Halloween recipe: Pumpkin, thyme and cheddar muffins

Makes 12

These lovely little yummies are a healthy(ish) breakfast snack. Sweet potato works quite well in this recipe too, but the resulting muffin will be a little heavier.

250g pumpkin (or butternut

squash), peeled, deseeded and

cut into 5mm cubes (to give

about 175g flesh)

175g wholemeal flour

100g self-raising flour

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, roughly

chopped

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 medium eggs

225ml semi-skimmed milk

75ml vegetable oil

150ml natural yogurt

50g mature Cheddar cheese,

grated

Equipment

12-hole muffin tin with paper

muffin cases

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C, (fan 200°C), 425°F, Gas Mark 7. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases and set aside.

Put the pumpkin, flours, thyme, bicarb, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Give them a quick stir together and then make a hole in the centre. Lightly beat the eggs in a medium bowl, then mix in the milk, oil and yogurt until combined.

Pour the wet mixture into the centre of the dry ingredients and mix together using as few stirs as possible (otherwise you will make the muffins too dense and heavy). The mixture will be quite wet.

Divide the mixture evenly into the 12 muffin cases. Sprinkle over the grated Cheddar and bake in the centre of the oven for 20–25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and set aside to cool just a little as these muffins are best eaten warm.

Top Tip

The muffins do get a bit stuck to the paper when you are taking them out, but the papers are easier to remove when they are a little cooler.

Recipe taken from How To Be A Better Cook by Lorraine Pascale (HarperCollins, £25)

Image credit: Maja Smend