Spiced butternut squash muffins

Below are two recipes by Honey and Co, the first of which is a spice mix which you can keep in an air-tight tub in your spice rack. The cake recipe was originally a loaf which I then adapted into little muffins.

The first time I made these muffins I did not include the mahleb seeds as I struggled to find them but you may have better luck.

The second time, now in France, oh boy finding spices here is a challenge! This isn't a country for autumnal spiced desserts. So, I used a spice mix called 'Four Spices' - nutmeg, black pepper, cinnamon and clove - and then added ground ginger and cardamom. I also added a tablespoon of dark cocoa powder to the muffin batter to give the cakes a rich deep flavour and it worked really nicely. Feel free to try it if you're feeling experimental.

Prep Time30

Cook Time20

Course: Baking, Dessert, sweet

Cuisine: American, Middle Eastern

Keyword: buttternut squash, muffins, spices

Servings: 15

Author: Adapted from Honey & Co.'s recipe

Ingredients

For the Honey & Co spice mix

10 cardamom pods
6 cloves
½ whole nutmeg
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp mahleb seeds
3 tsp ground ginger
4 tsp ground cinnamon

For the muffins

250 g dark brown sugar
185 ml rapeseed oil
2 eggs
80 g pecans toasted and roughly chopped - I used half pecans and half almonds
175 g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
A pinch of salt
2 tsp spice mix
80 g dried fruit and mixed peel
200 g butternut squash peeled and grated

Instructions

To make the spice mix, toast the fennel and mahleb seeds. Allow to cool before grinding.
Crack the cardamom pods and scoop out the seeds. Finely grate the nutmeg. Grind all together in a pestle and mortar with the cloves. Mix with the fennel and mahleb, then add the ground ginger and cinnamon. Keep in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F. Line the muffin tray with paper cases or grease each hole with a little butter.
Mix together the sugar and rapeseed oil in a large bowl until combined. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Mix well and the texture should emulsify becoming thick and glossy.
Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl; the pecans, flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, spice mix, dried fruit and butternut squash. Stir to combine everything then spoon out dollops into the muffin holes until almost full.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops of the muffins are springy, and skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, then carefully remove – they are soft and fragile!