Lemon poppy seed muffins: A zesty delight for teatime
Before it’s time for holiday baking, it’s worth conserving your energy. If you’d like to prepare something delicious for dessert, try a simple recipe for speckled muffins. They turn out light and fluffy, and have a charming appearance with poppy seeds sprinkled throughout.
24 November 2024 17:23
Lemon poppy seed muffins are a wonderful accompaniment to a warming tea with spicy additions. The juice and zest from the lemon give them a pleasantly refreshing flavour, which I enhance by adding classic icing. I can’t resist reaching for another muffin myself.
Carefully wash the lemon for your baking
Lemon peel is often coated with a protective wax and may contain pesticides to protect the fruit from pests. To remove these harmful substances, it’s worth using a simple home method.
Soak the lemon in a solution of water and bicarbonate of soda – just 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda per litre of water. Remove it after 5 minutes and thoroughly wash the lemon under running water. This procedure not only removes impurities but also allows you to fully enjoy the natural aroma of the lemon in your speckled cupcakes.
What icing can I make for poppy seed muffins?
I make the icing using a tried-and-true method that my mum showed me a long time ago. I gradually add lemon juice to icing sugar and mix until I achieve a thick, very slowly flowing consistency. To drizzle the muffins, I prepare icing with 100 grams of sugar and the juice from half a lemon.
Recipe for speckled lemon muffins
Making these muffins is very simple and doesn’t require a mixer. Just combine the dry ingredients with the wet ones. From the proportions below, you’ll make 12 speckled cupcakes.
Dry ingredients:
- 250 grams of plain flour,
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder,
- 140 grams of sugar,
- 2 teaspoons of poppy seeds,
- zest from one lemon.
Wet ingredients:
- 150 millilitres of oil,
- 2 eggs,
- 150 millilitres of buttermilk or yogurt,
- juice from 1 lemon.
Instructions:
- Sift the flour into a bowl and mix with the baking powder, sugar, and poppy seeds. Add the zest, grated on a fine grater, to the dry ingredients.
- In another bowl, mix the eggs with oil, buttermilk (or yogurt), and lemon juice.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix with a spoon.
- Spoon the batter into muffin moulds.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 180° Celsius.
- Once the muffins have cooled, drizzle them with lemon icing. You can also sprinkle additional poppy seeds on top.
