A FAREWELL TO AUTUMN

Butter squash muffins

for the muffins:
(18 pc)

4 large eggs
200 g light brown sugar
100 g custard sugar
210 g corn oil
400 g all purpose flour
2 g baking soda
4 g baking powder
3 g cinnamon
65 g walnuts crushed
340 g grated butter squash

In days like these, when Autumn rushes towards her home, leaving us wondering how we will adjust to the white of the winter after the colourful presence of hers, I want to seal our warm memories. I used ingredients with earth colours and combined them in a soft recipe for some Autumn celebration muffins - my farewell to Autumn.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and the cinnamon. Beat the eggs with the brown and white sugar until doubles in volume. Add the oil. Add the dry ingredients, followed by the butter-squash and the walnuts. Fold just until combined.

You can substitute the grated butter-squash with the same quantity of grated apples or carrots. With the apples, the texture of the final product would be slightly moister and the taste will very much depend on the type of apples used for the recipe. Sweet apples as Gala and Honey crisp would present their sweetness and moister to the muffins, and Granny Smith will surprise with a nice sour accent. I wouldn't change the quantity of the sugar in neither if the suggested substitute products. The final sweetness wouldn't matter - it is just the flavour that would be differently enhanced.

Distribute the batter in a lined with paper cups cupcake tin and bake at 180C for about 40 min. After the muffins are completely cold, sift some powder sugar on top, decorate and serve.

These muffins are very much like small breads and are great for an afternoon tea party with friends. They are my way of waving "good buy" to this year's autumn.

November Night

Adelaide Crapsey

Listen ...

With faint dry sound

Like steps of passing ghosts,

The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break from the trees

And fall.