After being away from home on vacation for weeks, a favorite thing I love to do on return is to bake. It’s been awhile since the tall muffin tins from Ikea were used and already had stocked up on plenty of the custom baking wrappers for this baking tin… just in case I couldn’t find them again. Quick to make, these Lemon Yogurt Muffins with Poppy Seeds and Dried Cranberries are not overly sweet, especially if you omit the lemon glaze. When eating you will notice a subtle crunch with each bite as the poppy seeds give these muffins an interesting texture. Sometimes I don’t always find poppy seeds in the supermarkets here, so I tend to bring them back when I travel.
Although I have no school going kids, muffins make perfect treats for school lunch boxes. These muffins freeze very successfully (without the lemon glaze) and if you are someone who likes something sweet in the mornings, simply take a muffin from the freezer and pop it into the microwave (it has some uses) for about 15 seconds. Of course you can enjoy these delicious muffins anytime throughout the day.
On the subject of freezers, I have one to refill again… for a second summer (while on vacation) our freezer defrosted due to a short-circuit in the house. Thankfully it was not as full as last year, but still very annoying, all the de-frosted food ended up in the rubbish bin. 😦
You can omit the poppy seeds and dried cranberries when making these muffins and when baked and cooled, simply dust them over with some powdered sugar before serving… they taste just as delicious. You can cut the calorie content by using low-fat milk, low-fat yogurt and omit the lemon glaze if you like. And if you need to do some fast home-baking or feed your freezer something sweet… start with muffins.
Lemon Yogurt Muffins with Poppy Seeds and Dried Cranberries
Ingredients:
For Bowl one:
75g butter, melted and cooled
150ml plain yogurt (use full-fat or low-fat)
100ml milk (use full-fat or low-fat)
1 egg
zest of one lemon
For Bowl Two:
250g self-raising flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
110g caster sugar
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
25g dried cranberries, chopped
For the glaze
75g powdered sugar
1 tablespoon plus one extra teaspoon of lemon juice
to decorate, dried cranberries
Note: If you are using the Ikea muffin tin with custom baking wrappers the batter will yield approximately 18 to 20 muffins. If you do not have a second Ikea muffin tin, bake the extra batter using a cupcake tin which will give you 5 more. Alternative, use a 12 hole cupcake tin lined with cupcake wrappers.
How to make:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF/190ºC/Fan 170ºC/Gas 5. In small bowl (bowl one), add the cooled butter, yogurt, milk, egg and lemon zest. Beat together with a fork until mixed. In a large bowl (bowl two), sieve in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, caster sugar and poppy seeds.
Pour all the wet ingredients (bowl one) into (bowl two) the dry ingredients. With a large spatula, stir until all the ingredients are combined, adding the dried cranberries on the last few strokes of mixing. Do not over mix as this will result in heavy and tough muffins. The batter should still be a bit lumpy but no dry flour visible.
Spoon the batter into the prepared tins and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the tops are a light golden brown and spring back when pressed gently. If using a cupcake pan bake muffins for about 20 to 25 minutes.
While the muffins are baking, prepare the lemon glaze. Sieve the powdered sugar into a small bowl, add the lemon juice and mix together. Set aside.
Cool the muffins for about a minute in the baking tin before removing and transferring to a wire cooling rack. While the muffins are hot, spread the lemon glaze on top and decorate with dried cranberries. Best eaten on day of baking.
You might like to try these, also baked in the Ikea baking tin:
Victoria Sponge Cupcakes with Orange Buttercream
Matcha Tea Lemon Cupcakes with Matcha Tea Buttercream
Food and Tools 
Moya,, they look and sound delightful. I love the shape of your tins. Now I want some:).
LikeLike
Me too Glenda I love the shape of this muffin tin. I also came across amazon.com selling this Ikea muffin tin as well as the liners… you might want to check it out 🙂
LikeLike
Moya, I went to Ikea today and bought some tins and papers. They are very cute. I intend to make your muffins next week. I will see if they turn out as good as yours.
LikeLike
Wonderful news Glenda and thank you for letting me know, hope you enjoy the muffins. I am sure you will bake something delicious in them too and I hope you post us a recipe. 🙂
LikeLike
Moya, is the self raising flour and baking powder and bi-carb right? Usually it is plain flour if using baking powder and bi-carb.
LikeLike
Yes Glenda I have used both with the self raising flour. To give the muffin mixture more of a rise as there is no extra air incorporated by whisking or creaming. 🙂
LikeLike
Hi Moya, I made mine without the baking powder and bi-carb and they are fine. I wonder what they would have been like with them. I will never know 🙂
LikeLike
I made some today and they are delicious! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
LikeLike
Anne delighted to hear that you have tried one of my recipes and are happy with the results. I really appreciate you letting me know, thank you. 🙂
LikeLike