Last week was my sweet Seestors birthday. She had the day off. She said she was going to go shopping. I told her to get her rump over to my house, "you don't need to shop! You need to bake." She's my baby sister, I like to boss her around. She said she really needed some new jeans. I said, "whatever, when your done being depressed from trying on jeans come bake with me". 
She mentioned that she wanted a Red Velvet Cake for her birthday. I am not a big fan of Red Velvet Cake. It's usually dry, and I prefer things of a moist nature, over dry. I put a shout out on Twitter for a moist Red Velvet Cake. Rebecca at Ezra Pound Cake came to my rescue. She pointed me to this recipe that Smitten Kitchen had posted. It was pretty darn good. I would double up on the frosting next time and maybe take it out of the oven 5 minutes earlier....and Oh did I say we only used a third of the food coloring that it called for? I didn't think my kidneys could handle all that artificialness. Ack! If you are a Red Velvet Cake lover I would definitely give this cake a two thumbs up. (With the recommended modifications, of course.)
If you live near a Trader Joe's well then you are in luck because you can get yourself some of this stuff pretty darn easy and inexpensive too. I just so happen to live a mere 2 1/2 hours from the nearest. Not complaining just sayin'. You can find candied ginger in most grocery stores, if you are unable to find it, then no worries just leave it out. It will be fine....I promise.
Measure out a 1/2 cup and give it a rough chop. Ahhhhh the aroma, is heavenly. I heart ginger. I do realize you need to be careful not to overdo it in recipes, you don't want your scones tasting like Pine-sol.
Cut cold butter into cubes like so and with a pastry cutter cut the butter into the dry ingredients. This is where my visiting with my Seestor got in the way of my photography. But like i said, I trust you can handle this step with out a visual. 
In a smaller bowl, combine wet ingredients. Pumpkin, egg, and buttermilk. Whisk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
Pour wet mixture into the well in the dry ingredients. Gently mix until just combined. Fold in pecans, cinnamon chips, and ginger. Yup, you guessed it, forgot yet another picture.....or two. Hey it was my sisters birthday I was trying to give her my undivided attention. - 2-¾ cups All-purpose Flour
- ⅓ cups Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoons Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoons Ground Ginger
- ¼ teaspoons Allspice
- 10 Tablespoons Cold Butter, Cut Into Cubes
- 1 cup Canned Pumpkin
- 1 whole Egg
- ¾ cups Buttermilk
- ½ cups Chopped Pecans
- ½ cups Chopped Candied Ginger
- ½ cups Cinnamon Chips
- ¼ cups Milk, For Brushing
- ½ cups Raw Sugar, For Sprinkling
1. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice.
2. Add cubes of cold butter in to dry ingredients, cut in with a pastry cutter. Cut until mixture is mostly combined and crumbly. It’s OK to have some visible chunks of butter.
3. In a small mixing bowl combine wet ingredients: pumpkin, egg, and buttermilk. Whisk to combine.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour wet mixture into the well. With a large spatula stir together until everything holds together. Be careful not to over mix.
5. Now fold in pecans, candied ginger, and cinnamon chips.
6. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, lightly dusted with flour. Split dough in two. Shape and pat each section of dough in to a 6-8 inch circle, each circle should be about 3/4 inch thick. Brush each circle with milk and sprinkle with raw sugar.
7. Using a serrated knife cut each circle into 6 pieces, like a pie. Carefully pull the wedges away from the center to separate them just a little bit.
8. Place the pans in freezer for 30 minutes uncovered. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
9. Remove from freezer and place in oven for 20-25 minutes. They should be golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center of scone should come out clean, no wet crumbs. Edges of scone should look baked through not doughy at all.
**10. If you like you can serve scones plain or iced. Maple Glaze Icing= 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 2-3 tablespoons milk. Whisk together and pour over partially cooled scones.
