Sam's Kitchen

These sunny looking spiced pumpkin and banana muffins with the piquant scents of turmeric and cardamom made a cute addition to our breakfast and lunchbox menus.

They are loved by all members of our fam bam including our furbaby Marley. Who, sometimes falls into the trap of his food thieving tendencies and steals muffins right from under my nose!

I loved the fact that turmeric worked well along with the other spices. I’m fond of turmeric for its incredible healing and anti-inflammatory properties and  am excited to introduce it into my kids’ diet by adding it in small quantities into sweet and savory meals.

The crunch from the seeds and walnuts added a great contrast to the soft texture of the muffins.
I used some wholemeal flour in the batter, for its earthy flavour and the additional wholesomeness and nutrients it brought into this already incredible combination.

I had a bit of help when making the muffins. My little pumpkin who was channelling a pussy cat for the Halloween, lend me his helping hand to clean up the bowls and taste the muffins. His big sister did the face-art for him, and what a good arty-job she did with a pinky nose, little whiskers and all! I was relieved she didn’t paint his face black, or we might have ended up all over the news!

Preparation time 30 minutes
Cooking time 25 minutes

Ingredients

350g grated butternut pumpkin
1 ripe large banana mashed (175g peeled)
1/2 cup filtered water
100g butter
3 eggs lightly whisked
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup self-raising wholemeal flour
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp bicarb soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup mixture of pepitas ( pumpkin seeds ) and coarsely chopped walnuts

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175-180C
   Prepare a 12 hole muffin pan and line it with muffin wraps.
2. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, leaving the walnuts and pepitas out.
3. Stir grated butternut, mashed banana and water in a large pot and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
4. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the butter until it melts and blends in with the butternut and banana. Stir in the lightly whisked eggs and the dry ingredients. Do not overstir, keep the batter lite and airy.
5. Spoon the batter into prepared muffin wraps, 2-3 soup size spoons each so the are just a little more than half full.
6. Sprinkle with the walnut and seed mixture and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Notes

Use spatula in a circular motion to fold the flour into the batter. The batter should be light and airy for the muffins to rise.
To check if they are cooked through, insert a skewer and it should come out clean.

Leave the nuts out if planning for lunchboxes, in case your child’s school has a no-nut policy.

Store the muffins in an airtight container. Freeze or refrigerate. Heat in a microwave to warm up prior serving.