Fall is succumbing to winter here and so to keep warm I present to you the Sweet Potato Muffin En Fuego!
A few days ago I gave you the first installment of what will be Monthly Muffin. Almost immediately after making the
Sweet Potato Muffin, I had the idea of making a savory spicy version of them. Inspired by Alton Brown's
Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes, I set forth on converting my sweet sweet potato muffins to Sweet Potato Muffins En Fuego!
To do this first I reduced the brown sugar to 4 tablespoons or 1/4 cup from the original 1/2 cup because while I was aiming for spicy/savory I didn't want to venture too fair away from delicious flavor the original muffin. Then I added 2 tablespoons each of chipotle chili powder and cayenne pepper. I picked the chipotle for the same reason Alton Brown did: chipotles are smoked jalapeños so not only do they add some heat they also add a slight hint of smokiness. Finally I added 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper.
Knowing this muffin would carry a kick and hoping it would be able to function as a side in a meal, I also made a Cinnamon Brown Sugar butter. The butter adds a nice little sweetness to it and helps with the heat, but is totally optional.
Three important notes on this recipe:
1. Last time I forgot to make or add the topping Pioneer Woman used in her pumpkin muffins. I highly recommend it for these. The extra sugar in both the butter and the topping help with the heat without masking it.
2. Both times I did not have ground ginger on hand and was worried about using fresh for baking so I cannot actually vouch for how the ginger will taste, but I still suggest it. In both versions ginger should be right at home!
3. In the recipe before I am going to suggest different amounts of brown sugar and spice than I did above. The way I made them came out with a really strong kick.
Sweet Potato Muffins En Fuego
Prep Time: 20 Minutes | Cook Time: 25 Minutes | Servings: 10-12
Ingredients
Muffin Ingredients:
- 1 cup All-purpose Flour
- 6 tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoons Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoons Nutmeg
- teaspoons Salt
- ½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
- 1 tablespoons Ground Cayenne Pepper (a.k.a. Ground Red Pepper)
- 1 tablespoons Chipotle Chili Powder (you can also use plain Chili Powder or other Chili Powders)
- 4 tablespoons Butter, softened
- 1 cup (heaping) Sweet Potato Puree (mashed/blended sweet potatoes. I don't think this comes canned!)
- ½ cups Evaporated Milk
- 1 whole Egg
- 1-½ teaspoon Vanilla
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Topping
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoons Nutmeg
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For butter:
- ½ cups Butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons Heavy Cream
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease 12 muffin tins.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, pepper, cayenne and chipotle. Mix in butter until it is fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together sweet potato, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour sweet potato mixture into the flour mixture. Fold gently until mixture is just combined.
Pour into a greased muffin pan—batter hardly ever fills all twelve unless you keep it down to 1/2 full. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar-nutmeg mixture over the top of each unbaked muffin.
Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool. Ice with cream cheese frosting.
Optional Butter:
Using a mixer or food processor, mix ingredients together. If you like the really soft whipped butter you can let it continue for an extra minute or two. Depending how soft the butter is, you might need to finish mixing manually. Store in fridge and use on muffins or anything else! I also used it on pancakes with maple syrup. Yum!
As always I'd love your thoughts, suggestions and other feedback. At the very least let me know if you tried them.
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