My Pumpkin Muffins are too dense.

[seasprout]

Today I used some of my pumpkin to make a Pumpkin and Chocolate Muffin recipe.


This is the ingredient list...

Makes 18 Muffins

8oZ Pumpkin flesh
12oZ Self-Raising Flour
50Z Caster Sugar
2 Eggs Beaten
6FloZ milk
2oZ unsalted Butter
2 Mars Bars ....( I used 1 and a half)
Chocolate Chips.. optional (yes i used them)

However they have not really risen, and are a bit dense now, they taste sweet enough though.

I've been poking around on the internet for inspiration, and it appears
other muffin recipies use baking powder as well.

(p.s i'm quite new to baking, so be gentle with me)

What do other grapes think might help make them a bit more fluffy..?

[Alice]

Hello Seasprout, sorry your muffins weren't just as light as you wanted. I'm no expert baker but can I ask if you sieved the flour. Sieving certainly makes things much lighter. Also, as you say some baking powder would help them to rise. I'm sure another Grape will be along with their muffin recipe. Hope they work out good.

[seasprout]

Hello Alice, yes sieving was done a plenty.

I'm poking around on a food site at the mo, it appears mixing the mixture well is a bad thing. Lumpy is good apparently.

[SarzWix]

I bake loads, have done since I was 10 (25 years ago!) and I really struggle with muffins.. I think mixing might be my problem too, I can't bear to leave it 'half mixed'!! If you suss it out Seasprout, give us a clue!

[Sue]

Yes, it's the mixing, I think, you have to just barely have it all mixed together, goes against the grain, I know. And I think those huge shop ones don't help, home-made ones don't rise to that size without a huge helping of baking powder!
Sue

[Birdie Wife]

I agree with Sue - don't over-mix, and it's okay if you've still got little bits of unmixed flour showing in the batter. Did you mash the pumpkin before mixing, and add it with the other wet ingredients?

[seasprout]

mushed.

Hi guys, yes the pumpkin was microwaved, mushed, allowed to cool and mushed a bit more.

Other half quite likes them now, he says the best bits are the chocolate chips.

So might make chocolate chip fairy's instead and sod the pumpkin.

[Birdie Wife]

Hi seasprout,
Just noticed that the only raising agent in the mix is in the s-r flour - other muffin recipes I've got have baking powder and bicarb of soda in them too, you could try using either 1/2tsp of bicarb with your s-r flour, or plain flour + 1tsp baking powder + 1/2tsp bicarb. The bicarb starts working immediately when you put liquid with it so mix quickly and lightly, and put into a hot oven straight away.

[seasprout]

Ah ha.

Hello Birdie Wife, thank you for your advice. I will have another go this weekend, minus the Pumpkin I think.

I have also printed off a recipe from Nigella for Chocolate Chip Muffins.

It was funny, it wanted to print 3 sheets however the recipe and method took up half the first sheet so I assume her breasts where about to be printed on sheets 2 and 3. I cancelled the printing after the first sheet to save paper.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Watch all the guys searching frantically for Nigella's choc chip muffin recipe....

[seasprout]

Tee Hee..

[wellie]

I was immediately drawn to this thread, on account of a Muffin being marginally more than 'thick as two short planks'.....
Piggy's actually quite good at Blueberry Muffins, perhaps it's worth asking him if his recipe has extra raising agents in? However, Pumpkin is way more dense than a couple of handfuls of Blueberries.... My money is on Auntie Flummery....
I try not to make gorgeous stuff, on account of the fact that we'd only eat it and one of these days we're bound to go 'POP'!, but I really loved the sound of those Muffins..... and will certainly be trying them.
Calling Auntie Flummy!!

[Flummery]

Wellie me dear, thanks for your confidence!

The nearest recipe I use to pumpkin and choc chip is the following for banana and choc chip - I reckon density of ingredients would be about the same (and it does include extra raising agent). It makes a dozen.

10 oz SR flour (275g)
1 teaspoon bicarb
3 oz granulated sugar (75g)
3 ripe bananas, mashed (This is where you stick yer 8 oz pumpkin in!)
1 medium egg
2 fl oz milk (50 ml)
3 oz choc chips (75g)
3 fl oz corn oil (75ml)

Heat oven to 190/375/gas 5

Sift flour, bicarb and add sugar. Make a well in the cente and add bananas (pumpkin), milk, oil and choc chips. Mix for about 20 seconds - the batter WILL BE LUMPY! Spoon into the cups and bake for about 20 mins till well risen.

My recipe says 'serve warm and freshly made' - no problem there then!

It strikes me that you needed extra raising agent and your oven might not have been hot enough. I recently followed a recipe from the paper which said - a little to my surprise I admit - to bake at 150 degrees. I think it should have been 180 or 190. The result was delicious but sad and dense. I think it was a transcription error. The moral is, never believe all you read in the papers!

[HeyWayne]

Reports this week suggested that breast milk can add approx 6-7 IQ points to newborn babies. Maybe it'll help your muffins to be less dense too?

[seasprout]

I'm gonna get fatter.

Thankyou Flummery, will add that to my list of 'things to do' this weekend.

And HeyWayne, i'm not going there.!