{cake on friday} pumpkin muffins

I had a scrumptious birthday! Thank you for the cards, e-cards, emails, messages on Facebook etc. You all are wonderful, and I am blessed! Hugs to you all!

Of course, I baked. I'm sorry the photos came out so rubbish, but you get the picture, right. I ran with the tea-party theme... :) I found that cutesy tea pot/cup in a yard sale in the US. The roses were a gift from a friend. And the muffins were oh-so-yummy, if I do say so myself. The recipe, since you asked, was adapted from a recipe found in 'Perfectly Simple Muffins', which is hands down my favourite cupcake/muffin recipe book. A) the recipes are all simple, and relatively healthy, and B) it is illustrated with watercolours by Gail Roth - can it get any better? I tell you now, it cannot.

Pumpkin Muffins
1¼ cups sugar (I used a little less)
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup water
1 cup cooked pumpkin
1 3/4 cup self-raising flour
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup raisins (actually the original recipe called for walnuts, but raisins seemed more auspicious yesterday)

Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Combine all ingredients till well blended. Pour into well-greased muffin tins and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.