Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

Making Pumpkin & Ginger Jam yesterday morning gave me a great idea for the 24 little cakes I need to make for the infant school.

There is a River Cottage recipe for marbled muffins (sadly not available online right now I’ve just seen), and I thought I’d stir in some pumpkin jam.  But as my jam just fitted into five jars with none leftover I’ve had to revise my plan, and use my go-to fresh fruit/vegetable muffin recipe.

I only began making muffins a few years ago.  Before that my sister in law would put me to shame, effortlessly wiping up a batch as soon as she saw black banana or the like.  My muffins, by comparison, were more solid than rock cakes and even more inedible.

Then I stumbled across this recipe on the web.  I’m not sure where it came from, but it works.  My muffins are soft, slightly moist and most importantly, edible. I use these quantities for fresh fruit/veg + dried ingredient for consistently reliable results ie beetroot & white chocolate, apple & raisin, banana & choc chip, courgette & raisin, carrot & raisin (carrot cake) etc etc.

250g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

110g sugar

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 handful (50g) mixed dried fruit

80ml sunflower oil

150ml milk

1 egg

170g grated pumpkin

Place 12 muffin cases into a muffin tray.  If, however, you want big American sized muffins, I would suggest 8-10 muffin cases only.  You’ll have to experiment!

Weigh out the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix with a fork to break up any lumps of flour.

Measure out the milk and oil and whisk in the egg.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry and fold in until only just mixed.  The trick to not making solid muffins, I have learnt, is not not overmix.  And a few patches of dry flour is okay.

Spoon immediately into the muffin cases. Sprinkle the tops with brown sugar if you wish.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 190C/170C Fan, turning the tray halfway through cooking.  Bake until the muffins are lightly browned and spring back when touched.  Leave to cool on a cooling rack until bearable.

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