These pumpkin muffins are full of spice and everything nice.
You see I first made these muffins last year but couldn’t get my act together to post them in time for Halloween or Bonfire Night for that matter so here I am delivering the goods this fall season.
These muffins are so easy and delicious, I have become borderline obsessed with them. They are so quick to bake, tasty to eat, packed with pumpkin and not overly sweet making them the ultimate autumnal treat. Actually, scrap that last bit, these babies are so delicious, they’re for all year round, not just for autumn.
It all started when my in-laws came to visit and we went to a local pumpkin patch. When it comes to pumpkin patches, I am like a kid at Christmas but in the two years since we’ve been back in the UK both the weather and our social calendars have curtailed my fun at the patch.
The weather gods looked favourably upon us when the in-laws were in town and we picked some cracking pumpkins. Let me just say, picking pumpkins is much easier than chopping pumpkins – my hands are now full of callouses – but no pain, no gain! We have eaten pumpkin in many forms this past month – pumpkin macaroni cheese, pumpkin soup and these ridiculously good (if I say so myself) muffins.
The secret here is in the spices, they’re so warming and delicious – I read once about blending them into a paste and I’m not exactly sure what the benefit of this are but the spice paste makes me feel fancy and it makes the muffins taste out of this world. Of course, you could also add chocolate chips or sultanas – I definitely thought about it – but I’m a pumpkin purist and believe these muffins to be stand alone delicious without any additions.
This recipe calls for pumpkin puree and I never bother to buy it because it’s so easy to make. If I’m being really lazy, I just boil or steam the pumpkin and blitz it for longer into a puree at the adding pumpkin stage of the recipe.
I should add here that not all pumpkins are created equal and the texture of the batter will differ depending on the type of pumpkin. I find the mixture a bit wetter when I use a butternut compared to a regular pumpkin but the baked muffin is no less delicious.
They keep really well for about 3 days – if they last that long – in a sealed container and they freeze really well too.
Have you ever been to a pumpkin patch? If you had a massive pumpkin, what would you make?
Ingredients
FOR THE PUMPKIN SPICE
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
FOR THE MUFFINS
225g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
100g caster sugar
50g brown sugar
200g pumpkin puree (about 400g of uncooked pumpkin or butternut)
2 large eggs
125g butter, melted
demerara sugar, for sprinkling
How to – Traditional
- Preheat oven to 180C and line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases.
- Mix the pumpkin spice ingredients in a small bowl and add a teaspoon or two of water, stirring to make a smooth paste. Set aside.
- Mix the flour, baking powder and sugars together in a large bowl.
- Whisk the puree and the eggs together in a jug and then add to the dry ingredients along with the melted butter.
- Mix together until just combined.
- Divide the mixture equally between the 12 paper cases, sprinkle some demerara sugar over the muffins and bake for 15 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
How to – Thermomix
- Preheat oven to 180C and line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases.
- Mix the pumpkin spice ingredients in a small bowl and add a teaspoon or two of water, stirring to make a smooth paste. Set aside.
- Add the flour, baking powder and sugars to TM bowl. Mix for 5 seconds on speed 5 and set aside.
- Melt the butter for 3 minutes at 60C on speed 2 or until melted. Set aside. Don’t worry about washing the bowl.
- Add the pumpkin puree and the spice paste and mix for 10 seconds on speed 5 or until smooth.
- Add the eggs and mix for 10 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides of bowl.
- Add the melted butter and the dry ingredients and mix for 5 seconds on speed 4. If necessary, stir through with the spatula.
- Divide the mixture equally between the 12 paper cases, sprinkle some demerara sugar over the muffins and bake for 15 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
