Pumpkin muffins

A great way to get even vegetable­ averse Toby to eat pumpkin! You need some less run of the mill ingredients, and it’s not the quickest of recipes, but these muffins are tasty without being too sweet, and moist, light and filling at the same time.

The glut of pumpkins we had last week was ideal: I took some mouldy ones from the spares box, cut out the bad bits and stewed them till soft, then froze them in humus tubs which is the perfect amount for a batch of muffins. This recipe also uses up milk that has gone sour – I hate waste! – or you can sour some milk by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to it. (Sour milk can also be used for pancakes, scones or bread.)

This recipe is based on one from ‘Smart Muffins’, by Jane Kinderlehrer. It’s full of tasty, weird and wonderful muffins, none of which contain refined sugar.

Ingredients

1 cup raisins

½ cup sour milk

1/2 cup millet flakes

1 cup pumpkin purée (peeled, deseeded, chopped pumpkin stewed in a little water till soft)

2 eggs

2 tbs melted butter/marg

4 tbs honey or maple/date/agave syrup

½ cup white flour

½ cup wholemeal flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp powdered ginger

Grated rind of an orange (optional)

Directions

1. Put the raisins in a bowl, pour over boiling water until covered, and leave to soak.
2. Combine sour milk and millet flakes, leave to soak.
3. Grease a tray of 12 muffin cups.
4. Sieve flours, spices, baking powder and soda together into a large mixing bowl.
5. Preheat oven to 190°C/gas 5.
6. Whizz pumpkin purée, eggs, butter and honey or syrup in a smoothie maker or similar till
7. it’s a homogeneous gloop.
8. Drain raisins in sieve, shake to remove as much water as possible.
9. Pour whizzed mixture into the millet & milk bowl and mix together. Add raisins.
10. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture. Mix carefully with wooden spoon or spatula until just
11. combined. If you whisk or beat this mixture, the muffins won’t rise.
12. Spoon mixture into muffin tin; it should be exactly enough for 12. Bake for about 20­25
13. minutes until risen and a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, and eat hot or cold.
14. Will keep for a day or two, then they go stale.

Variations

• Use stewed apple instead of pumpkin, loose the spices except cinnamon, add 1 tbs honey if using tart apples.
• Substitute 3 large ripe bananas (with brown speckled skins) for the pumpkin, leave out spices, replace raisins with 100 grams of chocolate or carob chips.

I intend to experiment with substituting the pumpkin with parsnip and carrot, I’ll let you know how I get on!

This recipe tastes even better made with vegetables from Community Harvest Whetstone :)