The sun is still quite warm, but the air has definitely gotten cooler and crisper over the past week. Halloween is around the corner and bright orange pumpkins are everywhere – in grocery stores, farmers markets and at the neighbor’s front door. Where I live, summer turned to fall almost in seconds this year.
I also see many pumpkin products everywhere: pie, quick breads, cheesecake, and even macarons. It is the season of pumpkins, and America loves them.
When I was a child we did not have pumpkin but a similar squash called Kabocha, which has a darker/harder outer skin and a slightly denser flesh inside. My grandmother enjoyed cooking it quite often (not as a dessert, but simply steamed or simmered with Kelp Dashi) and my family enjoyed it as a popular seasonal dish, but it was my least favorite vegetable until later years. I thought it was too sweet.
After I became a cook, I discovered how versatile (and nutritious) this vegetable is from learning to make creamy pumpkin soups, gratins, beer-battered fried pumpkin (amazingly good) and even mousse.
However for this post I am sticking with the more traditional role for this exceptional vegetable – dessert. Spiced pumpkin ice cream and pumpkin cupcakes are both easy to make and big crowd pleasers, so be sure to make enough!
- 1 cup (200 g) unsweetened pumpkin puree
- 1 small banana, chopped
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 stick (110 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (150 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (65 ml) buttermilk or whole milk
- ½ cup pecans
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
- Save 12 pecans for decoration and chop the rest. Set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. Set aside
- In a large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the butter, vanilla, pumpkin, banana, and chopped pecans and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
- Fold in half of the dry ingredients, and then add the buttermilk or milk, then the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until blended.
- Pour the batter to fill the cupcake cups ¾ full, and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the batter feels just set in the center. Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes and then remove from the pan.
- Melt maple syrup and butter together in a small saucepan (or microwave in a small glass bowl). Brush the syrup on top of the cupcakes. Dip 12 pecans in remaining syrup and place one on top of each cupcake.
