Vegan Imperfect Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Dry ingredients

375g plain flour (note 1 for gluten-free)

250g sugar

2 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

Zest from 2 large Imperfect lemons

Pinch of any good-quality salt, optional

Wet ingredients

250g dairy-free milk, room temperature

165g light-tasting vegetable oil or olive oil

60g lemon juice (approx. 1 large lemon)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

Topping (optional)

3 tablespoons flaked almonds

100g icing sugar

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C (note 2). Arrange muffins liners in a muffin pan.

Making the muffin batter:

1. Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Mix until there are no lumps.
2. Add all of the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix until just combined.
3. Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter into your muffin tin.
4. Baking the vegan lemon poppy seed muffins:
5. Optional: sprinkle the flaked almonds on top of your muffins.
6. When you're ready to bake the muffins, reduce the oven temperature to 180°C.
7. Immediately place your muffins in the oven.
8. Bake the muffins for around 22-25 minutes. If you insert a toothpick into a muffin, it should come out clean.
9. Cool the muffins in the tray for 10 minutes then allow them to cool on a wire rack.

Optional: Making the lemon icing

1. Add the icing sugar and lemon juice to a medium bowl. Mix until smooth. The icing should be runny but hold its shape for a few seconds when you drizzle it. Add more icing sugar to thicken or more lemon juice to thin the icing. When the muffins have cooled, drizzle the icing on top.
2. The undecorated muffins can be enjoyed warm. Otherwise enjoy the iced muffins at room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Notes

1. To make these muffins gluten-free, substitute the plain flour with 150g blanched almond meal and 240g gluten-free plain flour.
2. The initial high temperature encourages the muffins to rise more.

This recipe was created for us by Anthea aka Rainbow Nourishments. You can follow her on Instagram here, and checkout all of her delicious Vegan recipes at her website here!