Ingredients
Method
- Massage the lemon zest with the sugar for a few minutes to extract the oils. This helps enhance the citrus flavour. The sugar will take on a pale yellow colour.1 ¼ cup granulated white sugar, Zest from 2 lemons
- Beat the egg and the lemon sugar until it’s light and pale. Add in the yogurt, buttermilk, oil, melted butter, lemon juice and lemon extract. Mix until combined.2 large eggs, room temperature , 2 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, ¾ cup plain yogurt, ½ cup buttermilk*, ⅓ cup neutral oil, ¼ cup unsalted melted butter
- In another bowl, mix together the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt.2 ½ cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 2 ½ tablespoon poppy seeds , ¾ teaspoon salt
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently mix until combined. Don’t over-mix the batter in order to prevent the muffins from turning out tough.
- Scoop the batter into parchment lined regular muffin tins, filling them to the top and let them sit for at 30 mins to an hour. This helps them achieve a higher rise as they bake.- To get taller muffins leave every other muffin tin empty. So a muffin pan with 12 tins, should have 6 filled and 6 empty. Each muffin would have an empty tin on each side.- If you only have 1 muffin pan, you would need to bake them in 2 batches. I recommend leaving the batter in the bowl and letting it rest there, instead of in the tins. After 30 mins- 1 hour, simply scoop the batter without disturbing it much and plop into the muffin tins, all the way to the top.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F while the muffins are resting.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F and then reduce the heat to 350°F after 5 minutes with the muffins still in the oven. Bake for a total of 18-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few crumbs.
- While the muffins are baking, make the lemon syrup. Add the sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan and cook over medium high heat until it comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and let it cool slightly.3 tablespoon powdered sugar, 3 tablespoon lemon juice
- When the muffins are out of the oven and are still warm, generously brush the tops with the lemon syrup. Cool the muffins on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes and enjoy!
Notes
*if you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute it with a homemade version! Simply take ½ cup milk and remove ½ tablespoon of the milk and replace it with vinegar or lemon juice. Stir and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it thickens up.
