Autumn is the season for home baking
As the days grow shorter and cooler, our tastes naturally change too. Instead of refreshing summer desserts, the spotlight shifts to moist cakes, biscuits, cocoa, chocolate, nuts and seasonal fruit.
Autumn baking also offers plenty of opportunities to make the most of ingredients typical of this time of year. Pumpkins don’t have to end up just in soup, apples don’t always have to go into strudel, and chocolate can add a more distinctive flavour and aroma to a simple recipe.
If you’re wondering what to make for afternoon coffee, tea or for weekend visitors, we’ve got five recipes from Carl that are well worth trying.
Pumpkin biscuits with chocolate
When pumpkin meets chocolate
Pumpkin is as much a part of autumn as colourful leaves and cooler mornings. And although we often associate it primarily with savoury dishes, it also works very well in sweet bakes.
Pumpkin biscuits with chocolate are a lovely way to use this quintessential autumn ingredient in a slightly different way. The pumpkin helps create a soft and moist texture, whilst the chocolate gives the biscuits a more pronounced sweet flavour.
They’re ideal, for example, for that first chilly weekend when you’re already in the mood to turn on the oven and fill the kitchen with the scent of something sweet. They go well with afternoon coffee or a cup of tea, and making them fits perfectly with the simple home baking that’s so much a part of autumn.
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Apple biscuits with chocolate
Autumn apples with a twist
Apples are one of the most typical ingredients of the Czech autumn. When we think of baking with apples, most of us picture strudel, apple tart or apple bread pudding. This time, however, you can use them in a slightly different way.
Chocolate apple biscuits combine the fruity flavour of apples with the sweetness of chocolate. The result is a simple bake that goes beautifully with coffee or tea, whilst offering an alternative to classic apple desserts.
It’s precisely the combination of fruit and chocolate that gives the biscuits a more interesting flavour, without them tasting quite as intense as a purely chocolatey dessert. So, if you’ve got a supply of autumn apples at home and are looking for a new way to use them, this recipe is well worth a try.
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Chocolate-filled pumpkins
A recipe that looks like autumn
Some recipes evoke autumn through their flavour. Others do so at first glance. And chocolate-filled pumpkins fall into the latter category.
Their shape evokes one of autumn’s most distinctive ingredients, whilst a chocolate filling is hidden inside. This transforms ordinary home baking into an imaginative dessert that’s sure to impress at family gatherings, when entertaining guests, or even when baking with the children.
These little pumpkins prove that an autumn recipe doesn’t have to be complicated to feel festive. All it takes is a slightly more playful look, a chocolate filling, and a dessert that’s sure to stand out on the table.
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Gingerbread with chocolate icing and nuts
The aroma of spices, chocolate and nuts
Few desserts can fill the kitchen with such a distinctive aroma as freshly baked gingerbread. The spicy flavour and aroma are naturally associated with the colder months of the year, and when combined with chocolate and nuts, the result is a dessert that’s perfect for an autumn get-together.
The chocolate glaze creates a distinctive finishing touch whilst complementing the spiced flavour of the gingerbread itself. The nuts add further flavour contrast and texture.
It is precisely with desserts like this that you can really see how chocolate or a chocolate glaze can transform even a simple homemade recipe. You can use Carla’s baking products not only when preparing the dough, but also when finishing off the dessert.
All you need to do is slice the gingerbread, make a cup of coffee or tea, and your autumn afternoon can begin.
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Grandma’s Bundt Cake
A classic to go with coffee, perfect for any time of year
Autumn baking doesn’t always have to mean pumpkins, apples or cinnamon. Sometimes it’s best to go back to a recipe that we simply associate with home.
Grandma’s bundt cake is one of those desserts that needs no introduction. It’s a classic to enjoy with coffee or tea, perfect for a weekend breakfast, an afternoon visit or just an ordinary day when you fancy baking something.
It is precisely its traditional, homely character that makes it a perfect addition to any selection of autumn recipes. After all, it reminds us that the atmosphere of this time of year isn’t created by seasonal ingredients alone. Just as important are the recipes whose aromas we associate with family, shared moments and home baking.
Has this recipe caught your eye?
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What do these autumn recipes have in common?
Each of the five recipes is different, yet they’re united by the ingredients and flavours that naturally belong to autumn baking.
Pumpkin has its place not only in savoury dishes. In sweet recipes, it can contribute to a delicate and moist texture and pairs well with chocolate, for example.
Apples are a classic of the Czech autumn. As well as traditional tarts and strudels, you can also use them in less conventional recipes and combine them with chocolate, nuts or spices.
Chocolate can give even a simple dessert a more distinctive flavour. Depending on the specific recipe, it can be added directly to the batter, used as a filling or made into a glaze.
Nuts add further flavour and texture and complement chocolate and spiced desserts very well.
And finally, there are the spices. Cinnamon, vanilla or gingerbread spice contribute not only to the final flavour but also to the aroma that is inextricably linked with autumn baking.
Chocolate in autumn baking
Chocolate doesn’t have to play the same role in every recipe. It is precisely this versatility that makes it so widely used in so many different forms in home baking.
You can add cocoa or chocolate itself to the batter, which will affect its flavour, aroma and final colour. At other times, chocolate can form a filling hidden inside a dessert, such as in chocolate-filled pumpkins.
Another option is a chocolate glaze. This can give a simple dessert not only a more intense flavour, but also enhance its final appearance. A typical example is gingerbread, which gains an extra dimension of flavour thanks to a layer of chocolate and nuts.
Chocolate also works well in combination with fruit. It gives apples and other autumn fruits a more pronounced flavour contrast.
Whether you use chocolate, cocoa or Carla’s chocolate glaze when baking, chocolate doesn’t always have to be the main ingredient in a recipe. Often, it’s enough as an addition that brings the other flavours together and gives the dessert its final character.
Baking as part of autumn days
Home baking isn’t just a way to make something sweet to go with your coffee. It can also be an opportunity to spend part of the weekend with your family, prepare something for guests or simply make the most of a chilly afternoon at home.
And it is in autumn that baking has its own special charm. The oven warms the kitchen, the aroma of chocolate, fruit and spices wafts through the house, and eventually there’s something waiting on the table that you can enjoy whilst still warm, alongside your favourite drink.
It doesn’t have to be a complicated dessert. Sometimes a few biscuits, a slice of gingerbread or a freshly baked cake are quite enough.
Which recipe will fill your kitchen with its aroma?
Five recipes, five different takes on autumn baking.
Pumpkin biscuits with chocolate combine a typical autumn ingredient with chocolate. Apple biscuits with chocolate offer another way to make the most of seasonal apples. Chocolate-filled pumpkin bites will captivate you not only with their flavour but also with their appearance. Gingerbread with chocolate icing and nuts brings together a blend of spices, chocolate and nuts, whilst Grandma’s pound cake rounds off the selection with a traditional homemade classic.
Choose your recipe, preheat the oven and make your autumn a little sweeter.
