Can I clarify what happened so we can stop talking about the muffins?

Yes. Yes you may.

I made pumpkin cinnamon rolls the other day. They rose so much that they overflowed off the tray. Anyway, my oven is bonkers: gas mark 1/2 on the middle shelf is equivalent to gas 7. I don’t know what the problem is, but it gets super hotter than it should in there. I put them on the lowest shelf, but they still got kinda burnt on the top while still soggy underneath. I realised afterwards I should have flipped them over, but never mind. They’re still yum, and I’m still overeating them, so…

This is all that’s left.

Anyway, I had about 3/4 cup of pumpkin puree left over, and I didn’t want to waste it, so I made some pumpkin-ish muffins. I adapted a cranberry muffin recipe that I can’t remember the source of. Sorry. Also I didn’t really measure the pumpkin and water. I put the pumpkin puree in a 1 cup measure, topped it up with water, then added nearly half a cup more of water when it was obvious there wasn’t enough moisture. Measurements are with metric cups (250ml). I forgot to add the acid, but they still rose okay. Makes about 12.

DRY:

• 1 cup plain white flour
• 1/2 cup plain wholemeal flour
• 1/2 cup finely ground porridge oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarb
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup stevia sugar substitute (or sugar)
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed

WET:

• 1-ish cup pumpkin puree (this isn’t a thing you can buy in the UK. I make my own by boiling/roasting sliced pumpkin, then mashing. It freezes well)
• 1/2-ish cup water
• 1 tbsp marmalade
• 1 tsp orange flavouring oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Just under 1/2 cup veg oil
• 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice

If you have orange juice, use that instead of water, and leave out the vinegar/lemon juice and orange flavour.

METHOD:

• Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
• Mix the wet ingredients in a larger bowl. I had to use a stick blender to get rid of the lumps from the pumpkin puree.
• Add the dry to the wet. Stir until just combined. Don’t over mix.
• Place into muffin cases. I like the silicone ones because the muffins come out clean so there’s no waste, and they’re reusable.
• I added some frozen small berries to some. I was going to add Italian mixed peel to some others but I forgot. Chocolate chips would work well too.
• Bake at gas 5 (190°) for about 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Yum yum!

This recipe is lower in sugar, and has the pumpkin, whole oats, wholemeal flour and flax for extra fibre. It’s still not healthy, but it’s healthier. They actually came out really nice! They’re a little denser than regular muffins, but that doesn’t bother me.