Raspberry Lemon Muffins

If you love a classic lemon poppy seed muffin, you will love these Raspberry Lemon Muffins. Sweet and fresh raspberries, light and nutty poppy seeds, and bright fresh lemon. These muffins are just what you needed for a little breakfast treat. You can use fresh or frozen raspberries to make these muffins.

More raspberries? Try these recipes: Fresh Raspberry Tart or these Gluten-free Raspberry Crumble Bars - both perfect for sharing!

Thankfully fresh raspberries are available year-round. Honestly, when I buy a tiny little half-pint package at the grocery store, they rarely make it home. Raspberries might be my favourite fruit.

The better news is that these raspberry lemon muffins can be made with frozen raspberries just as easily as fresh. This is a bonus since frozen raspberries can be less expensive when they are off-season, and taste just as good. And I am less likely to eat frozen raspberries on the car ride home from the grocery store. So there is that too.

This is a classic lemon poppy seed muffin..... with raspberries

And they are perfect:

✓ Lemon zest and lemon juice make for a bright and full lemon flavour.

✓ Poppy seeds add a little earthiness to each bite and some texture.

✓ The tops are sprinkled with just a little bit of sugar to highlight the sweetness of the berries.

I used this most heavenly Rose Scented Sugar. Definitely a speciality item. You can use vanilla or lemon flavoured sugar too....or just a little plain white granulated sugar.

The source for my rose scented sugar is here. A source that is very local to me, and the produce is seasonal. But so worth the wait. You can also make your flavoured sugars -- try vanilla sugar or lemon sugar here. Both are relatively easy to make at home.

How to make Lemon Raspberry Muffins with poppy seeds

1. Grate the lemon zest

To really make the lemon flavour pop, grate the lemon zest and mix with ¼ of granulated before you do anything else. Somehow this simple step heightens the lemon flavour.

2. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl

In the same bowl as the granulated white sugar and lemon zest are in, add the other dry ingredients. Flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds and salt. Stir with a whisk or wooden spoon so that it is well blended and the poppy seeds are evenly distributed.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients

In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs, cooled and melted butter, yogurt and lemon juice. Blend well so that you have a uniform and creamy mixture.

4. Combine wet and dry ingredients

Pour the wet ingredients into the larger bowl with the dry ingredients and gently fold with a spatula or wooden spoon to just combine. Folding just until most of the dry bits in the batter are gone. Don't over mix.

5. Add the raspberries

Be careful with the raspberries. They are delicate and will break apart. Gently fold the raspberries in to just incorporate them into the batter. Do not over mix. Being careful to not smash the berries.

You can use frozen berries in place of fresh berries here, just keep them frozen. Don't thaw them first. Frozen will hold their shape better and not turn the batter pink.

6. Bake

Just before baking, sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a little bit of sugar. Flavoured sugar is wonderful here. If you have it, use lemon, vanilla or rose-scented sugar. You just need a little bit to add sparkle and highlight the sweetness of the muffins.

Recipe Notes

You can use fresh or frozen raspberries for this recipe. If using frozen, do not thaw and keep frozen until you mix them into the batter. Otherwise, they will fall apart and leak juice throughout the muffins. You don't want this if you can avoid it, your muffins will be all pink, which sounds better than it will look.

• DO zest your lemon before you squeeze the juice from it. I always forget and then try to get a little bit of zest of a squished half of a lemon. Zest then juice. For testing, I use a Microplane grater and a classic lemon press to juice.
• DO use a spring-loaded cookie and batter scoop to fill the muffin cups. This helps to distribute the batter evenly and is less messy. I like this set, and use the largest size for muffins.
• DO store your leftover poppy seeds in the freezer. Poppy seeds are relatively shelf-stable, but if you don't use them all that often and have extra laying around, the freezer will keep them fresher longer.
• DON"T bother with paper liners. If you use a good cooking spray, I like this one, you don't need paper liners.
• DO let the muffins rest in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes before you take them out of the tin and set them to cool completely on a cooling rack. This helps them set up a bit so they don't flatten immediately out of the oven.