Pumpkin and Banana Breakfast Muffins

With pumpkins everywhere, and with supermarkets pushing canned pumpkin deals non stop, I somehow found myself purchasing a couple of cans, that I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to use them for. So much for thinking I was a savvy customer, who can’t be influenced too easily!
Even though the canned puree can survive practically forever, I still felt I needed to use at least one right now, and came up with the following muffins.
These moist muffins combine pumpkin puree with bananas and apple sauce, are fairly light on sugar and fat, and are dairy free. To make them even more nutritious, and to add more layers of texture and flavor, I added some golden raisins and raw pumpkin seeds to the batter, and a bit on top. Adding warm spices, such as ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, gave the muffins wonderful fragrance.
The muffins freeze well, and are perfect for breakfast on-the-go, or for brunch buffet. They are also great as a quick snack any time of the day. Try them and enjoy.

Makes: 24
Prep time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
1 can (15oz (425 grams)) pure pumpkin puree
2 medium bananas, ripe but still firm
2 Tbs finely grated fresh ginger
½ tsp dried ginger powder
3 L eggs
½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 tsp cinnamon powder
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ cup oil
1 cup spelt flour
1 cup white flour
1 Tbs baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds (+ a bit more for garnish)
½ cup golden raisins
1 Tbs cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Line two muffin pans with baking paper cups.
2. Place the pumpkin puree, bananas and ginger in a large bowl, and mash to combine. Add the eggs, apple sauce, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and oil, and mix until smooth.

3. Add the spelt flour, white flour, baking powder and salt, and mix briefly. Mix the pumpkin seeds and raisins with the cornstarch, add to the bowl and mix briefly. Divide the batter between the baking cups, and scatter raw pumpkin seeds on top.

4. Bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean (the muffins should be moist). Transfer to a rack, to cool to room temperature.