Pumpkin, cinnamon & maple syrup muffins - Halloween

A very autumnal recipe today, these little muffins made with pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Halloween Time! Last year, I went to the United States and brought back a can of pumpkin puree, which I decided to use in this recipe. If you don't have ready-made puree, you can of course prepare it yourself, but be careful not to have a puree that is too liquid, you need a fairly thick mixture. I prepared the muffin batter without butter and with little sugar to offset the topping (a maple syrup Swiss meringue buttercream), which makes for a balanced and very indulgent little cake! And besides, it's a good reason to eat vegetables ;-)

Preparation time: 40 minutes + 25 minutes of baking

Makes 7/8 muffins depending on the size of your molds:

Muffins:

140g of T45 flour
80g of birch sugar natsuc, or an equivalent amount of sugar of your choice
30g of muscovado
1g of salt
5g of cinnamon
1g of ground nutmeg
4g of baking powder
1 egg
210g of pumpkin puree
1 tbsp vanilla extract
45g of coconut oil

Mix all the dry ingredients: sugars, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and flour.

In a separate bowl, mix the pumpkin puree and the egg. Then add the melted coconut oil and vanilla extract.

Add the dry ingredients to the previous mixture until you get a homogeneous batter, then pour it into the muffin molds.

Bake for about 25 minutes at 190°C.

Maple Syrup & Cinnamon Frosting (Swiss Meringue Buttercream):

50g of egg whites
110g of butter
110g of sugar
50g of maple syrup (I use maple syrup from Koro)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Place the egg whites and sugar in a mixing bowl set over a bain-marie. Whisk the mixture until it reaches 55-60°C, then remove the bowl from the heat and continue whisking with an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until completely cooled.

When the meringue is cool, continue whisking on low speed while gradually adding the butter, cut into small pieces.

Once the butter is fully incorporated, switch the whisk for the paddle attachment (or use a spatula) and add the maple syrup and cinnamon.

Mix for a few seconds, until the frosting is smooth, then use it immediately: place it in a piping bag fitted with the nozzle of your choice (I used a round nozzle) and pipe it onto the cooled muffins.

All that's left is to enjoy!