Pumpkin, which has its origins in America but can nowadays be successfully grown in all warm countries, is not only an all-rounder in the kitchen but also a true vitamin bomb. The orange vegetable provides our body with potassium and vitamin C, and contains plenty of beta-carotene and vitamin A. With only 25 kcal per 100 g of pumpkin and a 90% water content, pumpkin is a super low-calorie vegetable.
Recipe for pumpkin apple muffins
Ingredients:
- 250 g pumpkin
- 250 g apples (approx. 2-3 pieces)
- 200 g flour
- 150 g yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 80 ml rapeseed oil
- 1 packet baking powder
- Salt
- Nutmeg
- 1 organic lemon (grate the zest)
Instructions:
Although pumpkin can be fried, grilled, steamed, boiled, pickled, and baked au gratin, today it is to be used for a dessert.
Clean the pumpkin, first cut it in half, then into quarters, and finally into small cubes. With Hokkaido pumpkin, fortunately, you do not need to peel off the skin, as it is edible and therefore can be eaten. Then wash and peel the apples, quarter them, and remove the core. Now grate the apple quarters with a coarse grater and mix them with the pumpkin cubes.- Tip: anyone who does not want to struggle with the pumpkin, since it is quite hard and stubborn, should proceed as follows: place the pumpkin quarters in the center of a large piece of aluminum foil, garnish with orange peel, a cinnamon stick, or cloves, fold over the foil, and cook at 200° Celsius for approx. 40 minutes. Now remove the foil and the spices and mash the flesh with a fork so that some individual pieces remain.
- To prepare the batter, put the flour, sugar, spices, eggs, yogurt, and salt into a large bowl and mix together. Fold in the pumpkin purée and grated apple and mix well.
- The muffin tray is now either greased with butter and dusted with breadcrumbs or flour, or alternatively lined with paper muffin cups. Fill each mold 2/3 full with batter and bake the tray in the preheated oven for approx. 35 minutes. For top/bottom heat, a setting of 180° Celsius is recommended; for gas: level 3; and for fan-assisted: 160° Celsius.
Hot tip: if you like it a little sweeter, you can decorate the muffins after they have cooled with a little liquid couverture and ideally a few pumpkin seeds. Depending on taste, you can also add more or less sugar to the batter. Since the apples are already quite sweet, you can vary the sugar very well.
If you like it especially light and fluffy, separate the eggs before using, add the egg yolk to the batter, and beat the egg white with a little sugar until very stiff. Carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the batter.
If you do not want to use this batter for muffins but want to make a cake, you should rinse the silicone mold with lukewarm water beforehand, then pour in the liquid batter, and be sure to grease metal baking pans with butter and dust them with breadcrumbs.
Alternative version: if you love savory flavors, you can simply omit the spices and sugar from the recipe and replace them with pieces of cheese and strips of bacon. Season with a little fresh pepper and parsley, then handle in the same way as the sweet version. Cream cheese can also be used instead of yogurt. These components make the muffins even juicier and fresher than they already are.
Photo by Janine, meinhaushalt.at
Also read: Zucchini Muffins or Cake
