Happy October, people! This month’s pumpkin cake is brought to you by my bread machine, which continues to bake foolproof pound cakes without so much as lifting a spatula. Seriously, you know what makes me happier than something easy to do? When it can be made without buying special ingredients. I used a recipe from Wendy Polisi called “Dump-and-Go Bread Machine Pumpkin Bread” and all I had to buy were the pumpkin seeds because I had everything from the last time I made pumpkin bread.
When you bake cakes using a bread machine, I don’t think you can expect a “light” cake. They tend to come out a little heavier, but maybe it’s just my limited baking skills. I want to think it’s the nature of using a bread machine to bake a cake, but if anyone out there knows a secret that I don’t, please let me know.
Flavor-wise though, it never disappoints, and this one with the pumpkin seed glaze was pretty good.
It was surprisingly not as sweet as I was expecting, but still with that full pumpkin blast that you want out of a pumpkin cake. I mean, it looks quite festive, doesn’t it?
While I had the pumpkin puree out and not wanting to waste the rest of it, I tried this Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe from Beyond Gumbo, although I’m sure there are hundreds of other recipes out there. This was a good test for my French Press because I didn’t have espresso; I added double the amount of coffee grounds to get a really strong coffee and it actually worked out really well.
Although the process of making the pumpkin syrup was a little tedious because I didn’t take any shortcuts, it was worth it in the end. The only real hassle was straining the thick syrup through a mesh strainer to filter out the pulpy pumpkin puree. That took some time but I think this step is important if you don’t want a too-thick latte. After you make the syrup it keeps for two weeks in the fridge so you can make plenty more lattes.
After you steam the milk, the fun part is frothing it to get the foam that goes on top of the latte. I used a gadget that we have at home that my daughter uses all the time to make her matcha lattes.
After that, all you do is assemble the drink and top it off with whipped cream if you want. I have to admit, I now have a new respect for why this drink is so popular every time October rolls around. Even my daughter the coffee connoisseur liked it, and she said it didn’t taste artificial like the one they have at that famous coffee shop that’s on every corner. She should know—she used to work there. Ha!
Bottoms up!
Last month I did a Teriyaki Chicken Rice with a side dish of kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) that I steamed in the steamer basket that comes with my other rice cooker. Take a look at the post to see what I mean. Well, if you don’t have one of these you can still enjoy kabocha by simply adding it directly into your rice cooker and make Japanese mixed rice. You can usually buy mixed rice kits at Asian supermarkets.
This is so easy—the kit comes with all the ingredients for mixed rice (also known as kamameshi) so all you do is toss everything into the cooker with the rice. Add the kabocha on top, and turn it on. Out comes a healthy, flavorful meal just right for October!
If you’ve made it this far, you get rewarded with Halloween Dad jokes.
•What kind of music do mummies listen to? Wrap music!
•Why didn’t the skeleton cross the road? He didn’t have the guts.
•Why are ghosts so bad at lying? You can see right through them.
•How do zombies know they’re done with trick or treating? When they are dead tired.
Have a great October guys!
Here’s a spooky video I took on my porch. I call it “Dancing Spider” ha-ha!
Products used in this post: IH System Rice Cooker & Warmer NP-HCC10/18, Home Bakery Maestro® Breadmaker BB-SSC10, Fresh Brew Vacuum Insulated Stainless French Press SK-XAE10
Please note that these recipes were not tested by Zojirushi America
All images by Bert Tanimoto ©2025
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