CTV Recipes
Search Recipes
Pumpkin bran muffins
“What kid doesn’t love a “cupcake” with icing? I have three children of my own (now adults), and before owning a restaurant, I owned and ran a licensed daycare. Being a health-conscious mother and caregiver, I always looked for ways to make healthy dessert alternatives—and this muffin “cupcake” was an all-time favourite among all the kids. The secret is the icing—when you add food colouring and a few sprinkles, kids will devour the whole thing." Christa Bruneau-Guenther
YIELDS
Ingredients
Muffins
- 3/4 cup wheat bran flakes
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canned or freshly cooked pumpkin purée
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/3 cup grapeseed, canola, or vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup raisins or chopped walnuts (or a combination)
Icing
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons icing sugar
- 2 drops food colouring (optional)
- Rainbow sprinkles (optional)
Directions
Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners, or lightly grease the tin. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the bran, flour, sugars, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, egg and egg yolk, yogurt, and oil. Add this to the large bowl of dry ingredients and mix to just combine. Do not overmix. Transfer the batter to the muffin tin.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and spring back to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack before icing.
Icing
- In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth and creamy. Add food colouring, if desired.
- Once the muffins are cool, top them with the icing and sprinkles. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days or freezer for up to three months. Enjoy!
Excerpted from Little Critics: What Canadian Chefs Cook for Kids (and Kids Will Actually Eat) by Joanna Fox. Foreword by Frederic Morin. Copyright © 2022 Joanna Fox. Photography by Dominique Lafond. Photos on pages, 30, 31, 88, 89, 91, 124, 125, 212, 213, 220, 221, 237, 248, 253, 254, 255, and 256 by Maya Visnyei; and on pages 60, 61, 84, and 253 by Viranlly Liemena. Book Design by Talia Abramson. Published by Appetite by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
