My 125th experiment: Calabasa chocolate quickbread for Thanksgiving

This is such a popular loaf that I can't help doing it again and again.

Calabasa chocolate quickbread (1 medium loaf)

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1+1/3 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup calabasa cooked and mashed
- 1+1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tp baking powder
- 1 tp baking soda
- 3/4 tp salt
- 1 TB Trader Joe's pumpkin pie spices
- 1/2 cup walnut chopped
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips

For procedure, see earlier postings.

Results:
1:12pm, ingredients:

1:23pm, wet ingredients and dry ingredients:

1:26pm, batter height in bowl:

1:30pm, batter in pans:

1:30pm, batter height in pans:

1:31pm, to bake at 350F:

2:13pm, small loaf baked 44 minutes:

2:29pm, large loaf baked 45 minutes, strength of loaf:

2:29pm, large loaf internal temperature 190F:

2:29pm, thermometer coming out of large loaf clean:

2:29pm, large loaf's top and height:

3:31pm, heel of cooled loaf:

3:31pm, side of cooled loaf:

3:43pm, small loaf's top and side:

3:57pm, large loaf's bottom:

3:57pm, small loaf's bottom:

3:58pm, loaves to cool:

Observations:

1. Use chocolate chips of high quality, and use them generously.

A failed calabasa pie

I bake this pie because I do not have enough filling to fill my 8-inch pie crust. So I have to mix up some filling at the last minute.

Recipe: Last minute pumpkin pie (one 8-inch pie)

Ingredients:
- 1.5 cup cooked calabasa, mashed
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 tp salt
- 1 tp Trader Joe's pumpkin pie spice
- half-and-half to top up the filling to 3 cups

Procedure:
1. Beat eggs separately. Mix everything.
2. Allow the filling to sit for a while. Skim off bubbles.
3. Pour into pie crust and bake at 425F for 15 minutes. Then cover crust edge and bake at 350F until edge of filling is set.

Results:
7:33pm, ingredients:

7:37pm, all ingredients mixed except half and half:

7:45pm, filling making up 2 cups:

7:45pm, filling beaten with an extra egg and more cream to make up 3 cups:

7:47pm, filling in 8-inch crust:

7:47pm, filling height in crust:

7:47pm, 8-inch pie to bake at 425F:

8:00pm, pie baked 10 minutes:

8:03pm, pie crust covered and baking resumed at 350F:

8:19pm, pie baked another 16 minutes:

8:22pm, baked crust:

8:33pm, pie crust and edge when just done:

8:37pm, comparison between this failure (left) and previous success (right):

9:17pm, cooled top:

9:17pm, cooled crust:

9:17pm, cooled crust details:

Overnight
Served:

Observations:
1. The most obvious reason of my failure is that I have not given the filling any time to sit. The bubbles in the filling expands when baking, causing the filling to become very coarse in texture. The pumpkin floats up onto the top.
2. What I find out in this experiment is that an 8-inch pie crust can take 3 cups of liquid.
3. It turns out that my guests are all very graceful and acceptance of my failure. They happily try it and compare it with the success. Then some of them say they actually like this pie more. It is more creamy and tender because this pie is made with half-and-half. The success pie is made with evaporated milk. This pie has less of the spices. So the flavor of milk stands out better.

A successful calabasa pie

I have learnt from my friend how to make pumpkin pie. This is, however, my first time doing it myself. I follow KAF's recipe. It gives me a great success.

Recipe: Pumpkin pie (1 10-inch pie)

Ingredients:
- One 10-inch single pie crust
- 2 cups cooked calabasa, mashed
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 TB molasses (because I use white sugar instead of brown)
- 1/2 tp salt
- 1 TB unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 TB Trader Joe's pumpkin pie spice
- 1 can (12 oz) evaporated whole milk

Procedure:
1. Mix flour, spices, salt with calabasa. Add eggs and sugar. Mix very well by hand. Then add evaporated milk and mix some more.
2. Cover filling and allow to chill for 8 hours or overnight.
3. Remove filling from fridge. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so.
4. Preheat oven to 425F.
5. Pour filling into pie crust. Fill up to 1/4" from the brim of crust. Place pie on a baking sheet lined with foil to protect against spills.
6. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes. Then cover the pie crust with foil. Resume baking at 350F until the filling is set around the edges but still wobbly in the center (that is, the inner concentric circle about half the radius of the pan).
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Pie will firm up.

Results:
9:28am, cooking calabasa with just 1/4 cup of water; calabasa gives out water as it softens:

9:37am, filling ingredients:

9:52am, eggs beaten separately before adding to batter; this ensures thorough mixing:

10:07am, final batter to chill:

10:07am, batter height:

5:30pm, batter chilled 7 hours:

5:30pm, batter top after chilling:

6:27pm, crusts to fill:

6:30pm, all batter filled up the 10-inch crust nicely:

6:30pm, no batter for the 8-inch crust:

6:32pm, 10-inch pie placed on baking sheet to prevent spilling:

6:32pm, 10-inch pie started baking at 425F:

6:37pm, pie baked 20 minutes:

6:59pm, pie crust with shield, baking resumed at 350F:

7:13pm, pie down after 14 more minutes:

7:14pm, top of pie when just out of oven; observe its bulging top:

7:14pm, details of the bulging top at the edge:

8:37pm, this success in comparison with the next failure:

8:38pm, details of comparison between the success and the failure:

8:39pm, top and sides of the successful pie:

Next day

1:09pm, overnight:

Leftover:

Comparing this with the failure:

Observations:
1. The recipe is supposed to be for one 9-inch pie. But when the way I do it, my crust has very short edge. So this recipe fills up a 10-inch pie just right.
2. At first I thought that the filling may be too much. So I prepared a second small pie crust for it. However, the 10-in pie crust is just good enough.