I love baking with pumpkin, but during the summer months, dense pumpkin breads with deep, spicy tastes like cloves and nutmeg can really weigh you down. Many of my recipes originate from having something in the fridge that was about to go off, and in this case, it was blueberries. I thought about mixing pumpkin and blueberries, and then when I was at work, I was snacking on blueberries and cashews together, and I thought that those were lovely together, too. I often throw coconut in with my pumpkin breads, and that seemed like a good idea too. All of a sudden, a jumble of tastes were together. now how to spice it up?
I did use the traditional cinnamon and nutmeg, but I dropped the cloves. I also reduced the nutmeg from what I usually use in a pumpkin bread recipe and added cardamom, which I usually use with citrus items to bring out a really bright flavor.
This is one of my “healthier” recipes… I used whole wheat flour, light coconut milk, cut back the oil and swapped in applesauce, and it’s vegan, so there’s no eggs.
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tablespoon milled flax seed
2 tablespoons warm water
1 15oz can of pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup light coconut milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup cashews, crushed
1 pint blueberries (make sure all the stems are removed)
flaked coconut to sprinkle on top (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two regular sized muffin tins with liners.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom.
In a separate bowl, mix the flax with the warm water and stir until a goopy mixture is created. Add the pumpkin puree, oil, applesauce, and coconut milk, and stir until all wet ingredients are blended.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until all of the flour is absorbed. Fold in the cashews. Gently fold in the blueberries. Scoop into prepared muffin tins, and, if desired, sprinkle coconut on top.
Bake for 18-20 minutes in the preheated oven or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on racks.
