Grey, drizzling days. That’s London’s status-quo. London is simply not London otherwise. But occasionally, we do get good weather spells: like today. It’s sunny, wohoo!!! But don’t be fooled by the bright sun. It’s chilly outside. What do you expect? It’s still winter! In my kitchen, spring came early though with these lemon poppy seed muffins.
These lemon poppy seed muffins are light and bursting with citrusy flavour. The poppy seeds add another layer to the texture. I love the crunch they give. You can glaze these babies with sweet lemon glaze or sprinkle some sugar on top before baking. But I prefer not to, choosing to cut down on the sugar content. I can guarantee that they’re yummy-licious even without the glaze or the extra sugar topping. But if you have an extra sweet tooth, that’s a thought you may want to entertain.
So let’s heat up the oven and get started. This recipe makes 6 huge muffins.
INGREDIENTS:
Dry ingredients:
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
Wet ingredients:
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- zest of 2 lemons
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°C. Line your muffin tins with 6 muffins liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients to make them well combined and to incorporate air into the mixture.
- In a separate bowl, mix together all the wet ingredients until well combined.
- Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cases.
- Bake for about 20 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let cool in tin for 5 mins before transferring to wire rack to finish cooling.
These muffins stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They are also suitable for home-freezing. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and heat up in the microwave for a quick mid-week breakfast.
