Leonardo's Blog

I was watching the tube site when I came across a recipe for making Creme de Cacao, a chocolate flavored liquor. In a nutshell, you take cacao nibs and soak them in high proof alcohol (vodka or rum) and after 2 weeks it's done. You strain the cacao nibs and add enough simple syrup to balance the bitterness of the cacao. I decided to use rum as I don't have high proof vodka (100 proof was suggested). I have some 151 proof rum which I mixed with some 80 proof rum to achieve a tad higher than 100 proof. Today was the two week mark, so I strained it and added some simple syrup. I started with 13 ounces of rum, but after the cacao nibs took their share I had 8 ounces of Creme de Cacao. I added 2 ounces of simple syrup (most people would probably add more) for a net result of 10 ounces of the good stuff.



The whole point of Creme de Cacao is, of course, the Brandy Alexander, a nice dessert drink.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (15 ounce, 425 g) can pumpkin, solid pack
1 (12 ounce, 340 g) can evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed)
1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie pastry

DIRECTIONS

Mix sugar, salt and spices in small bowl.
In large bowl, beat eggs, stir in pumpkin, stir in spice mixture.
Slowly stir in evaporated milk.
Line pie pan with pie shell,
Pour into unbaked pie shell.
Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, reduce temp to 350, bake 40-50 minutes longer.

Pie is done when a knife inserted about midway comes out clean.
Cool for about 2 hours before serving.
Leftovers should be refrigerated.

Sweetened condensed milk can also be used, although with a little different result. If using sweetened condensed milk, omit the sugar.
Pumpkin pie is usually also seasoned with nutmeg, ginger (not fresh, from the spice aisle) - ½ teaspoon of each, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, but I omit them because I don’t like it in pumpkin.