one I used two years ago, but I decided to redo the old one. The tinned one calls for evaporated milk and fewer spices, which didn't sound as nice to me. It also doesn't instruct you to blind bake your pastry before adding the filling and, as we all know, no one likes a soggy bottom. The result.... it was nice, but I didn't find tinned pumpkin as nice as fresh pumpkin. It lacked something. Anyway, I did discover that some maple syrup whipped into cream makes a really good accompaniment to the pumpkin pie.
I can remember going to firework displays when I was growing up, but I don't recall eating many of the traditional foods. I think we may have had treacle toffee. It seems bizarre to think that Parkin originates from northern England and the first time I tried it was probably whilst living in London! So, I decided to have a go at making parkin this year. You are supposed to bake parkin a week in advance, as the texture and flavours will improve over time. I did find that it was very treacly and rich, but at the same time quite crumbly. I'm not quite sure whether it's supposed to crumble so much, but we did enjoy it. I love the flavours this time of year and it just occured to me how autumnal the colours are in both of these bakes.
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