Friday afternoon provided me with an afternoon off work and a chance to do some baking, it was requested that I make some cakes for a social gathering I went to last night, and in the spirit of Halloween I finally got around to baking with pumpkin…finally finding a use for a tin of the stuff I purchased quite a long time ago!
Pumpkin, especially the canned type seems big in the USA but I’ve found very few recipes calling for it over here.
In the end I adapted a recipe I found on a food blog, substituting the faff of preparing and pureeing a real, live pumpkin for the same amount of the canned stuff.
The result? An absolute hit! The canned pumpkin is elusive, I found mine in my local Waitrose, and I know some American sweet shops and posh department stores sell it at great expense. It is, after extensive research, a highly versatile ingredient…so if you see any at a reasonable price I’d stock up!
The Recipe, adapted from here
– 200g plain flour
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 250g caster sugar
– 110ml vegetable oil
– 2 lightly beaten eggs
– 110ml milk
– 150g pumpkin flesh, blended to a puree (I used the same amount from the can)
– I also added a bag of chocolate chips.
1. Flour mixture: In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar together, and mix well.
2. Pumpkin mixture: In a large bowl, beat the oil, eggs and milk. Stir in the pumpkin puree.
3. Combine the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Stir until just blended (and lumpy). Be careful not to over mix as it will result in a tough texture.
4. Place baking cases in muffin tins. Spoon the mixture into the cases (each slightly more than 2/3 filled).
4. Bake for about 20 minutes in preheated oven of 175C (350F). Remove the muffins and cool on a rack for several minutes before serving.
The recipe stated it yielded 16 muffins, but I ended up with 24 cupcake sized ones, which were plenty big enough.
They took about 12-15 minutes to cook in my fan oven. A skewer that comes out clean when poked in the middle will tell you that they are done.
I will be making these again!
Anyone else do some Halloween baking?
Got any amazing pumpkin recipes to share? (USA readers, I’m looking at YOU!)
xxx
I love pumpkin! 🙂
xxx
http://www.sunshine-rainbows-and-ribbons.blogspot.com
I must try making these !
No baking for me but lots of Halloween eating in general 😉 I’ve not buckled to using the tinned pumpkin yet.
Oh oh oh, I am currently OBSESSED with all things pumpkin! I had a pumpkin pizza on Saturday, and this morning I attempted to make PUMPKIN PANCAKES and it was amazing!! (excuse the shouting, I know I am getting overly excited).
I’m having difficulty finding canned pumpkins here too, so I experimented with canned pumpkin soup (surprisingly it works for pancakes).
Those muffins are making me drool!
Oh oh oh, I am currently OBSESSED with all things pumpkin! I had a pumpkin pizza on Saturday, and this morning I attempted to make PUMPKIN PANCAKES and it was amazing!! (excuse the shouting, I know I am getting overly excited).
I’m having difficulty finding canned pumpkins here too, so I experimented with canned pumpkin soup (surprisingly it works for pancakes).
Those muffins are making me drool!
Looks really amazing, you seem so good at cooking. I am terrible at it, deinitely something I need to work on.
you know, i have never eaten pumpkin before. I think i’m missing out! x
Looks great, I love making muffins will definitely have to try them out some time! Some friends and I made some basic chocolate chip muffins with sprinkles and different flavored icing for a little Halloween party we had, nothing too special aha. Great blog, now following 🙂
Check mine out?
a4snowflakes.blogspot.com
much love
xo
These look yummy xx
I’m not sure on pumpkin but they do look yummy!
Claudia xxx
http://www.claudiakitten.blogspot.com
Pumpkin and chocolate = amazing.
Pumpkin itself – amazing
Just out of random curiosity, if fresh pumpkin is more common there, do things taste differently than recipes with it?
Pumpkin actually doesn’t have much of a taste on it’s own (it’s the nutmeg and other spices that bring it out and that we associate with pumpkin) so I’m just curious…
They look yummy.
X x
Oooo pumpkin in a muffin sounds well good!
Ahh, can I please have one? :)) I love your zebra cup cake thingies!!
I’d always been dubious about pumpkin as a sweet ingredient until a neighbour brought round some pumpkin pie recently – it was far nicer than I anticipated, and your muffins look great. I have no pumpkin recipes, but I have already made eyeball cakes, graveyard cakes, ogre teeth, gingerbread mummies and rice krispie spiders!
They look yummy, yummy !!!
Love from London Wishes
Caith and Eva
They look amazing! I never knew you could buy pumpkin tinned… 🙂 xx
I ate so much cake, it wasn’t even Halloween as an excuse haha. But they do look yummy 🙂 xx
these sound YUMMY. The most extensive cooking/baking today: rocky road for Legal Monday and a baked potato with cheese for dinner….
I think next year when we have a smaller house and my culinary skills will be much better, I shall attempt this. Or I’ll just do it when I get home and hand them out at Christmas 😀 Thanks for this recipe Laura, the muffins look delicious. xxx
Wow they look amazing, I need to make these soon! x
Mmm, I’m inspired. I might make some spooky little cakes for tonight.
These look so good!
Love the zebra print cases 🙂
Jazz xo
http://cupcakesnsweets.blogspot.com/
Drools. Those look too bloody good! -Becky
you found tinned pumpkin in Waitrose? I need to go buy some now, thanks for the tip!