《全麥南瓜核桃鬆餅》 Wholewheat Pumpkin-Walnut Muffins

喜歡日本南瓜的軟糯香甜，可作中西菜式，又可作麵包、蛋糕和甜品，可塑性極高。近日可能大造，價格亦便宜，因為耐存，所以都買一、兩個在家。

這《全麥南瓜核桃鬆餅》食譜用了多年，已經過多次改良：

• 南瓜連皮壓茸，增加纖維和營養，同時減少廚餘
• 加大全麥粉比例，但又要保持鬆軟口感
• 減牛油減膩和罪疚感
• 增加香料提味，減用少用糖

秋冬季家中聚會常做這蛋糕款客，大人小孩都喜歡，簡單易做，輕盈少甜，乎合我的原則：「美味又不墮落」。

以一個剛出爐的「全麥南瓜核桃鬆餅」，配一杯熱騰騰的無糖咖啡作為秋天的下午茶，好幸福喔！

Ingredients  (Makes 14 to 15 muffins, 80g each)

1. Dry ingredients:

• Wholewheat pastry flour 125g
• Unbleached all-purpose flour 143g
• Baking powder 1 tbsp
• Baking soda ½ tsp
• Salt ½ tsp
• Cinnamon, ground ¾ tsp
• Ginger, ground ½ tsp
• Nutmeg, freshly ground ½ tsp

From top left: Wholewheat pastry flour, Cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, ground cinnamon, freshly ground nutmeg, ground ginger

2. Oil-mixture

• Butter, unsalted, cubed, softened ¹ 113g
• Light brown sugar or golden caster sugar, 110-130g ² 

From left: Softened butter, golden caster sugar

3. Moist ingredients

• Eggs, beat until frothy 2 nos.
• Japanese pumpkin, cooked, mashed³ 1 cup, approximately 280g raw
• Milk ¾ cup

From left: Mashed Japanese pumpkin with skin-on, whole milk, eggs

4. Nuts

• Pecan or walnuts, toasted, roughly chopped ¾ cup
• Raisins, a handful (Optional)

From left: Toasted chopped walnuts, raisins

5. Topping – Cinnamon Sugar (Optional)

• Light brown sugar or golden caster sugar, 2 tbsp
• Cinnamon, ground, 1/4 tsp

From left: Golden caster sugar, ground cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Combine all dry ingredients (A) in a medium bowl and mix with a hand whisk.
3. Cream (B) in the mixing bowl of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment at medium speed until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in the eggs into mixture (B). Blend in the mashed pumpkin at low speed.
5. Add flour mixture  (A) into the pumpkin mixture in 2 batches alternately with the milk, mix until just blend or the cupcakes will be tough.
6. Remove the mixing bowl from the machine; fold in the chopped nuts and raisins with a silicone spatula until just blended.
7. Spoon batter into paper muffin cups. Fill about 2/3 full. ⁴
8. Sprinkle each muffin with 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar just before baking.
9. Bake for 16-18 minutes or when the cake tester comes out clean.

色澤金黃，入口鬆軟，南瓜皮清晰可見，香脆焗核桃增加不同質怠和香氣，配上幾種香料，縱使減糖依然美味。鬆餅中有氣泡是因為 1. 鬆餅剛焗好便切開，破壞了結構；2. 用 ice-cream scoop 把鬆餅漿加入紙模中。可用唧花袋把鬆餅漿注入紙模，就不會有此情況。

REMARKS:

¹Used “Isigny S^te Mère” French unsalted butter, can be used right from the fridge without standing in room temperature.

²Must taste the pumpkin puree before creaming the butter and sugar. Can reduce the amount of sugar if the squash is very sweet.

³That would be less than ½ of a Japanese pumpkin. Remove the seeds, wash the skin, cut into thin slices, cover with microwave wrap and cook in the microwave oven on high for 4-5 minutes. Remove the wrap when the squash is cool enough to touch, this is to retain the moisture of the squash. Use a fork to mash it. Use Japanese pumpkin only, sweeter with less moisture.

⁴About 80 g of batter for each muffin cup. Can try to pipe the batter into the muffin cup to make cupcakes with even surface.