Hola guys! Well…Hasn’t it been a hot minute since my last post?! I believe Christmas of 2018 was the last recipe I shared (though definitely not the last recipe I developed in true ‘Paleo-ish’ fashion).
And what a ride it has been the past couple of years; for everyone, obviously. (Sheesh…what a shitshow the past 2 years have been. #understatementofthecentury). Yet, I would say that my overall impression is that for many of us, if we looked back on where we were as of March 2020 in relation to where we are now, we have probably far surpassed our own expectations and/or experienced tremendous personal growth DESPITE (or arguably, BECAUSE of) the very real obstacles.
In my case, just before all hell broke loose in March 2020, I was given the amazing opportunity to team up with my physio heroes at Catalyst Santé. Together, we started a satellite clinic in a functional fitness gym and wellness centre. (That’s right. I found a way to spend EVEN MORE time in a gym. lol.)
At almost exactly the same time, I also started coaching at CrossFit de L’Ouest, a gym which is, to date, the best CrossFit gym I’ve ever had the pleasure of being a member of. Seriously…the community at this gym is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.
I also got my ultimate DREAM dog of all time…a Frenchie!!! His name is Bubbles a.k.a. Bubba, Bubs, Bubbaloo, le Squish, BubbaSquish, Potato, Potatoes, Pateetee Puppitee, PotatoPants, Muffin, Monkey, MonkeyButt, you get the idea. He’s pretty much the most ridiculous derp you can imagine; overflowing with personality and bursting at the seams with farts and snorts. He is also about 50% pig, 25% rabbit, 10% cat, 5% bat, 5% frog and about 5% dog. As with most dogs, Bubba loves food, belly rubs and playing with just about anything that breathes. He also loves tug of war and fetch…even though tennis/lacrosse balls are slightly too big for his mouth. He ends up kinda having to shake the ball free from his jaw until it drops to the floor…
THEN (because that wasn’t enough change in the span of just over a year)…I actually somehow got myself my DREAM condo in the Plateau!
My first memory of MTL dates back to my first visit as a 16 year old. The first thing I remember noticing as we drove through the Plateau on our way to the hotel was ALL of these beautiful historic Chateau-like buildings…with the stairs on the outside of the building. The stairs stood out like a sore thumb because frankly, the only thing I knew about MTL/Quebec was that the winters are AWFUL. Yet, here they were, in all of their soon-to-be-surely-ice-riddled-hazardous glory, and I immediately thought, “I need to live in a place that thinks that THIS is a good idea…”
So that was that…years and years of goals to go to University of Toronto for my undergrad out the window… ALLLLL so that I could live in one of those buildings with the swizzle stairs that would surely kill this klutz. Sadly, though I did make it into McGill for my undergrad, none of my roommates wanted to live in the Plateau. Soooo…It took until I was 28 and had moved back to Montreal to live in the Plateau at all, and then until I was 34 to realize my ultimate goal of being in one of the swizzle stair buildings. But realize it I did!
And not only that, but I saw the condo listing on a Sunday night and instantly saw myself living there. You know when you get ‘the feeling’? That feeling that whatever (or whoever) you just came into contact with is meant to be a part of your life? Yea. That was me. So obviously I contacted my friend from the gym on Monday morning (yea that gym with the amazing community) who happens to be the best real estate agent ever. We visited it the condo on Wednesday and my offer was accepted on the Thursday. That was it. Anyone who knows the real estate market these days KNOWS that THAT just doesn’t happen. So you COULD say that it was just meant to be.
ANDDDDD (because all of THAT happening in the span of 18 months wasn’t enough. And during COVID no less.) soon after I moved into my dream condo with my dream dog, the guy that had been my training partner and best friend (and that I had obviously had a crush on) for I dunno how long realized that he had a crush on me too. We’ve been dating ever since and now Dream Guy is gonna move into my dream condo with me and my dream dog in the next month or so! Not too shabby eh?
So that brings me to this post! A few weeks ago, Dream Guy and I were talking about moving in together and finances, etc. During this process, he noticed how much I had been spending to keep this blog of mine; the thing that I had spent SO much time pouring my creative soul into for a couple of years and just didn’t have it in me to cancel. The dream was always to be able to get my schedule organized in such a way that I could blog again. Funny how building a new business (during COVID), while coaching, training and programming for clients takes up much of your free time, eh? (Not to mention having an uber cute cracked-out devil pup to raise and clean up after. Then there are all the other adulting things one has to do like cooking and cleaning up after oneself!)
Dream Guy then said, “I haven’t even seen this blog of yours.”
So I pulled it up and showed it to him. I’m not sure what he expected to see, but he saw maybe two foodos (and probably also noticed my face when I looked at my foodos) before he said, “I think we can re-organize our weekends so that you can do this again.”
