When it comes to ‘pumpkin spice’, most of the flavour we love actually comes from the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, and not from the pumpkin itself. That said, sneaking vegetables into meals and snacks where you might not normally find them (like muffins!) is a great way to boost your intake without even thinking about it. Each muffin contain around three grams of fibre, plus slow-burning carbs to help keep energy up between meals.
Makes 12 muffins. Each serve (of one muffin) is approximately 807 kilojoules (193 calories).
Ingredients
450g pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cut into two-centimetre cubes.
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup maple syrup
2 extra-large eggs
¼ cup skim milk, or milk alternative
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla essence or extract
1 ¾ cups wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch sea salt
Method
- Bring a saucepan or small pot of water to the boil, then add pumpkin and cook for 10 minutes or until soft. Drain and leave to cool, then process in a blender until smooth.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and maple syrup. Add the eggs and continue to beat well. Stir through the pumpkin purée, milk, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla.
- Add the flour and baking powder to the bowl with a pinch of sea salt, then mix with a wooden spoon until combined.
- Transfer the mix to 12 paper liners/cups in a muffin tray, then bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through. You can check by piercing one muffin with a skewer and checking that it comes out clean.
- Let rest for five minutes, then remove muffins from the tray and transfer to a wire rack to leave to cool.
