My blog has moved!

You should be automatically redirected in 6 seconds. If not, visit
http://www.unpastiche.com
and update your bookmarks.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, with a Crumble Topping

Although this is the second pumpkin-related recipe here on the blog, I have to admit that before this year, I used to avoid pumpkin like the plague. No joke. I guess I had bad memories of how pumpkin tasted like - my mom used to stir fry it with some soupy substance which till today I have no idea what it is. No thank you. I guess it's also a sign that my tastebuds are maturing somewhat - I used to think brinjals (aubergines) were icky too, but I've come to accept them, same for salted egg yolks and sweet potatoes. I still don't really like bitter gourds except when cooked in an omelette though. 

Since the childhood aversion, I have not touched pumpkins until ironically, I was confronted with thousands of them (okay I exaggerate) when I was grocery shopping in Australia.  It was autumn, almost winter, and pumpkins were in abundance. I guess one other reason why pumpkins don't cross my mind while I'm in Singapore is probably due to the fact that our local pumpkins don't look as endearing as say, butternut pumpkins and I grocery shop lesser here, since my mom does the cooking. (Butternut pumpkins are available locally actually, I just never noticed them before.)
 

So while grocery shopping in Woolies, I was completely entranced by the array of pumpkins and other squashes - there were butternut, white ones and pale yellow and green Japanese ones (sorry I don't know the names). I decided to buy one pumpkin and take the plunge with it. So I did. I made pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie and pumpkin muffins with it. They were all delicious, and made me regret knowing pumpkin at such a late age. Boy have I missed out! When I returned to Singapore, with the taste of pumpkin still lingering in my mind, I told my mom to get me a local pumpkin for me to experiment with. I already knew what I wanted to make. When I saw these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins posted by Annie, I immediately bookmarked them - and with some expiring cream cheese, this was the perfect thing to make. Admittedly, I have to admit that our local pumpkins taste a little 'grassier' or earthier than butternut pumpkins, but since we're combining them with spices and sugar, the taste isn't all that prominent. Do use other varieties like butternut if you want a sweeter pumpkin puree. 

So, to all you pumpkin-haters, don't say no to this superfood! Pumpkins are full of vitamin C, helping boost immunity and reducing heart disease. They are also full of fibre and are a natural source of potassium which equals to strong bones and controlled blood pressure. My dad who has high blood pressure should really eat pumpkins more often! Being orange, they contain the same antioxidants as carrots, which is thought to slow down the aging process and reverse skin damage caused by the sun. Like carrots, the vitamin A in pumpkins also promote healthy vision. Singapore being the nation with the highest density of bespectacled people, ought to promote pumpkin eating! 

As the first step towards promoting pumpkin eating, I give you these pumpkin cream cheese muffins, which are bound to dispel any negative perception you had about pumpkins!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Makes 6 muffins

For the cream cheese filling:
60g cream cheese, softened
40g icing sugar

For the muffins:
90g all-purpose flour
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
⅛ tsp allspice
⅛ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 egg
85g castor sugar 
140g pumpkin puree*
100g vegetable oil 

For the topping:
1tsp cinnamon
20g flour 
20g castor sugar
15g butter


Method:
  1. About 1-2 hours before baking the muffin, begin preparing the filling. To prepare the filling, combine the softened cream cheese and icing sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape it into a log about 2-3cm in diameter. Roll the plastic wrap tightly around the log and transfer to the freezer to chill until firm, for at least an hour. 
  2. In another medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt and baking soda. Set aside. Combine the egg, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil (I used olive oil) and mix until well-blended. Add in the dry ingredients until just incorporated. 
  3. To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a fork until the mixture is coarse and resembles bread crumbs. Chill in the refrigerator until read to use. 
  4. Fill each muffin well with a muffin cup. Pour about 1-2 tablespoons of batter into each well. Then, slice the log of cream cheese into 6 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese log in each muffin cup and continue to fill the muffin cups with the remaining muffin batter. Fill until about 60% full if you want a flat topped muffin or up to 80% if you want a domed muffin. Top each muffin with a teaspoonful (or more) of the topping. 
  5. Preheat the oven to 170°C and bake the muffins for about 20-25 minutes, or until the tops brown. If you want to use a cake tester, make sure to poke just the side of the muffin otherwise it'll come out with cream cheese filling. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before consuming. 


