Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Pumpkin Seeds

Halloween is a week away, and the pumpkins are piled high at every market in the Southwest. Before yours gets a face carved into it, keep a little of the flesh back for these muffins.

They are soft, gently spiced and only lightly sweet. Wholemeal spelt flour and ground almonds give them more fibre and healthy fats than the usual bakery muffin, and a few spoonfuls of honey are all the sweetness they need. Children love them, and so do the adults who pinch one from the plate on their way past.

Have one with a cup of tea and a handful of nuts when four o’clock comes round. If that’s usually your difficult moment of the day, I explain why in The Afternoon Energy Dip.

Makes

12

Prep time

15 Min

Bake time

20 Min

Total time

35 Min

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Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Pumpkin Seeds

Soft, gently spiced pumpkin muffins made with wholemeal spelt flour, ground almonds and a little honey, topped with pumpkin seeds. A healthier treat for Halloween and every autumn afternoon.

Ingredients

Wet ingredients

• 250 g (1 cup) pumpkin or butternut squash purée
• 2 eggs
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) mild olive oil or walnut oil
• 60 ml (¼ cup) honey or maple syrup
• 120 g (½ cup) plain yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry ingredients

• 200 g (1⅔ cups) wholemeal spelt flour
• 50 g (½ cup) ground almonds
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• A pinch of ground cloves
• A pinch of salt

To finish

• 40 g (⅓ cup) pumpkin seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), or 160°C fan, and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin purée, eggs, oil, honey, yoghurt and vanilla until smooth.
3. In a second bowl, mix the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and fold gently with a spatula until just combined. A few streaks of flour are fine, as overmixing makes muffins heavy.
5. Divide the batter between the cases and scatter the pumpkin seeds on top.
6. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until risen and a skewer comes out clean.
7. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then on a rack.

Make your own purée

Halve a small potimarron or butternut squash, scoop out the seeds and roast it cut side down at 200°C (400°F) for about 40 minutes, until soft. Scoop out the flesh and mash it. Any leftover purée freezes well.

A Halloween touch

Before baking, press a few pumpkin seeds into each muffin to make a little face. Children love doing this part.

Storage

They keep for 3 days in a closed tin and freeze well for up to 2 months.

Did you make this recipe?

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