Lemon Muffins

It's kinda embarrassing to see the last post I posted here was over half a year ago. Since moving into my new (old) house there have been many things to do and none of which involves blogging. I mean for one, I'm having to cook and clean for myself and not relying on my mum or family. No last minute 'SOS' text messages to my sister in the next room to call for help washing up all the crockery and equipment that has accumulated in the sink whilst I'm up to my eyeballs in cake batter/chocolate frosting/icing sugar. One thing that annoys me immensely is that I now have a teeny weeny sink that can barely even hold a baking tray let alone accumulate said crockery and equipment and I miss the large, deep sink at home immensely.

Although I've not blogged I've been baking plenty still. A few birthday cakes and wedding cake orders here and there. (Head over to my Instagram or Facebook page to check out random cake orders/ weekend bakes.)

And when I do decide to bake something to blog... the battery on my SLR camera dies... So apologies- the photos here were taken on my phone with some semi successful Photoshop editing!

So at the minute we're in the middle of summer. British summer, though very short lived and super unpredicatable, can be lovely (when the sun decides to come out!) Not overbearingly hot but enough to bring some colour to your skin, allow you to enjoy activities outdoors and receive a much needed vitamin D boost. To me, summer is all about the fresh, fruity, zesty flavours so lemon muffins seem perfect.

The recipe for these muffins are based on a recipe I found on Yeo Valley's website for lemon drizzle muffins. At first glance I thought the ratio of ingredients seem very wrong - (85g sugar to 300g flour??) but I gave it benefit of the doubt and made the muffins as per the instructions. As suspected the muffins turned out like rock cakes. I suspected maybe there was a typo in the original but after fiddling around with the recipe it now works much better.

To get the typical domed 'muffin top' look, the trick is preheat the oven to 240°C and bake the muffins for 10 minutes before turning down the temperature to 180°C for the remaining time. The high heat causes the mix to rise, with the outer of the muffin cooking quickly, allowing for the domed look. The cases also need to be filled very nearly to the top so the muffin rises above the edge of the cases once fully baked.

Lastly when the muffins are almost cool, dip the tops into the tangy lemon glaze (mine was actually more like a syrup consistency) for that extra lemony kick.

LEMON MUFFINS

Recipe based on Lemon Drizzle Muffins on Yeo Valley.

Yields 9 muffins

2 eggs, beaten

185g caster sugar

240g natural yogurt (not fat free)

200ml vegetable oil

300g plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2  tsp salt

Zest of 3 lemons

For the topping:

50g icing sugar (may need more/less depending on consistency)

1 lemon, juice only

1. Preheat the oven to 240°C and line a muffin tin with paper cases.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
3. Whisk the sugar and lemon zest together (this helps to infuse the oils in the zest with the sugar), add the egg and whisk until pale. Add the yogurt and oil and stir to combine.
4. Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and roughly mix to combine- the mix doesn't need to be smooth- lumps are ok! Do not overmix otherwise the muffins will be dense and rubbery. Spoon into the muffin cases and fill to the top. 
5. Bake for 10 minutes at 240C before turning the oven down to 180C for another 18-20minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If you find the muffins are browning too much towards the end, loosely place a sheet of foil over the top as it's baking. 
6. Turn the muffins out onto a cooling rack to cool before topping with the lemon drizzle.
7. Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice together. The icing needs to be quite thick, but thin enough to drizzle. You may need to add more icing sugar to achieve the right consistency.
8. Spoon the lemon drizzle over the cooled lemon muffins. I held the muffin and twice dunked it into the bowl of lemon drizzle whilst it was still a fraction warm. I find this gives a good coat of lemon on the top of the muffin.

Notes:

• For that extra lemony-ness you could fill the muffins with a dollop of lemon curd.