These 100% gluten-free bakery-style muffins topped with a crunchy crumb Streusel and cinnamon icing are perfect for autumnal days. The muffins are incredibly moist, easy to make and are bursting with pumpkin spice flavours making them the perfect quick autumnal bake.
Hokkaido pumpkin is perfect for baking with and especially perfect for gluten-free bakes. Gluten-free bakes often risk being too dry or crumbly, but adding fruit or vegetable purees such as pumpkin or beetroot, can bring back that missing moisture and create a beautifully soft and fluffy texture. Making your own pumpkin puree may be time consuming but it is very rewarding when you see the amount of delicious bakes you can get out of it. Take a look at my other pumpkin recipes such as Pumpkin Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, Pumpkin Roll, or my perfect Pumpkin Pie for more ideas of what to bake with pumpkin puree. Plus, the whole pumpkin can be used so nothing goes to waste. The seeds can be roasted with salt for a healthy snack in-between!
These pumpkin muffins are super simple to make with simple ingredients and no particular special equipment, making it the perfect addition to a family feast or for Thanks Giving and Halloween get-togethers.
What equipment do I need for these muffins?
12-hole muffin baking tray
12 paper muffin cases
Stand mixer or electric hand-held mixer
2 bowls
What ingredients do I need?
Butter – I often use unsalted butter for my recipes but salted is okay too if you leave out the extra salt from the ingredients
Sugar – I use standard caster sugar and brown sugar
Eggs – Medium free range eggs are best
Gluten free flour – A gluten free flour blend such as Doves Farm Self-raising Flour with added Xanthan gum and baking soda is perfect for this recipe, otherwise a standard flour blend will work fine
Pumpkin Puree*- Homemade or tinned puree is fine for this recipe. The most important thing, is that any excess water has been removed either through blotting or the cheesecloth draining method
Xanthan gum – Xanthan gum is essential for most gluten free recipes and there’s no exceptions here. Doves Farm is my preferred choice but you can use any
Baking soda – Any will do, just check that it is definitely gluten free
Milk – I use full-fat whole milk, 3,5% but semi-skimmed is also fine
Mixed spices – For this recipe you can use your own mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, black pepper and ginger or a pumpkin pie spice mix, all spice mix or mixed ground spice, depending on what is available in your area and your preferences
Icing sugar – Standard sifted icing sugar
Tips & Tricks
Blotting or draining – It’s imperative to blott or drain the pumpkin puree beforehand so as to remove any excess water before baking. Too much water will make the muffins soggy and wet and has the potential to ruin them!
Greasing the muffin cases – Some muffins cases can stick to the muffin when peeling back, if you grease the inside of the cases lightly with a silicone greasing brush and a small amount of oil, you can prevent this from happening and ruining that magical moment.
Toothpick test – Check on your muffins at regular intervals despite the timings given for the recipe as every oven is calibrated at a different temperature. To check if the muffins are baked all the way through, insert a clean toothpick into the center and look to see if any wet mixture or crumbs are stuck to it. Ideally, a few crumbs on a toothpick means the muffins will be done in a matter of minutes. An inserted toothpick that comes out clean means they’re done.
Pumpkin Crumb Muffins
Beautifully moist pumpkin muffins with a crunchy crumb topping and a drizzle of sweet cinnamon icing. The perfect quick autumn bake!
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 18-20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 12 muffins
Difficulty: easy
Author: Sarah | Baked by Sarah, Gluten Free
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 180g gluten free flour blend
- 100g caster sugar
- 100g brown sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- 120ml unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 280g pumpkin puree
- 60ml whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla paste
For the Streusel crumb topping:
- 100g gluten-free flour
- 60g unsalted butter
- 100g caster sugar
For the cinnamon icing:
- 125g icing sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons water
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C Fan and line a muffin tray with 12 cases.
- Whisk together the flour, Xanthan Gum, salt, baking soda and spices until well combined.
- Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla paste and whisk until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, vanilla paste and melted/cooled butter. Add the pumpkin puree and mix again.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until no pockets of flour remain.
- Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases, filling them to the top.
- Combine the ingredients for the streusel crumb topping in a bowl and rub together with fingertips until a crumb texture forms. The mixture should consist of small and large crumbs.
- Sprinkle some crumb topping onto each of the muffins, covering completely.
- Bake the muffins on the middle shelf for 18-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Set aside to cool whilst preparing the cinnamon icing drizzle.
- For the cinnamon icing combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix well until no lumps remain, then drizzle in a zigzag motion onto each of the muffins.
Happy Baking!
Tried this recipe? Let me know what you think!
