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Pumpkin convert | yumchaa

Halloween is almost upon us and when you think of Halloween, you think of pumpkins. While I do love carving them, I hate eating this mushy vegetable or so I thought till I tried pumpkin bread at yumchaa at Camden Lock in London. 
 
Pumpkin bread with Chilli Chilli Bang Bang tea
I think spices are the flavour of autumn. At this time of year, I love making apple pies and crumbles with lots of cinnamon so I decided to try pumpkin bread as it is also full of spice. In the UK, putting pumpkin in desserts is less common so I was intrigued to see how it would taste. I was pleasantly surprised, the pumpkin bread was quite dense yet smooth and packed full of flavour from the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. To continue the spice theme, I had a pot of the amusingly named Chilli Chilli Bang Bang, a rooibos tea with a kick of ginger, red peppercorns, red thistle and cinnamon. The spices in the tea were very warming without being overpowering.

Maple glazed spiced pumpkin muffins
So I am a pumpkin convert, at least in its unhealthiest form! In fact, I was inspired to make my own version of maple glazed spiced pumpkin muffins. Pumpkin purée is not readily available here so I roasted a pumpkin in the oven, spooned out the flesh and then blitzed it until smooth. The muffins are an amazing autumn treat and are so easy to make. If you are looking for something simple and quick to make for Halloween, why not make our gruesome marshmallow eyeballs!
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