Bakery Style Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
You guys have been LOVING the new muffin recipes. When I took a poll lemon poppyseed was one of the most popular flavors- So here you go! These recipes are delightful!!
Figuring out this recipe was a little tricky as I discovered into the process that lemon juice really affects the texture & creates some chewiness. Which is not what my goal was. I found that limiting the lemon juice to only 1 tbsp allowed for the muffins to get as big, soft and fluffy as I love. The majority of the delicious lemon flavor comes from the lemon zest- so make sure to use the whole lemon.
If you haven’t yet be sure to try this recipe, the blueberry and or crumb cake. (Actually make all three!)
I have been creating two versions for my muffin recipes. The first is just gluten & dairy free (using 1 egg). The second is egg free. Both are amazing. The ones with the egg are a tiny bit fluffier. No matter which you choose you will be happy either way.
HOW TO MAKE THEM SUGAR FREE
Here’s the deal with sugar free sweeteners.. some have and after taste & some don’t. Only the granulated cup for cup blends are meant for baking- so please only use one of them.
Erythritol and xylitol (which is what most bags of sugar free sugar are made from- look at their labels. They market them as if they are different and they all work exactly the same for the most part.) have a bit of an icy after taste and you can avoid that by using less. I would start with 1/2 cup in your batter and give it a taste to see If you need more. Less is more - I promise.
If you opt for Alluose that has left of an after taste as you may be able to get away with using that one cup for cup with good results.
How to make them CORN FREE
Feel free to use regular baking powder (instead of double acting) if there’s a brand you prefer that is corn free.
Using other gluten free all purpose flour blends
The bad news is that there isn’t truly a gluten free measure for measure flour or cup for cup. Its a marketing ploy. There are blends that work decent in place but never exactly. Each and every blend is totally different. For example I LOVE better batter - but in this recipe it would make for some seriously gummy muffins. I chose King Arthur as its lower in gum and therefore I knew my muffins would end up soft, light and delicate.
So of course you are welcome to experiment. But please keep in mind that there are no guarantees. Any change means the recipe will change.
Expandex
These muffins are special because of the magic of expandex. It is a modified form of tapioca starch that was formulated to improve gluten free baking. The word Modified tends to worry people- so let me explain further. Essentially they studied tapioca and removed portions of it leaving only the parts that would allow for it to cause amazing elasticity (aka its name) in gluten free recipes. This flour allows me to get an incredible rise with everything I use it in. It traps the air bubbles in the dough just like regular flour with gluten does! Its honestly incredible. If you eat any processed or store bought foods you have eaten many forms of modified starch. Its nothing new- its just semi new to the home baker. Its non gmo and I typically get it from the brand Judee’s on amazon. Under no conditions can you sub it out for another regular starch.
Outside of the US there is a product called Ultratex 3 I have not worked with it but from what I understand its comparable! I would use that in the exact same quantity as the expandex amount that I call for.