One of the rules I gave to myself when I started this blog was: “No muffins, no cupcakes”. I am not sure why, probably it was because I always thought muffins and cupcakes are a bit boring. Just simple sponge cakes, sometimes with a creamy topping. A bit simple. Wait, keep reading.
That was until a few weeks ago when, while getting a coffee on the go from one of the many coffee chains in town, I was tempted by the plump lemon curd muffin on display. I went for it, and I liked it. It was not really a ‘wow, the best thing in town’ moment, but wait, keep reading.
While I was eating it, I just thought “This is a good idea, I can actually make this at home, but better and less processed”. And headed straight to buy some lemons.
One, two, three, muffins ready, right? Well, you all know the answer, nope,
Getting this recipe right completely demolished my idea that muffins are simple to make. I got through various stages: too flat, too cracked, too brown, curd sank to the bottom. Oh gosh, I had so many muffins in the past few weeks that I almost wanted to give up. But I did not. It took me a fair amount of attempts, but eventually here you have it. The ultimate lemon curd muffins recipe.
I am not going to spoil the fun but, I recommend you make them overnight, as cold batter and set curd work best for this recipe. But you will be fine with a couple of hours in the fridge if you are on a tight schedule. They last well for a few days in an airtight container, so you can make a big batch and there’s your week’s worth of muffins. Breakfast sorted (I know it too well).
Basically if you, like me, were a muffin sceptical, I promise you will be converted.
Are you a lemon lover like me? Have a go at my salted caramel and lemon jam sandwich biscuits, or if you need to impress try my raspberry and lemon white chocolate mousse tart for a proper lemony showstopper.
Makes 6 muffins
Ingredients
FOR THE BATTER
- 175g plain flour, sifted
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 egg
- 100g caster sugar
- 50g butter, melted and cooled
- 125g plain yoghurt
- 30ml lemon juice
FOR THE LEMON CURD
- 2 eggs, lightly whisked and passed through a sieve
- 75g caster sugar
- 35g butter, cut into cubes
- 75g lemon juice
- zest of ½ lemon
- 1.8g gelatine powder
- 0.3g salt
FOR BRUSHING AND SPRINKLING
- 10ml lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp icing sugar
- Sugar pearls
Method
MAKE THE LEMON CURD AND REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT
- Hydrate the gelatine according to pack instructions. Mix lemon juice, zest and sugar into a small pan and bring to the boil over medium heat
- As soon as it boils, remove from the heat and gently whisk in the beaten eggs until incorporated. Put back over medium low heat, bring to the boil and simmer for two minutes.
- Remove from the heat, add gelatine and gently stir until dissolved. Add the butter a little at the time, stirring to melt and incorporate. Strain through a sieve into a bowl and let cool down 10 minutes before putting into a sterilised jar. Leave to cool completely before transferring to the fridge to set overnight.
MAKE THE MUFFIN BATTER AND REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, mix together egg and sugar and whisk starting on low speed, increasing up to high for a couple of minutes, until light in colour and fluffy. Add the melted butter and whisk on low to incorporate. In the same way add the yoghurt and the lemon juice.
- Using a spatula, fold the powders into the egg mix in three times, making sure no lumps or flour pockets are left. You don’t have to be particularly afraid of knocking out the air in this case. Once you get a thick batter, transfer to a piping bag and refrigerate overnight.
BAKE THE MUFFINS
- Heat the oven to 190℃ conventional mode. Take 6-hole muffin tin and place a muffin paper case into each hole. Pipe a layer of cold batter to come up to ⅓ of the height of each case. Place a generous teaspoon of cold curd in the middle of each case, on top of the batter. Pipe the rest of the batter around and over to curd to cover completely. You should have enough to fill each case nearly to the top.
- Transfer immediately to the oven and bake for 25 – 27 minutes, depending on how your oven cooks. The muffins should make a nice dome in the oven and retain most of their shape once out. Check with a skewer to ensure the muffins are cooked. It should come out clean and dry.
- Once the muffins are out, combine the icing sugar and lemon juice to form a syrup. Brush each muffin with the syrup and immediately sprinkle a good amount of sugar pearls on top. Wait for them to cool down and enjoy with a warm cappuccino.
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