I've never really been inclined to incorporate squash into a sweet dessert but after buying a six pound butternut, I had no other choice. We already had it roasted as a dinner and I still had 3 cups of puree on my hands; thus, my introduction to Jamie Oliver. He had a squash cupcake recipe on Food Network with a 5 star rating. I made a few modifications, mostly out of convenience.
2 C roasted, skinned and pureed butternut squash (his recipe calls for uncooked, skin on)
2 C brown sugar (I shaved off 1/4c)
4 eggs
Sea Salt
1.5 C whole wheat flour (he uses all-purpose)
1 C all purpose flour
2 heaping teaspoons baking powder
Handful chopped pistachios (he uses walnuts, but I love the flavor the pistachios added)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 C olive oil (I shaved off 1/4c)
Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, beat the sugar into the squash puree and crack in the eggs. Add a pinch of salt, the flour, baking powder, pistachios, cinnamon and olive oil together until well beaten. Jamie uses a food processor, however, I have not made that investment yet so I used a hand-held beater. Line a muffin tin with paper cups or spray with nonstick; I used nonstick on a couple after I ran out of liners and they came out fine. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Recipe made 16 large cupcakes (I filled them to the top).
I had to bail on Jamie's frosting recipe, I was craving a thicker, less citrus-y variety.
1/4 c cream cheese
1/2 ripe banana
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp milk
1.5 C powdered sugar
Whip the ingredients together, adding either more milk or sugar to your taste and or texture preference.
James loved the frosting, I actually had to stay in the kitchen to make sure he didn't polish it off before I frosted the cupcakes. I will definitely make these cupcakes again. The squash puree would be a perfect alternative for any bread/cupcake recipe that calls for pumpkin.
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