There are a million ways to use pumpkin in your meals: For instance, have you ever thought about making a pizza sauce out of puréed pumpkin, adding the flesh to cakes and muffins, or stirring it into porridges – beyond the obvious soup, roasted pumpkin in salads and risotto?
When used for baking, people – especially Americans – tend to buy canned pumpkin (often also called pumpkin puree). But making your own puree is as easy as ABC – simply cut a pumpkin in halves, remove the seeds (you could use those to first dry them and then roast them in the oven, there are plenty of instructions available online), and bake the pumpkin in the oven until the flesh is soft and tender. Now scoop out the flesh from the skin, and purée it in a food processor – done!
If you do not have a waffle iron, use the batter to make pancakes instead. I have tried both and have found myself in pumpkin heaven. Seriously, the spices and pumpkin flesh make these waffles exceptionally delicious, and the caramelised apples make this afternoon tea treat or naughty breakfast the perfect fit for the cold, short and gloomy days.
Let’s all cuddle up in bed with a stack of buttermilk spiced pumpkin waffles, and let’s perhaps just stay there all day. After all, it’s Sunday guys!
Love,
Lea Lou
Buttermilk spiced pumpkin waffles with caramelised apples
For 6 – 8 waffles (equals two to three servings).
100 grams wholemeal spelt flour
60 grams cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 pinch sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg, organic preferably
250 millilitres buttermilk
125 grams pumpkin purée (fresh of canned, see note above)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Butter or coconut oil, for baking
For the caramelised apples:
2 apples, locally sourced preferably
1 heaped teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup
To serve:
Ground cinnamon
Maple syrup
Whipped coconut cream (get the recipe here)
Method:
In a large bowl, mix spelt flour with cornflour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and spices.
Separate the egg, whisk the egg yolk with buttermilk, pumpkin purée, butter and vanilla. Mix the dried with the wet ingredients.
Beat the egg white until stiff, carefully fold into the batter.
Heat a waffle iron, lightly butter it, add a scoop of batter and bake the waffle until golden brown. Proceed until the batter is used up, place the waffles in the oven at 50°C to keep them warm.
To make the apples, wash, core and slice the apples. Heat the butter in a medium-sized pan, add apple slices and bake from both sides until they start to become soft. Add maple syrup and caramelise the apples for a minute or so.
Arrange the waffles with the apples, serve with ground cinnamon, maple syrup and whipped coconut cream, if desired.
