Recipe 13: Lemon poppy-seed muffins

I didn’t exactly make a conscious decision to take the summer off the blog, it just kind of happened that way. One week ran into the next and, with the weather being so nice, the kids and I spent most of it outdoors so the last thing I wanted to do was to start baking. Honestly, I don’t know how people manage in really hot countries (obviously, I do know they acclimatise) but I decided to make the most of the glorious summer we’ve had as the last really good summer I can remember was 1995!

The other thing is that when I started this second blog, I went about it totally the wrong way. With the first blog, I used to leaf through the cookbook and think through the recipes as to which one would be next. I came to the realisation though that I have to approach each recipe as they come in the cookbook so I decided to start on the first recipe but I didn’t have a Bundt tin so I went on to the next recipe which was Lemon poppy-seed muffins and here’s how it went…

I had two large bowls. In the first one, I mixed flour, baking powder, poppy seeds, caster sugar and a pinch of salt. In the second one, I mixed all the wet ingredients which were eggs, milk, oil, zest of a lemon and vanilla extract. I had to add 215ml of milk which is very precise so what I did was measure exactly 200ml of milk in a jug and then I used a tablespoon of milk which equates to 15ml. The recipe said to use vegetable oil and I actually used rapeseed oil – Donegal Rapeseed Oil to be precise. I use rapeseed all the time now so it’s either the Donegal version or the Broighter Gold brand which I use – both of which I get at Harry’s food market in Bridgend.

Anyway, back to the recipe and I mixed the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and then divided the mixture into the muffin trays before popping them into the oven for 25 minutes. I have become so familiar with my oven over the past number of years that I know that if I need to set it to 180°fan oven then I actually have to set it to 165 on the dial. My oven is actually on its last legs and I’ve been waiting for the past few months for it to finally pack in. It has earned its keep though but I already have a mental shortlist of dream cookers that I would like to replace it with so if you have any suggestions, they are most welcome!

Once the muffins were ready, I just checked them with a cocktail stick and let them cool for 5 minutes in their tin before placing them on a wire rack. For the icing, I simply mixed icing sugar and lemon juice. The last thing I did was to drizzle the icing over the muffins and sprinkle poppy seeds over them.

The verdict…

Well, yes, they were extremely yummy and I’ll definitely make them again. Dear Son actually found them ‘too sweet, mummy’ whereas Baby Daughter swiped a second one off the plate and sprinted down the hall after I took a pic of it. Dear Husband’s verdict was that they were nice than he thought they were going to be (!) and had two of course. I would tend to agree with Dear Son that I found them just a little bit too sweet so one was enough for me and that was probably my sugar intake for the day. The ironic thing is that I almost forgot to put the sugar in the bowl – some muffins they would have turned out to be! I found this latest baking endeavour to be something different but in a really nice way. I wouldn’t normally go for muffins as they are usually chocolate ones loaded with more chocolate and I would just find them, well, too chocolately. Nonetheless, these weren’t heavy to eat and definitely a nice way to finish off a lovely Sunday dinner. Overall, a very simple, quick and delicious recipe. Until next time…