Halloween was never a "thing" in my childhood in Japan but it's become very popular in recent years. The pumpkin on the other hand, is a central part of Japanese cuisine - it goes into everything - soups, pickles, mixed rice and tempura. Pumpkin as an ingredient also makes for a delicious muffin so as the "trick or treat" season approaches, I thought would publish a recipe that can be used to make a delicious Halloween treat, decorated or undecorated, a pumpkin muffin.
The pumpkin component adds a little richness, softness and sweetness to the pumpkin. I've used microwaved pumpkin and roast pumpkin flesh in this recipe before but the easiest route to a great tasting pumpkin muffin is to use canned pumpkin puree. This is stocked in supermarkets in the UK and as all the cans I've found are produced in the USA, it's a sure bet that you'll find it well stocked in the US as well. I'm not sure about the rest of the world but if you can't find it anywhere, as I said, roast pumpkin and microwaved pumpkin work in this recipe as well. If you choose to cook the pumpkin yourself, for the equivalent weight, I would add another 1 tbsp of milk to the recipe.
I shan't go into the ins and outs of decoration here - there are lots of sites you can find with fantastic ideas for Halloween themed decorations that are done much better than I can do. Suffice to say, if you make these for Halloween, they do look rather cute with a little ghost or a "mummy" popped on the top!
If this has got you in the mood for pumpkin muffin making, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Halloween Pumpkin Muffins or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below.
Happy Halloween baking! Kurumi XXXX.
ingredients:
(makes 6 Halloween Pumpkin Muffins)
130g / 4.5oz canned pumpkin puree
150g / 5.3oz plain flour
1.5 tsp cinnamon powder
80g / 3oz brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt
1 large egg
60ml / 2fl oz vegetable oil
1 tbsp milk
6 muffin cases
oven temperature 180C / 350F convection setting.
a block of sugar icing if you wish to decorate.
how to:
combine the plain flour, cinnamon, baking powder, biocarbonate of soda, and salt in a bowl and mix well
break the egg into in a mixing bowl. add the vegetable oil and milk and whisk together. add the sugar and whisk again
sieve the flour mixture into the egg mix and gently mix together. then, add the pumpkin puree and mix together again into a smooth muffin mix
turn on your oven to a convection setting at 180 C / 350 F.
spoon the muffin mixture into the 6 muffin cases. cook for 20 - 25 minutes. (22 minutes works perfectly in my oven but check after 20 minutes and see whether you need to give them a little more time in your oven
leave to cool for 30 minutes. serve "as is" or decorate on a Halloween theme
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