If you’re going to bake with pumpkin, don’t resist the can

Here in the Southland, we’ve learned to recognize and appreciate the subtle shifts in the seasons and we do our best to celebrate them. By early November, with the sun hanging lower in the sky and at the very least chillier mornings, we bundle up in chunky sweaters (even if by midday we have to strip down to a sleeveless tee); we light fires in our fireplaces as soon as temps drop below 70; and we marvel at the occasional pile of fallen orange leaves. In the kitchen, we braise. And we embrace that workhorse of fourth-quarter baking: pumpkin. From a can.

If, like me, you’ve been indoctrinated into the “fresher is better” school of thought, and the more effort required, the superior the results, you may have found yourself resisting using canned pumpkin or, if not resisting, thinking of it as a second-tier alternative to fresh roasted squash.

But I am here to tell you that canned pumpkin is OK. It is one of those few ingredients whose fresh version does not yield better results than canned. With its intense flavor and inherent moisture, canned pumpkin makes easy work of loaves and muffins, cheesecake and cookies, pancakes and pudding and of course pumpkin pie.

As wholesome and idyllic as they sound, baked goods made with freshly roasted squash are often less moist and less flavorful, and they’re definitely less pumpkin-colored than those made with the canned puree. There’s a reason.

Canned pumpkin puree is made from the Dickinson pumpkin, which is less watery than other varieties. The fruit is cooked using industrial steam evaporators, which cook off excess water, concentrating the natural flavors and the color. The result: that thick, velvety puree that we’ve come to rely on this time of year and that seems to yield no-fail desserts, almost always flavored with the ubiquitous spice blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.

Like a can of sweetened condensed milk, having a can of pumpkin on hand is like a magic trick for being able to pull a dessert out of a hat. If you stock the other basics — eggs, sugar, vanilla and spices — you’re likely to have everything you need to complete a freshly baked fall dessert.

I’m not saying there isn’t a place for fresh winter squash. For one, the different varieties are beautiful and lumpy and make a stunning display. And if I were using pumpkin in a savory dish, say Pumpkin Lasagna, Pumpkin Risotto or Spiced Pumpkin Soup, I wouldn’t think to use anything but fresh.

But for baked goods? Canned is the way to go. It’s not only delicious, but like Oreos and hot dogs, its distinct, inimitable flavor is a part of our culinary culture. Give your ideals a rest. The farmers market will still be there next week.

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Pumpkin Nemesis

Traditionally made with dark chocolate, a nemesis is an eggy, flourless cake with a velvety mousse-like texture. This version, made with pumpkin instead of chocolate, captures that fall pumpkin-pie-spice feeling. It’s perfect for the gluten-free or carb-phobic in your life and at your holiday table.
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Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes, plus 1½ hours unattended. Serves 8 to 12.

(Silvia Razgova/Silvia Razgova)

Jeremiah Tower’s Pumpkin Gingerbread with Rum Cream

Celebrated chef Jeremiah Tower embraces canned pumpkin in this moist and sticky dark gingerbread, and so can you. A bit spicy from the abundance of ground ginger and served with rum-spiked whipped cream, this is a grown-up dessert.
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Cooking time: 1 hour. Serves 6 to 8.

(Ken Hively/Los Angeles Times)

Pumpkin Maple Drizzle Cakes

As if a moist pumpkin loaf weren’t enough, this one is drenched in a soaking liquid of orange juice sweetened with maple syrup, and drizzled in a maple glaze. A soaking liquid made of orange juice makes it uniquely Californian. This recipe makes two cakes: one to enjoy and one to give away, or save for a rainy day.
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Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes, plus cooling time. Makes two 9-by-5-inch loaves.

(Katrina Frederick / For The Times)

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream with Pecan Praline

Think Baskin-Robbins’ “pralines ‘n’ cream” meets frozen pumpkin pie. Minus the pie crust and long bake time. Who needs 31 flavors?
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Cooking time: 25 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.

(Glenn Koenig/Los Angeles Times)

Pumpkin Pancakes

Even the warmest days in L.A. start with cool, crisp mornings that welcome the sweet spices and warming flavors in these pumpkin pancakes. They’re not served with maple syrup, but nobody is stopping you.
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Cooking time: 15 minutes. Serves 4.

Pumpkin Thyme Dinner Rolls

The canned pumpkin in these dinner rolls is offset by thyme and redolent of butter, and is more subtle than it is in pumpkin desserts. The biggest drawback of this recipe is that it calls for half of even the smallest can of pumpkin. There is only one solution: Double it, use a 15-ounce can, and freeze the dinner rolls to enjoy that autumnal flavor all winter long.
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Cooking time: 30 minutes, plus 2 hours standing and 8 hours chilling. Makes 18 rolls.