Ep 193 What's All the Fuss About Pumpkin Spice with Cinde Little

For many people September and October are not as much about Autumn as they are about pumpkin spice everything.  Being a baker, this has always interested me, but I have to say, except for pumpkin pie, I had pretty much stayed away.  Cinde Little, of the Everyday Gluten Free Gourmet was the best person to get me up to speed on pumpkin spice – is it gluten free? what do we have to look out for? where should we expect to find it? and can we use it at home in baking or drinks? Cinde sent along a photo of her favourite Pumpkin Date Cake, which looks very yummy and you can find the recipe on her blog.  As well, she had a work in progress for a pumpkin spice syrup to use at home.  I've played with what she had, and have given a recipe below, so you can make your own special café drinks at home.  After recording with Cinde, I did go out and buy a couple of pie pumpkins.  You can see photos and read what I did with them on Episode #193 of my blog www.acanadianceliacblog.com.  You can find Cinde at www.everydayglutenfreegourmet.ca.   Homemade Pumpkin Spice Syrup for Café Drinks 1 ½ cups water 1 ½ cups sugar Spices – 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp ground ginger, 2 tsp ground nutmeg 1/3 – ½ cup pumpkin puree ½ tsp vanilla extract (optional) Place water and sugar in a saucepan on medium heat.  As the mixture heats, add the spices and stir well.  Add pumpkin puree depending on your preference – the 1/3 cup will be a mild flavour and the ½ cup will be more pronounced.  Heat liquid to simmering.  Continue simmer for 5-10 minutes, watching it doesn't boil over.  Remove from heat.  Add vanilla extract (optional), which will give a somewhat richer taste.  Let mixture cool for 5 minutes.  If your pumpkin puree is still a bit lumpy you can use an immersion blender to smooth out the liquid.  Pour syrup through a sieve to remove any larger bits of the spice blend or pumpkin.  Store in a squirt container or bottle in refrigerator.    Sue's Websites and Social Media – Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com Email – [email protected] Celiac Kid Stuff – https://www.celiackidstuff.com Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com Instagram - @suesgfbaking YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL Email – [email protected] Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com