Cupcakes cu dovleac/ Pumpkin cupcakes

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Incet incet trece si vremea dovlecilor... Din fericire dovlecii se pastreaza foarte bine peste iarna, chiar si la temperatura camerei. Am pastrat vreo 3, si am facut o supa crema mai picanta, din al doilea am facut aceste cupcakes si al treilea asteapta... probabil va fi copt pur si simplu.

Pentru cupcakes am folosit un dovleac turcesc, de aprox 1 kg, jumatate l-am folosit pentru muffins iar cealalta jumatate am copt-o si am folosit-o pentru crema. Iar semintele le-am copt, curatat de coaja si am decorat cupcakes-urile cu ele. Asta da folosire eficienta a resurselor!

Pentru reteta de muffins m-am inspirat din emisiunea lui Jamie Oliver, iar pentru crema mi-a placut ideea Laurei Sava, pe care binenteles, am adaptat-o putin.

Au fost delicioase, mi-au placut si muffins-urile si in special crema, care cred ca poate fi adaptata si pentru alte arome.

Nota: Daca nu aveti masuri de cups, folositi o cana obisnuita de ceai (235 ml), fara sa fie plina cu varf.

Ingrediente (pentru 20 bucati):

Pentru muffins:

aprox 400 grame dovleac curatat de coaja si seminte
2 cani zahar
4 oua
un praf de sare
2 cani si jumatate faina
2 lingurite praf de copt
o mana plina de nuci tocate
1 lingurita scortisoara
150 ml ulei de masline

unt pentru uns formele sau hartii pentru muffins

Pentru crema:

aprox 400 gr dovleac (puteti lasa aceasta jumatate necuratata de coaja)
200 ml frisca lichida neindulcita
5 linguri zahar pudra
200 gr branza crema Philadelphia
esenta de vanilie

Se incinge cuptorul la 180 grade Celsius (350 Fahrenheit). Se unge tava de muffins cu unt sau se tapeteaza cu hartii.

Pentru muffins, se da dovleacul pe razatoare, sau se marunteste in robot. Se amesteca cu zaharul si ouale, apoi praful de sare, faina, praful de copt, nucile, scortisoara si uleiul si se bat pana cand sunt amestecate, fara a se bate prea tare. Se pun in forme si se coc in cuptorul incins pentru 20-25 minute, pana cand o scobitoare bagata in mijlocul uneia din muffins iese afara curata.

Eu am copt in 2 ture, pentru ca a fost mai mult amestec, dar am folosit hartii si a fost foarte simplu, nu a fost nevoie sa spal tava intre ture.

Se scot si se lasa sa se raceasca.

Intre timp, in acelasi cuptor incins se pune dovleacul pentru crema, taiat in bucati mai mari, cu coaja in sus. Se coace aprox 45 minute, pana cand este moale si rumen. Se scoate, si cand s-a racit de ajuns pentru a putea fi atins, se curata de coaja si partile mai uscate. Se face piure in blender, ar trebui sa va ramana cam 1 cana de piure.

Se amesteca cu 3 linguri de zahar pudra, vanilia si branza crema si se bate cu mixerul pana cand este totul o crema fina.
Separat se bate frisca lichida cu 2 linguri de zahar pudra, pana cand este tare. Se incorporeaza in crema cu dovleac cu o lingura, mestecandu-se usor de sus in jos.

Se intinde crema pe muffins cu un cutit de unt, cu un pos sau cu o punga taiata la un colt.

Se poate decora cu seminte de dovleac coapte si curatate de coaja (daca aveti rabdare sa le curatati de coaja).

Pofta buna!



Little by little the pumpkin and squash season is going away too… Luckily the pumpkins keep very well for a long time, even at room temperature. I kept about 3 (butternut squash), and I made a spicy pumpkin soup, from another I made these cupcakes, and the third is waiting… probably it’s going to be roasted, plain and simple.

For the cupcakes I used one butternut squash, it had about 2 pounds, half for muffins and the other half I roasted it and used it for the cream. And the seeds I roasted it too, and I decorated the cupcakes with it. Talk about resourcefulness!

For the muffins I used Jamie Oliver’s recipe, and for cream I liked Laura Sava's idea, which I adapted it a little.

They turned out delicious; I liked the muffins, and the cream in particular, which I think can be adapted with other flavors.

Ingredients (for 20 muffins):

About 1 pound butternut squash, peeled and seeded
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
Pinch of salt
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 handful chopped walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
¾ cup olive oil

For the cream:

About 1 pound butternut squash (you can leave the skin on)
1 cup heavy cream
5 tbsp powder sugar (separated)
1 pack (8 oz) Philadelphia cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter one muffin tray or line with paper cups.

To make the muffins, shred the butternut squash or pulse it in the food processor. Mix with sugar and eggs, and then add salt, flour, baking powder, walnuts, cinnamon and oil and mix until incorporated. Do not over mix. Fill the paper cups and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

I had to bake 2 batches, but it was very easy using the paper cups and didn’t have to wash the tray in between.

Remove and let cool.

Meanwhile, in the same preheated oven, bake the rest of the butternut squash, cut in large pieces, and place skin up. Bake for about 45 minutes until soft. Remove and it’s cool enough to handle, clean the skin and dry parts. Puree in blender. You should have left about 1 cup puree.

Mix it with 3 tbsp powder sugar, vanilla and cream cheese, and beat until it’s a smooth cream.

In a separate bowl whip the whipping cream with 2 tbsp powder sugar until soft peaks form. Incorporate the whipping cream in the pumpkin puree mix using a spatula.

Spread on top of cooled muffins using a butter knife or pastry bag.

Decorate with roasted and peeled seeds (if you have enough patience to skin them).

Enjoy!