Pumpkin muffins

This morning the weather changed from being unseasonably warm to proper Halloween weather. Not bright, sunny, chilly Autumn weather but cold, dark, swirly leaves Autumn weather. Weather for real fires and soup.

And finally it felt like it actually should be almost Halloween so I went to buy a pumpkin and some autumnal decorations.

I cheated on the pumpkin and instead of chopping up the one I had bought (apparently never that good for eating but I will give it a go when we have carved it) I used some pureed pumpkin I had put in the freezer. I keep it in bags of 225g ready for this recipe, and just defrost it when I want it.

It’s really easy to prepare pumpkin for muffins – just chop it up into chunks like you would a butternut squash, put it in a steamer over a saucepan of boiling water and steam until soft. Alternatively you could roast it in the oven. Then mash it up with a potato masher or fork and it’s ready to use.

The cinnamon and nutmeg in this recipe give a very seasonal taste, although I made them for my nephew in the summer on a rainy day and had to keep making more: it’s clearly not exclusively suited to Halloween! The pumpkin and raisins must add to your five a day as well so as sweet treats go they can’t be all bad.

Recipe

Ingredients

115g butter

175g soft brown sugar

115g syrup or honey

225g cooked and mashed pumpkin or squash

1 egg

200g SR flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 and a half teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

100g raisins

Method

Set the oven to 200°C. Line a muffin tray with paper cases.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the syrup or honey and mix well.

Add the beaten egg and pumpkin and mix until well combined.

Sieve together the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and nutmeg and then fold in to the pumpkin mixture.

Finally add the raisins and mix until evenly dispersed.

Spoon the mixture in to the cases and bake for 20-25 minutes or until well risen and springy to the touch.

Leave in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.

They actually work really well as a breakfast muffin too, if there are any left by the morning!

Categories: Baking, Cakes, Muffins, Recipes, Vegetables

Tags: autumn, baking, cake, fruit, Halloween, muffins, pumpkin, raisins, recipe, seasonal cooking, vegetables