Sweet Pumpkin Baking…

It's definitely all about pumpkins this week with Halloween just around the corner.  We have a lovely homemade Halloween wreath on our door made from decorative gourds, hay and lots of string and there are four big pumpkins which are sitting on the kitchen table waiting to be carved.  One of my favourite things growing up was carving pumpkins and we used to plead with my dad to bring home the biggest ones we could find.  I love the whole process of cutting the top open, diving into the squelching flesh and seeds and then ripping and scooping them out.  Once the seeds are clean I toss them in a little melted butter sprinkle over some sea salt and then pop them in a hot oven until golden and crisp, they make the perfect little Halloween snack.

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Maple Glazed Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

This muffin recipe is incredibly easy to make. You basically combine wet and dry ingredients, spoon the batter into muffin cases and bake! You can make this same recipe without pumpkin puree and instead use milk. The tinned pumpkin purée is made by Libby's and comes in 822g tins. Many good speciality food shops carry them at this time of year and they are perfect for seasonal baking. If you want to add more texture to the muffins add some of the nuts throughout the batter.   Makes 12 240g of plain flour 2 teaspoons of baking powder 1 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda 200g of caster sugar 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon of all spice 80ml of sunflower oil 400g of pumpkin purée 2 large free range eggs For the glaze: 90g of icing sugar 2 1/2 tablespoons of maple syrup 40g of walnuts, roughly chopped   Preheat the oven to 180˚C.  Line a muffin tray with paper cases.   Place the dry ingredients into bowl and make a well using the back of a wooden spoon.   Add in the wet ingredients and mix until you have a smooth batter. Don't over mix.   Divide the mixture amongst the 12 paper cases and place the whole tray into the oven to bake for 20 minutes.   While the muffins are baking, prepare the glaze by whisking the maple syrup and icing sugar together until you have a stiff yet runny mix.   When the muffins have cooled completely on a wire wrack, drizzle with the maple syrup glaze and scatter over the nuts.  

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Back Of The Pack Retro Recipes and Pumpkin Pie

It's another pumpkin recipe this week, but while last week's was a savoury offering, this week's is all about sweetness and the kitsch factor! I love collecting old recipes and one of my absolute favourite cookbooks is one I robbed from my aunt, a compilation of recipes from the backs of American packets and tins. Half the book is made up of recipes that would make the Masterchef inside you cry a little, but hidden amongst them are true gems which are not to be sniffed at.

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Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Muffins

These rich dark chocolate muffins are beautifully balanced with ruby red raspberries.  This mix is incredibly easy to prepare, make sure to prepare all your ingredients in advance and all it takes is a little mixing and you have a fudgy dark chocolate muffin mix.   Makes 12 Muffins 100g of butter, melted 200ml of buttermilk 2 large free range eggs 150g of caster sugar 250g of self raising flour 250g of fresh raspberries 200g of dark chocolate, roughly chopped   Preheat the oven to 175oC. Line a muffin tray with paper cases.   In a bowl, whisk together the butter, buttermilk and set aside.   In a standalone mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar until light and fluffy.   Add in the butter mixture and whisk until combined. Gently fold in the flour until just combined.   Stir through the fruit and dark chocolate until combined. Be sure not to over mix the batter.   Spoon the mixture into the papercases and place in the oven to cook for 15-20 minutes.   Remove from the oven and place on a wire wrack to cool.

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Apple and Cinnamon Crumble Muffins

This has to be the ultimate Autumnal muffin!  Soft apple in a light and fluffy batter lightly spiced with cinnamon and then finished off with a buttery crumble topping! You won't be able to resist!   Makes 12 Muffins 75ml of olive oil 200ml of buttermilk Zest of 1 lemon 2 large free range eggs 150g of caster sugar 250g of self raising flour 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 250g of peeled and diced cooking apple (Approx 1 large cooking apple)   For the crumble topping: 50g of vanilla sugar (or substitute with caster sugar) 50g of plain flour 50g of butter   Preheat the oven to 190˚C. Line a muffin/cupcake tray with paper cases.   Measure the oil and buttermilk in a pyrex jug and then stir through the lemon zest and set aside.   Using a handblender with a food processor attachment, blitz the ingredients for the crumble topping until you get left with rough crumbs. You can also do this by hand in a bowl using your fingertips to combine the ingredients together. Set the crumble topping aside.   In a standalone mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar until light and fluffy.   Add in the oil, buttermilk and lemon zest and whisk until combined.   Gently fold in the flour and cinnamon until just combined. Fold through 3/4 of the diced apple until combined. Be sure not to over mix the batter.   Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, top with the remaining apple and about a teaspoonful of the crumble topping.   Place in the oven on the middle wrack to cook for 20 minutes until brown on top.   Remove from the oven and place on a wire wrack to cool.    

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Gingerbread Muffins with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

The smell of these muffins straight out of the oven instantly creates that feel of Christmas. Warm spices wafting around the kitchen doesn't get any better! The cinnamon cream cheese frosting is an absolute must and completely takes these muffins to Christmas heaven!

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Cranberry and White Chocolate Muffins

You have to try these absolutely delicious cranberry and white chocolate muffins. They make the best of leftover cranberries, but you could also use any other berry you wish. The sweetness of the white chocolate really balances out the sourness of the cranberries... utterly delicious!

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Big Boy Apple Breakfast Muffins

I made these lovely muffins when we were in Sweden skiing. They are like a whole breakfast in one muffin, with everything you could need, porridge oats, raisins, apple and yoghurt oh my! To make the cool paper cases in the photos, cut squares of parchment paper, wrap them around a tumbler glass and tie them tightly with some kitchen string. Then simply remove the glass and your left with really cool homemade paper cases!

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