Soft, fluffy, light bakery-style lemon & poppy seed muffins with all the flavour and texture of a coffee shop muffin but none of the sugar!
- 300 g (2 cups) wholemeal flour (or use 1/2 and 1/2 wholemeal and plain/all-purpose for a slightly lighter muffin)
- 100 g (1/2 cup) xylitol*
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- pinch salt
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 85 g (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
- 200 ml (2/3 cup) buttermilk (or whole/full-fat milk mixed with 1 tsp lemon)
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 tsp sugar free vanilla extract
- zest and juice of 2 unwaxed (ideally organic) lemons
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
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Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6 and lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin (or line with muffin cases). In a large bowl, mix together the flour, xylitol, baking powder, bicarb of soda, salt and poppy seeds. In another bowl or jug, mix together the other ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir briefly until only just mixed (don't worry if there's a few specks of flour still - better to undermix slightly than overmix with muffins!).
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Fill each muffin tin hole almost to the top (about 2/3 of the way) with the muffin batter. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 mins, until the muffins are risen and going golden on top, and a skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool and eat warm (my favourite) or cold. Amazing on its own as a snack, breakfast or dessert, but also yummy served with plain yogurt or coconut yogurt and some fresh berries.
*as always with my recipes, feel free to use less sweetener! I like to reduce the amount we use each time to help our tastebuds adjust to less sweet baked goods.