So…here we are. First post since December 2018 and first post of 2022. Bouchon-ish Pumpkin Muffins. For those who have never heard of Bouchon, it is an amazing bakery in California. I’ve never actually been, but Mum has their cookbook and I’ve pretty much been working on adapting their recipes one-by-one; each requiring SEVERAL iterations before I get them JUUSSSSTT right.
ALL of the recipes I’ve adapted out of this book so far are amazing. But these Bouchon-ish Pumpkin Muffins are Dream Guy’s favourit-est. So it’s only fitting that after helping to bring about my first post in years I post his favourite muffin. (It also so happened that I needed to make more pumpkin muffins the weekend we set out to take foodos)
Seriously though, despite having eaten a pumpkin muffin every morning for months, the first thing he says when he takes his first bite (after ‘MMMM’) is that it’s the second favourite part of his morning. (The first part being that I made him his whole breakfast. 😑 No really, the first part is that he gets to see me every morning. #cute #hestheromanticone)
Now, in true Paleo-ish fashion, this recipe has been adapted to be gluten-, egg-, and dairy-free. BUT the texture of these muffins is perfection. As is the delicate spice balance. And the vegan cream cheese frosting in the middle… Yea…I’ll just leave you to salivate a little over your phone/computer on that one. So…without further ado…Bouchon-ish Pumpkin Muffins people!
Bouchon-ish Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
Bouchon-ish Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Amazingly tender muffins with a gluten-, egg-, and dairy-free twist!
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 mins
- Yield: 24 muffins 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
| Pumpkin Muffin Things |
- 1 buttercup squash/cooking pumpkin
- Olive oil
- 2 cup sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp Egg Replacer
- 2 tsp xantham gum
- 1 1/2 cup arrowroot starch
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
| Cream Cheese Frosting Things |
- 1/2 pound/225g Daiya cream cheese
- 2/3 cup icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- ~24 pecan halves
Instructions
| Pumpkin Roasting |
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Drizzle some olive oil on a baking sheet
- Cut your pumpkin in half, scoop out all the seeds and then place pumpkin halves face down on the baking sheet, swirling them around to spread the olive oil under the contact surface of the pumpkin.
- Roast in the oven until tender, ~30-45 mins, depending on the size of your pumpkin.
- Let cool on a counter and then measure out 2 cups of pumpkin for the muffins. If you have leftover pumpkin, you can put it in a container and freeze it until you make these muffins again!
| Muffin Batter |
- While your pumpkin is roasting, place your sugar, canola oil and vanilla in to a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on low for 5-10 mins.
- Meanwhile, whisk your dry ingredients (egg replacer, xantham gum, arrowroot starch, oat flour, chickpea flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg) together in a mixing bowl until uniformly combined.
- When your pumpkin has cooled and you’ve measured out 2 cups, add the pumpkin to the wet ingredients and continue mixing until uniformly combined.
- Add the dry ingredients in 2 parts, mixing on low speed for about 15 seconds or until just combined. Use a bowl scraper/spatula as necessary to scrape any dry ingredients down into the batter.
- Transfer the batter to a covered container and refrigerate overnight or up to 36 hours.
| Muffin Baking |
- The next morning, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
- Line your muffin tins with muffin cups (or spray well with non-stick spray)
- Using a spoon or an ice cream scoop (I use 1 1/2 scoops of a 1 oz ice cream scoop), fill the muffin liners until about 2/3 full.
- Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and place the muffin tins in the oven to cook for 30-35 mins.
- You can also use the this time to toast your pecan halves for decorating the muffins later. Just spread the pecan halves on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 5-7 mins of the muffin baking time. When the pecans are nice lightly browned and aromatic, remove from the oven and let cool.
- Once muffins are done (i.e. when a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean), allow your muffins to fully cool; ~ 20-30 mins.
| Frosting Making |
- While the muffins are cooling, add your cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat until smooth.
- With the speed on low, add the vanilla extract and icing sugar. Continue to whisk until smooth.
- Scoop your frosting into a pastry bag with any tip of your choice. (OR if you don’t have a pastry bag/are like me and too lazy to use one) you can also use a Ziploc bag and cut one of the corners.)
| Muffin Decorating |
- Using a paring knife, cut a 1.5 cm diameter chunk of muffin out of the centre/top of each muffin (put these in a bowl for snacking later!).
- Fill each muffin hole with frosting.
- Top with a toasted pecan half (squeeze any remaining frosting over your off cuts in the bowl. You’ve earned a treat after all of this!)
| Mangia! |
Notes
Adapted from Bouchon Cookbook
Pro Tip: Pro tip: Whether you’re using a pastry bag or a Ziploc, I find it a lot easier to fill the bag if you put it in a tall glass and fold the opening over the edges of the glass. Using a spatula transfer the frosting from the mixing bowl to your pastry/Ziploc bag.
Keywords: Pumpkin muffins, cream cheese frosting, vegan, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free
And that’s it for this post folks. Per usual, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out via the comments section below or by email.
Ciao for now!