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3 Healthy Desserts For Leftover Pumpkins

Tuesday, 8th November, 2016

If you’re as obsessed with Autumn as I am then you’ll of been collecting those pretty munchkin pumpkins all month and now Halloween is over and Autumn is turning into Winter, they just don’t quite look right nestled on the table.

I’m not one to waste anything and although the usual pumpkin soup and pumpkin stew are as delicious as they sound, I fancied baking something sweet and healthy… it’s been a while after all.

Okay, okay. I may of bent the truth a little. Only 2 out of 3 of these recipes are ‘healthy’ versions but we’re allowed a sweet treat once in a while right? The baked pumpkin cream cheese cupcakes are incredibly delicious but if you”re after a healthy version you can use the cupcake recipe in my ‘Healthy Pumpkin Spiced Latte Cupcakes’ >here< and just follow cream cheese recipe swapping the sugar for sweetener. 

It’s super simple to make ‘pumpkin puree’ and there’s no need to try and hunt down a can itself, as we all know it’s like gold dust in the UK. Simply stab a number of holes in the top of the pumpkin and pop it in the oven for 40-60 minutes (depending on it’s size). Once it’s cooked, peel the skin and spoon out the insides removing any seeds. Taa-dar!

So which recipe is first?

Chewy Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies

You will need:

1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup soy or dark choc chips
3 large eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey 
1/2 cup coconut flour

How to:

  1. Put the oven onto 180 degrees and grease proof a deep oven dish
  2. Add the dry ingredients into a bowl (cocoa powder, baking powder, coconut flour and coconut sugar) and mix until evenly combined.
  3. In a separate bowl add the rest of the ingredients and whisk 
  4. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients bowl, whisking as you pour
  5. Pour the brownie mix into the grease proof  oven dish and pop it onto the middle shelf for approx 40 minutes
  6. Let the mixture cool before cutting into squares and serving. 
  7. To make them look a little prettier you can dust a touch of icing sugar over the tops

Next recipe?

Chunky Pumpkin Spiced Loaf
You will need: 

1 cup of pumpkin puree
1 3/4 cups of wholemeal flour
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
2 medium eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil 
1/4 cup of milk 
1.5 tsp pumpkin spice
1 pinch of cinnamon (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda or 2 to make is ‘fluffier’

How to: 
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease proof a loaf tin.
  2. Pop the coconut oil in the microwave for 30 seconds or near a warm heat source so it melts
  3. Take the coconut oil and add the eggs, vanilla extract, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, maple syrup and pumpkin puree. Whisk until evenly combined. 
  4. Then slowly add in the wholemeal flour, whisking as you pour until the mixture is even and ‘gloopy’.
  5. Last of all add the bicarbonate of soda and fold into the mixture before pouring it into the loaf tin.
  6. Pop it into the oven for approx 40 minutes (test with a cocktail stick, if it comes out clean the loaf is ready).
  7. Leave to rest on a cooling tray before roughly adding some icing sugar to decorate and serve

And last but not least…
Baked Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cupcakes 
For the cupcakes you will need: 

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 3/4 cups plain flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup rapeseed oil 
1 tsp baking soda 
2 large eggs 

How to:
  1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and greaseproof a muffin or cupcake tray. This mixture will do 12 cupcakes. 
  2. Whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar and pumpkin puree and mix until even. 
  3. Add in the rapeseed oil, vanilla extract, eggs and baking soda and whisk until the mixture is even.
  4. Next fold in the plain flour and continue to fold until ingredients are combined well 
  5. Pour approx 2 tbsp of cupcake mixture into each tray and leave to the side whilst you prepare the cream cheese 

For the cream cheese you will need: 

225g of plain cream cheese
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1-2 tsp vanilla extract (depending on how sweet you like it)

  1. Add all the ingredients together in one bowl
  2. Take 1 tbsp of cream cheese and add it onto of each cupcake 
  3. Once each cupcake has it’s own tablespoon of cream cheese, take a tooth pick or chop stick and swirl the cream cheese into the cupcake mixture
  4. Pop the cupcakes onto the middle shelf of the oven for approx 20-25 minutes 

Beki Xo

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