Professor Butter Beard’s “Great Pumpkin”
“Just wait ’til next year, Charlie Brown. You’ll see! Next year at this same time, I’ll find a pumpkin patch that is real sincere and I’ll sit in that pumpkin patch until the Great Pumpkin appears. He’ll rise out of that pumpkin patch and he’ll fly through the air with his bag of toys.” – Linus van Pelt
Growing up, on the day before Halloween, like clockwork, a large brown paper-wrapped box addressed to me and my younger brother would arrive on our doorstep. A smile would dance across our father’s face as he lifted the parcel into the center of the living room floor and pretended to have no idea what it might contain. Our mother would watch from the kitchen doorway, her arms folded across her chest, as we ripped open the box to find it full of Halloween treats: yards and yards of red licorice laces, rolls of multi-colored candy dots, boxes of Jujyfruits and Mike and Ikes, and enough Bit-O-Honeys, Sugar Babies and Milk Duds to have our heads spinning like whirling tops for days!
Dad would try to distract us with his laughter as his hands attempted to snag all the boxes of Good&Plenty for his own personal stash. Mom slowly made her way forward for a full inspection, buffering the frenzy with the statement that we must write Uncle Kyle a thank you immediately. Uncle Kyle, our grandfather’s brother, ran the filling station and small store in the far-off state of Tennessee. “He’s your Great Pumpkin, Pumpkin,” Mom would say every year. And yes, my family nickname is “Pumpkin” – a small curse of being the ginger of the group.
I believed in the Great Pumpkin – just like Linus van Pelt. Linus first introduced the world to the Great Pumpkin in a comic strip published on October 26, 1959 (see below). Charles M. Schulz’s Peanut’s comic book characters became so popular in their weekly publications and appearances during TV advertisements that they had graduated to TV specials, and the initial TV special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas," was such a success that the networks soon not only wanted a sequel, but after a baseball-themed second special, they specifically wanted another holiday-themed special. Schulz agreed and decided to write a Halloween-themed story featuring Linus. While the other characters go trick-or-treating, Linus convinces the reluctant Sally to join him in his "sincere" pumpkin patch, as he soulfully anticipates the Great Pumpkin's arrival with presents for all believers on Halloween night.
Its initial broadcast took place on October 27, 1966, on CBS, preempting “My Three Sons.” The sponsors were Coca-Cola (the original sponsor of “A Charlie Brown Christmas”) and the Dolly Madison brand of baked snack food. Written by Schulz, it was produced and animated by Bill Melendez, and featured music composed by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. The program was nominated for a 1966 Emmy, and has aired every Halloween season since, first by CBS, then ABC, and currently through a joint ownership between Apple+ and PBS.
In the book "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: The Making of a Television Classic," Schulz is reported to have said, “Now I may be way off on all this Santa Claus business, and it's not a big deal I guess. But the Great Pumpkin is really a kind of satire on Santa Claus, because Linus of course writes for gifts and expects to get them. And when the Great Pumpkin doesn't come, Linus is crushed. It shows that you can't always get what you hoped for but you can still survive...and you can still keep trying. Linus never gives up, just like Charlie Brown.”
Inspired by that Great Pumpkin, I am offering up a delicious tribute in the form of a Pumpkin Gingerbread Pound Cake. For this spooky occasion, do roast your own sugar pumpkins. Like Mrs. Lovett, split them in half, coat them with a brush of oil and roast them cut-side-down in a 400-degree oven for 45 minutes. Turn them over, add a Tbsp of apple cider in their cavity and continue to roast another 15 minutes. You can then easily peel off their skin and smash them like potatoes into a glorious puree that will stay fresh in your refrigerator for 2-3 weeks. Hey Linus! Next time, ask me. I’ll join you overnight in the patch and I’ll bring some of Uncle Kyle’s licorice laces and Milk Duds.
Pumpkin Gingerbread Bundt with a Maple Glaze
Makes One (10-Cup) Bundt
Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground clove
½ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp kosher salt (or my new favorite is fine sea salt)
8 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1 ½ cups dark brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla paste
1 cup pumpkin puree (please roast your own!)
½ cup full-fat sour cream
Glaze:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp heavy cream
6 Tbsp confectionary’s sugar
Dash of salt
1) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2) Prep the bundt pan by brushing the interior with 2 Tbsp of melted butter and dusting with all-purpose flour. Or, spray with “baking spray with flour.”
3) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt.
4) In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, pumpkin and vanilla.
5) In a standing mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar and molasses on medium high speed until fluffy. Lower the speed, and add the eggs, one at a time. Then, in this order, add: 1/3 the dry mix, ½ the sour cream/pumpkin, 1/3 dry mix, remaining sour cream/pumpkin, and finally the remaining dry mix.
6) Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for roughly 55-60 minutes, testing for doneness with a wooden skewer.
7) Remove the cake from the oven, let sit for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
8) For the glaze, in a small pan, heat the butter, maple syrup and heavy cream on medium, stirring often, until the butter is fully melted and incorporated. Remove from heat and whisk in the confectionary’s sugar and salt. Let the glaze cool for 15 minutes and then pour over the cooled cake before serving.
Peanuts Comic Strip, written by Charles M. Schulz, published October 26, 1959.
Saturday in the author’s kitchen. Two loaves of Cinnamon Raisin Bread and a Pumpkin Gingerbread Pound Cake. Saturday, October 30th, 2021.
