chocolate pumpkin muffins with streusel topping

Chocolate pumpkin streusel muffins are a deliciously simple bake, and the streusel topping adds crunch. Enjoy them any time with your favourite hot drink.

Chocolate pumpkin streusel muffins are our latest pumpkin inspired bake. We both love baking with pumpkin, from cake to pies, scones to muffins and lets not forget all those savoury recipes too! Pumpkin is great to cook with adding texture and sweetness to any dish.

Sweet pumpkin marries very well with spices and as such, adds a lovely moistness to cakes and bakes. We have paired pumpkin with chocolate in our latest pumpkin inspired bake.

These chocolate pumpkin streusel muffins are a delicious treat, served with a cup of tea or coffee on a crisp Autumn morning. They are at their very best when served warm from the oven.

Without a doubt Autumn is a favourite time for baking with us both. Autumn baking makes great use of seasonal fruits and vegetables, from pumpkin and apples to plums and berries. All of these fruits of course work beautifully with some added spice.

Recipe steps:

Substitutions:

Flour:

This muffin recipe uses a combination of both plain white flour and wholewheat flour. The wholewheat flour adds a nice texture to the muffin. However, if you would prefer you call use all white plain flour in this recipe instead.

Chocolate:

We have used cocoa powder to give flavour to our chocolate and pumpkin muffins, as the cocoa adds a bitterness to balance the sweetness of the pumpkin puree. However, if you would prefer you can add chocolate chips instead to make pumpkin and chocolate chip muffins. For this size batch somewhere around the 250-300 grams of chocolate chips should be sufficient.

Streusel Topping:

We have used a streusel topping for our chocolate and pumpkin muffins as the muffins themselves are soft and richly flavoured, the streusel adding a crunch element. However, if you would prefer, you can easily substitute with a swirl of vanilla or chocolate butter icing instead.

Or if making pumpkin and chocolate chip muffins, sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top which will melt into the muffin.

How to make your own pumpkin puree?

Canned pumpkin puree is not something we can easily buy in the shops and supermarkets where we live. Instead we have to order online and it can be quite costly. However, it is really straightforward to make your own pumpkin puree.

When the pumpkins start hitting the shops I buy a decent sized pumpkin for pureeing. Cut a pumpkin in half, remove the seeds and then cut it into wedges. Place each wedge skin side down on a baking sheet and pop in a pre-heated oven at 200C/180CFan for 30-40 minutes until softened. Allow to cool a little before handling.

Next use a spoon to remove the flesh from the pumpkin skin and place into a blender or food processor. Blitz the pumpkin flesh to a smooth puree. If you don’t have a blender or food processor, use a stick blender or simply pass the pumpkin through a sieve using the back of a spoon.Next measure out 200g of pumpkin puree for making the muffins.

Now place the remaining pumpkin puree into measured bags in the freezer, ready to use another day. I like to bag pumpkin puree by weight in a variety of different weights: 200g, 150g, 100g and 50g bags for other cooks. This keeps me going through the winter months.

Why add coffee to the batter?

Coffee is added to the batter by mixing espresso powder with water. Coffee is slightly acidic which works to enhance the flavour of the chocolate without adding any noticeable coffee flavour. Decaffeinated espresso powder can be used if you would rather not have the added caffeine.

How long can I store muffins?

Once the muffins have cooled place in an airtight container where they will stay fresh for up to 5 days before loosing freshness.

Can I freeze these muffins?

This recipe makes a batch of 12 large muffins. However, if you don’t want to eat them all at once, they are easily stored in the freezer, ready to take out and enjoy at another time. Simply allow the muffins to cool completely on a wire track, before transferring them to a container suitable for the freezer. They will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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Additional recipe suggestions:

If you enjoyed this recipe then try some of our Autumn inspired bakes, full of season fruits and spices.

• Carrot & Courgette Breakfast Muffins
• Pumpkin Cake
• Pumpkin Spiced Scones
• Spiced Apple Cake
• Apple & Cinnamon Scones
• Plum & Almond Galette
• Sticky Gingerbread Bundt Cake

For all our favourite cake recipes have a look at our Best Cake Recipes post, where you will find some great recipes along with some useful hints and tips.

Chocolate & Pumpkin Muffins

Chocolate and pumpkin muffins are a deliciously simple bake, and the streusel topping adds crunch. Enjoy them any time with your favourite hot drink.

5 from 8 votes

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Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 35 mins

Total Time: 55 mins

Servings: 12 portions

Calories: 318kcal

Author: Michelle Rolfe

Equipment

• 12 hole muffin baking tray

Ingredients

Muffins

• ▢ 175 ml coffee (made with 1 heaped tsp espresso powder & boiling water.)
• ▢ 125 g plain flour
• ▢ 75 g wholewheat flour
• ▢ 50 g cocoa powder
• ▢ ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ▢ ½ tsp baking powder
• ▢ ½ tsp salt
• ▢ ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ▢ ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ▢ 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ tsp mixed spice
• ▢ 200 g pumpkin puree
• ▢ 175 ml vegetable oil
• ▢ 50 g light brown sugar
• ▢ 200 g caster sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ ½ tsp vanilla

Streusel Topping

• ▢ 40 g light brown sugar
• ▢ 20 g plain flour
• ▢ ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ▢ pinch salt
• ▢ 10 g butter (cold)

Instructions

Muffins

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°CFan. Line a 12 deep hole muffin tray with high sided muffin liners.
• Make up the coffee using 1 heaped tsp espresso powder and 175ml water. Set aside and allow to cool.
• In a medium bowl mix together the flours, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree and oil until well combined.
• Add the sugars to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until combined.
• Whisk the eggs, one at a time, into the pumpkin batter mix until combined. Then add the vanilla and the coffee and mix thoroughly.
• Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, just until combined. Be careful not to over mix the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling the liners ¾ full.

Streusel Topping

• In a small bowl, mix the sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt.
• Next add the cubes of cold butter and rub through your fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Top each unbaked muffin with the streusel topping.
• Bake in the preheated oven 35-40 or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Take the tray from the oven and remove the muffins from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool.

Notes

The Streusel Topping adds a nice crunch, but is completely optional. These muffins are just as delicious without it. 

Also, you can add some pumpkin seeds to the topping if you so choose.

Nutrition Facts

Chocolate & Pumpkin Muffins

Amount Per Serving

Calories 318 Calories from Fat 153

% Daily Value*

Fat 17g26%

Saturated Fat 13g81%

Cholesterol 29mg10%

Sodium 219mg10%

Potassium 180mg5%

Carbohydrates 42g14%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 25g28%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 2654IU53%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 37mg4%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •

Course : Baking

Cuisine : American, British

Keyword : autumn baking, Muffin, pumpkin

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