Pumpkin muffins with just the sweetness of dates

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 450 g pumpkin(s), e.g. Longer of Naples
• 160 g pitted soft dates
• 1 tsp Cinnamon powder (Ceylon cinnamon)
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 1 pinch(s) nutmeg, freshly grated
• ½ tsp clove powder
• 200 g flour
• 150 g butter, soft
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 eggs
• possibly jam (plum jam with xyleth (sugar substitute), recipe on my profile)

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

Suitable for Baby Led Weaning (BLW)

Peel the pumpkin, cut into wedges, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then cook the pumpkin in the oven at 200°C (top/bottom heat) for about 30 minutes until soft, then let it cool slightly and evaporate. Separate the eggs. In a high-performance food processor fitted with a chopping blade, finely puree the dates with the spices, pumpkin, butter, and egg yolk. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Stir the egg whites into the mixture. Sift the flour and baking soda into the batter and carefully fold in. Tip: You can also use the eggs without separating them. The muffins will then be a bit more compact. We prefer this version because it’s a bit quicker and we like the firmer consistency. I add not only the egg whites but also the flour and baking soda to the pumpkin-date mixture in the food processor. Preheat the oven to 180°C (top/bottom heat). Line a muffin tin with paper baking cups. Spoon the batter into the cups, or better yet, use a piping bag. Bake the muffins on the middle rack for about 20 minutes, checking the doneness with a wooden skewer every 15 minutes. Optionally, pipe some plum jam into the muffins after they’ve cooled. You can find the jam recipe, as well as other recipes using fruit or birch sugar, on my profile.