There’s magic in the air, it’s getting chilly and time to be a little bit silly. Pumpkin paradiso time again. Warming pastry topped bowls of homemade pumpkin soup, soda bread served warm from the aga on wooden boards.

 

 

 

 

The last of the lavender, berries, seed heads and woody herbs settle comfortably in wonky jars and old milk bottles. Chestnuts, rusty-rustic hues, little bags of caramel popcorn.

 

 

 

Sharing plates and platters, a feeling of warmth and sharing. Now it’s all about the snuggle, twinkling candle light, warming libations, cosy, natural fabrics and glinting details of yesteryear. Purity of season, ambience and an abundance of produce for our frozen and just desserts.

 

 

 

You’re demi-desperate to fit something para-pumpkin to placate, which emanates from a disproportionate sense of people pleasing, but we all do it.

So now that old chestnut’s been established …. how will their beloved caring person pull this trick out of the seasonal ‘sorting’ hat?

 

 

 

 

Easy as 1,2,3.  To 1 can of pumpkin puree or your hand sculptured equivalent, twice as much room temperature mascarpone, 1/2 tsp of salt flakes, oh and the 3 small cans of weird-looking beige/ brown caramel leche stuff that’s been stuck in the back of the cupboard and heading towards its use by date. ie about the same of the caramel stuff.

 

Together, in your own special cauldron, (which looks suspiciously like your usual mixing bowl)  blend with or without 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground allspice and though doubtful, sweeten or loosen with maple syrup, unsurprisingly I used about a 1/4 cup to both taste and loosen.

 

  

 

 

Method: Whip the whole shebang together.

 

 

 

Flumph the mix into an appropriate receptacle/s (that code for disposable/reusable tins here) top/wrap, freeze, serve, gloat, relax.

 

 

 

Note you may need to find a suitable implement to swashbuckle younger third parties into an orderly queue for second helpings of odd looking owls. The ice cream is divine with anything nutty (…umm thinks Tea Boy) and particularly fab with pecan tart.

 

To serve: Scoop into brandy snap baskets with a mean drizzle of bourbon over the top for ’old enoughs’, a shake of chocolate vermicelli will add a delirium of slurping and further autumnal cheer.

 

To add to the joy, it’s a smooth as silk and ready to serve from the freezer, weird owls not withstanding!