Hello Everyone! I can’t believe we’ve come to an end to Breakfast/Brunch Month, which also means that it’s almost the end of October! Once again, where did the days go? Time flies too quickly. Luckily for you guys, today will not be the last post for October for I have a recipe going up on the 31st for a Halloween Special. I won’t say much about it now but the only thing I will say about it is that it’s gonna get bloody!

So anyway, since today will be my last post for Breakfast/Brunch Month, I’m going to end it with a recipe that is sure to knock you socks off! I’ve not tried this recipe before earlier on this week, but I can assure you that for those of you who like a little bit of spice in your life, these muffins pack a good kick! I had actually planned to bake some Chorizo, Corn, and Chilli Streusel muffins two weeks ago to post for today, but we could not find any chorizo at all that week. So I told my mom that I’ll hold off making the muffins since they weren’t going up on the blog for another week or so during that time, but as the days drew closer and chorizo still could not be found – so maybe I will hold off this recipe for another time when chorizo is available.

Thus, I decided to change my recipe – Pumpkin, Polenta, and Chilli Muffins! I kind of like how it is sort of in theme with fall (for the Northern Hemisphere), and Halloween – the pumpkin aspect of today’s recipe that is. The original recipe for these muffins can be found over on Taste;I didn’t really do anything to alter the recipe, only that I added half of the pepitas into the muffin batter mixture. Other than that, I pretty much just followed this quick and easy recipe.

PREP TIME 15 MINS | COOKING TIME 22-25 MINS | SERVES 12 MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

• 500g butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into small chunks
• 2 & 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup coarse polenta
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tsp dried chilli flakes
• Ground salt and black pepper, to taste
• Softened butter, to serve

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 190C (375F or gas mark 5). Grease a 12 hole muffin pan with either cooking spray or with butter.
2. Place the pumpkin chunks on a baking tray lined with foil and season with a bit of salt, pepper, and coat with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Once done, remove from the oven and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Using a fork, mash the pumpkin and set aside to cool.
3. Meanwhile, combine the self-raising flour, sugar, polenta, chilli flakes, coriander, and half of the pepitas in a bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined and then make a well in the centre.
4. Add the milk, egg, vegetable oil, and pumpkin into the well and then mix until just combined. Your batter will be very thick which is exactly what you want! Season with a bit of salt and pepper, and the spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared muffin pan. Top with the remaining pepitas.
5. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until golden and firm to touch. Remove from the oven and stand in muffin pan for about 5 minutes before transferring them onto a wire rack to cool down completely.
6. Serve and enjoy warm or cold with softened butter!

Muffins taste best on the same day, though they may be stored covered tightly at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx