Lemon poppy seed muffins
These are fresh, bright muffins with a gentle lemon tang, a soft, moist crumb thanks to yogurt and a sprinkling of poppy seeds that pop lightly as you chew. A lemon glaze on top makes them even more inviting, perfect for breakfast or an afternoon tea party.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 22 min
- Rising or chilling
- 30 min
- Total time
- 1 hr 12 min
- Method
- Oven-baked
Ingredients
Batter
Lemon glaze
Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 190°C and line a muffin tin with twelve paper liners. A fully heated oven makes the muffins rise as soon as they go in, giving them rounded domes. The oven is ready when the heating light goes off for the first time.
Step 2
Put 180 g sugar and 8 g grated lemon zest in a large bowl and rub them together with your fingertips for about a minute. This releases the oils in the zest so the lemon flavor soaks into every grain of sugar. The sugar is ready when it's slightly damp, pale yellow and smells distinctly of lemon.
Step 3
Sift 260 g all-purpose flour, 8 g baking powder, 2 g baking soda and a pinch of salt into another bowl, then sprinkle in 15 g poppy seeds and toss to mix. Mixing the seeds with the dry ingredients keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. The dry mixture is ready when the poppy seeds are scattered evenly throughout like ground pepper.
Step 4
Add 100 g eggs to the lemon sugar and whisk well, then stir in 180 g plain yogurt, 90 g vegetable oil, 30 g lemon juice and 4 g vanilla extract one at a time. Yogurt reacts with the baking soda to create a tender crumb and keeps the muffins moist longer. The mixture is ready when it's smooth and thick with no slick of oil on top.
Step 5
Add the dry ingredients to the wet in two additions, folding gently with a spatula each time just until the flour is moistened. Minimal mixing keeps the gluten from developing much, so the crumb stays soft and fine. The batter is ready when it's thick with no dry streaks of flour, though still a little lumpy.
Step 6
Divide the batter evenly among the liners, filling each about four-fifths full. Equal portions mean all the muffins bake through at the same time. You've got it right when the batter in every liner is level and sits about half a finger joint below the rim.
Step 7
Bake at 190°C for 18 to 22 minutes, until the muffins are nicely domed and the edges turn pale golden. The tops of lemon muffins should stay light in color, as overbaking dulls their fresh flavor. They're done when the domes spring back when pressed and a skewer comes out dry.
Step 8
Let the muffins rest in the tin for five minutes, then lift them onto a rack to cool completely, about twenty minutes. The glaze only sets nicely on cooled muffins; while they're hot it will all run off. They're ready when the bottoms of the liners no longer feel warm.
Step 9
Stir 90 g powdered sugar with 20 g lemon juice into a thick glaze, then spoon it over the top of each muffin. A glaze of the right thickness runs down in pretty streams without soaking into the muffins. It's right when it dries into a soft, satiny layer on top after about fifteen minutes.
Equipment
- Oven
- Muffin tin
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Sieve
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowl
- Wire cooling rack
Tips
- If the glaze is too thin, add powdered sugar a small spoonful at a time; if it's too thick, add a few drops of lemon juice.
- Grate only the yellow outer peel of the lemon and avoid the white pith, which tastes bitter.
- If poppy seeds are hard to find, you can use chia seeds instead; the muffins will have a similar little pop.
Storage
Glazed muffins keep for two days at room temperature in an airtight container. You can freeze unglazed muffins for up to a month; thaw them at room temperature, then drizzle on the glaze.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The muffins have a slightly bitter aftertaste.
- Some white pith got grated in with the zest, or there was too much baking soda. Grate lightly and weigh the leaveners precisely.
- The glaze runs off into the paper liners.
- The muffins were still warm or the glaze was too thin. Wait until the muffins are completely cool, and make the glaze thick enough that it flows slowly off a spoon.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
