Lemon and poppy seed muffins

I am not a muffin person. And definitely not for breakfast. I prefer savoury over sweet when it comes to breakfasts. But I made an exception for these muffins and you should too! They are best eaten warm from the oven with a cup of tea 🙂 And the world will seem alright again, even in the midst of a pandemic.

So what is so special about these you ask eh? Obviously they are delicious and easy to make. But they are also a favourite for another reason. I first had these ( yes I had never had a lemon and poppy seed muffin before!) whilst on safari in Africa. On a morning game drive, in the bush. Our guide set up a table and opened a steel box in which these little beauties were neatly arranged on a tea-towel, still warm. Everything tastes better in the African bush and these muffins were no different. I later asked him what went in them and thus began my quest to recreate the magic at home.

The recipe below is broadly based on the one from Cookie&Kate. 

But I have tweaked it slightly and to be honest it is a very forgiving recipe. Even if your measurements are slightly inaccurate, it will still turn out great! This recipe makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

0.5 cup whole wheat flour

0.5 cup castor sugar

1 medium lemon

1/4 cup poppy seeds

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup plain yoghurt

5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 large egg

a pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp lemon extract

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Grease your muffin tray with butter.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients –  flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds, sugar, salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together – butter, egg, juice of 1 lemon and yoghurt, lemon and vanilla extract.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix only till combined.
5. Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling them evenly and taking care to not fill each cup to the brim.
6. Bake for 15 – 20 min ( every oven is different; mine was done in about 18 min) and take them out when the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes clean.
7. Transfer to a cooling rack and serve when still slightly warm.