ABBY’S
Pumpkin and Chilli Cornbread Muffins
Abby is one of the founding Luminary bakers and worked tirelessly to establish and run our first kitchen. She’s particularly talented at making mouthwatering recipes for those with food intolerances and allergies. These golden muffins, influenced by her American upbringing, are testament to that – free from gluten, eggs, dairy, soy, nuts and refined sugar – and yet absolutely packed full of flavour. There’s no better companion to a big pot of chilli.
MAKES 12
60ml vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
250ml plant-based milk (you could use cashew, almond, soy, oat… we use coconut)
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 red chillies (we use bird’s-eye chillies)
175g fine cornmeal, plus extra for sprinkling
150g gluten-free plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1½ tsp gluten-free baking powder
¾ tsp fine salt
35g coconut sugar or caster sugar
85g pumpkin purée (see tip)
55g maple syrup, plus extra to serve (optional)
Preheat the oven to 175°C/155°C fan/Gas Mark 3 and brush the holes of a 12-hole muffin tin with a little oil.
In a small bowl, mix together the plant milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside for 5–10 minutes.
Meanwhile, carefully cut one of the chillies into thin rings, discard the seeds and set the rings aside to decorate the top of the muffins. De-seed and finely chop the second chilli.
In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix together the pumpkin purée, vegetable oil and maple syrup with the milk and vinegar mixture.
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients, mixing them until only a few lumps remain. Gently stir through the finely chopped chilli and spoon the batter into the greased muffin tin, filling each hole about three-quarters full. Sprinkle the top of each with a little extra cornmeal and place a chilli ring on top.
Bake in the oven for 18–20 minutes until the muffins spring back to the touch and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before tipping them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Alternatively, eat warm drizzled with a little maple syrup.
TIP
You can use canned pumpkin or make your own pumpkin purée. To make your own: peel and cut a small pumpkin into chunks. Steam it for 15–20 minutes until a fork slides through it easily without resistance. Add the pumpkin to a blender and gradually take the speed from low to high until it is puréed. Alternatively, use a potato masher to mash the pumpkin into a smooth purée.
