OUR NOT SO BASIC PUMPKIN CUPCAKES.

Father's Day is here! And like every little celebration, I was SO READY! Like you don't know how ready😂. My love language is receiving gifts and as I've come to realize, giving them. I just like to make a big deal out of people's birthdays, mother's day, wedding anniversaries and Father's day. My dad, being a sweet tooth, has had so much fun being my tester/ taster over the years. Even when the end results were not that great, he'd eat like it's the best thing he's ever tasted. Gotta love parents. And with him getting old( aging gracefully) he's gotten into healthy eating. Breakfast at our house include things like ngwaci (sweet potatoes), nduma, mihogo, whole wheat bread and the bane of my existence, boiled pumpkin! For whatever reason, I just don't like the taste of it. I know, I know, blasphemy. But I can't.

But I wanted to make something for Father's day that was super delicious and would leave him feeling a little less guilty. Hence the idea to blend two things he likes; sweets and healthy carbs. And our pumpkin cupcakes were born! Guys, these are so good, I was amazed. I've finally found a way to keep pumpkin down my throat without wanting to barf and I'm grateful.

So, we've tailored a recipe for a small batch of cupcakes so that you can also eat a little less guiltily. 6 cupcakes. But if you feel like the first batch isnt enough, which you will, do you boo! Bake, eat, repeat!

You'll need

Pumpkin

125 g all purpose flour

90 g sugar

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

Juice of one orange

1tbsp orange zest

Pinch of salt

Carve pumpkin into quarters, de-seed and bake in oven for 45-60 mins at 175c

When its ready, remove pulp and blend. Add a little oil if you need it to loosen up. Set puree aside.

Sieve dry ingredients I.e flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and soda into a bowl. In another bowl whisk the pumpkin puree, sugar, salt, egg, vanilla, orange juice and zest until blended. Add the dry ingredients and whist until batter is formed.