Eggless Chocolate Muffins with Butternut Squash

Finally this post has come out of my drafts. I made these muffins last week and totally forgot to post it. These muffins taste very unique with the flavours of butternut squash and chocolate together. This is my first attempt of making muffins without following any recipe and I was very doubtful of the texture of the muffin without using egg or egg substitutes. But after mixing all ingredients, I had a confidence that this would be soft, moist and delicious. The butternut squash pureed with brown sugar itself was so tasty that my daughter started licking from the blender jar :-). Try these muffins for a unique flavour combo.

For those who are not familiar with butternut squash, here is a pic. It tastes similar to pumpkin. You may use pumpkin and follow the same recipe.

 Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1.5 cups
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Unsweetened Cocoa powder - 3 tbsp
Butternut squash - 1
Dark Brown sugar - 3/4 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup

Preparation:

1. Peel the butternut squash using a peeler, scoop out the seeds inside and cut the flesh to small cubes. The peel is very hard to remove with a knife. Steam these cubes till soft, about 10 mins.
2. Once the cubes cool down a little, keep about 10-12 cubes aside. These are to be used to top the muffins. Puree the rest of the cubes along with brown sugar. Keep aside.
3. Preheat oven to 200C and line the muffin tray with paper muffin cases or grease with a little oil.
4. In a mixing bowl, sift together APF, baking soda and cocoa. Add the puree and the oil and combine with a spatula till all the ingredients are incorporated well. Do not mix too much.
5. Scoop into the muffin tray and top it with a cube of the butternut. Bake for 15-25 mins till they are baked well.  Insert a toothpick or cocktail stick to check.

Linking this recipe with 100 day Global Food Festival