Janine's jots: 
  • *Note: To make your own pumpkin puree, simply slice the pumpkin into smaller chunks and steam it for about 10 minutes or until soft. Then mash it up with a fork or blend it if you wish for a smoother texture. You can also roast or microwave the pumpkin if you don't like steaming. 
  • Taste: I am not a particular fan of sweet muffins, especially if they are for my breakfast, so after reducing the sugar in the original recipe, I found these muffins just sweet enough for me, especially with the cream cheese filling. I thought that I could live with slightly more ginger and cinnamon in the muffin, to make it more 'spicy' :]
  • Texture: I felt that the muffins were a tad oily for my liking, so I would recommend reducing the oil by about 10% to 90g instead. Alternatively, in my next attempt, I would probably try to increase the pumpkin puree to 160g or more and reducing the oil by a proportionate amount to make it a healthier muffin. Nevertheless, the muffin is indeed moist, with the cream cheese filling providing that extra moistness and yumminess to an otherwise naked and ordinary muffin. 
  • Serving size: Original recipe calls for 24 muffins, but I quartered it to produce 6 muffins. Recipe works fine!
  • Modifications: The original recipe calls for pumpkin pie spice, but being a very American item, I don't have them in my pantry - I made do by substituting with the spices above. Pumpkin pie spice is a combination of ginger, nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. You can check out Jamie's recipe for it which is very similar to how I substituted or you can refer to allrecipes
  • Storage: The muffins don't store too well at room temperature (especially in our humid environment), so I'd advise storing for a maximum of one day at room temperature before storing it in the fridge for up to 3 days. I popped mine into the microwave for 10 seconds on high before consuming so that the cream cheese filling was gooey and warm. 
  • Would I make this again?: Definitely! Because pumpkins are in season again :]

In pictures: 
Am loving the super orangey batter - that's Mother Nature's coloring for you! For some odd reason, my cream cheese filling kinda floated up. Word to the wise - make sure to place it in the centre and not close to the top! 
But I do like the crack which reveals the cream cheese :] And somehow I preferred the naked muffins (i.e. those without the topping) to the those with the crumble topping. 
GAWD check this out. Deliciousness in a single muffin! Muffin is super moist and yummy!
 

19 comments:

鲸鱼蓝蓝蓝 said...

这好棒,有机会我要试试:)

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Sound so good with a lot of spices.

hanushi said...

I am same as you... I used to avoid pumpkin like mad, only start to love pumpkin recently... in bakes only... :)

ann low said...

Look very pretty. I just bought some pumpkin today, will get other spices tomorrow.Thanks for sharing :)

Hankerie said...

That's interesting.

WendyinKK said...

Once I bought an Australian Butternut Squash, which is soooo expensive since it's imported, compared to local pumpkins that are selling for a fraction of the cost. Frankly, I find the taste to be similiar, not to say any better of each.

That's my personal opinion and
that's the reason I don't buy anymore imported pumpkins.

I'm not sure how mature your local pumpkin is, but I always buy those that are orangey outside and not greenish. I try to get the one with least prominent ridges and most orangey skin. The really mature ones taste like the Aussie Butternut squash,

But then again, what we import in may not be like what is found there. Those found here could be less mature as they need to be exported from Aussie..

Janine said...

@hanushi: do try this out, will make you like pumpkin more ;p

@ann: you can actually just use cinnamon and ginger and it'll be yummy enough :D

@wendy: thanks for your recommendations on how to choose a pumpkin - I have no idea if the pumpkin I bought was mature or not here - the vege seller told me "confirm sweet" so I bought it hehe. Maybe it's because I pureed it into soup so the taste becomes more prominent - I did find it a little 'earthier' for want of a better word. I will definitely try to look for a mature one and see if the taste is the same as I remembered it :D

lena said...

me too used to dislike pumpkins and then slowly accepting that in dessert soup and now love them in bakes! The ones with the cracked top revealing the cream cheese sure looks very tempting!!

Anonymous said...

I've always seen pumpkin on sale at supermarkets but I have never thought of what I can do with it. Your recipe just gave me an idea! Thanks for sharing! (: -Cheers, Jasline

~~louise~~ said...

Hi Janine!
Oh I am so delighted you dropped by my blog. I would not wanted to miss your gorgeous Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins! You did an awesome job!!! I would love to stick my pinky right through the screen!

Thank you so much for sharing...
You are more than welcome to join in the festivities at my Cookbook Party if you like...

Amelia said...

wow, look at those ingredients, I'm sure it must be very tasty. Looks extremely good, yum yum

Janine said...

@lena: do try it :D dessert soup sounds interesting!

@jasline: do try it!

@louise: thanks, will definitely try to join!

@amelia: yeah it was really good!

sotong said...

i'm drawn towards the one with the cracked top too ... it seems to be teasing us with it's little peekabo and saying, "See what goodies i have for u!" hehe

Swee San said...

I kinda prefer pumpkin in desserts, more than in savoury dishes.. but pumpkin in curry is somehow delicious too .. :)

mycookinghut said...

Looks really good!

msihua said...

I do love pumpkin... And I like that it's cracked too.. but the ones with topping look so pretty!

Edith said...

mmmm these looks really yummy.

Palinoia said...

Oh my God, this looks SO yummy!
I just bought a 5 kilos pumpkin so I guess I'll have enough to try your recipe... asap!
Thanks for your recipes and your amazingly well looking pictures! :3

Joshi said...

Yummy with those cinnamon toppings.. perfect match

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...