Cafe-Style Lemon Raspberry Muffins – Bake Play Smile

Café-style moist and fluffy Lemon Raspberry Muffins with sweet bursts of juicy raspberries combined with zesty lemon make the perfect sweet treat.

Prepped, baked and ready to eat in just 30 minutes… no fancy equipment required!

A batch of Lemon Raspberry Muffins makes a fabulous morning tea ‘pick me up’, or snack for hungry kids after school. Freeze any extras for ‘grab n go’ lunch box fillers – they’ll be ready to eat by morning tea!

The great thing about muffins is the endless variety – there’s always something on hand to make a batch with! Add some chocolate chips for Double Chocolate Chip Muffins or Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins, use up over-ripe banana’s to make Banana Muffins or Banana Nutella Muffins, or make my healthy ABCD Muffins – perfect to include in school lunches!

I’m making the most of our late berry season, so these café style Lemon Raspberry Muffins and fluffy Blueberry Muffins are currently on high rotation, but frozen berries work just as well, so you can enjoy these muffins all year round!

Why You’re Going To Love This Recipe

A subtle lemon tang with pops of sweet raspberries make a flavour combo that’s difficult to resist!

• Quick and easy – lemon raspberry muffins are made in one bowl and literally take only 30 minutes to prep and bake!
• Freezer friendly – by wrapping muffins individually, you have a great ‘grab n go’ lunch box filler, or enjoy a muffin break with a cuppa at anytime.
• Use fresh or frozen raspberries – when it’s not berry season, just throw in some frozen berries – you don’t even have to defrost them!
• Conventional and Thermomix – both simple methods are included in the recipe card below.

What You Need

Raspberry and lemon muffins are made from basic baking ingredients, and even if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, I’ve included a simple way to make your own buttermilk in 5 minutes!

Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.

• Vegetable oil – is used instead of butter to keep the muffins soft and moist. Choose a mild, unflavoured vegetable oil. Neutral oils can include canola oil, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, and corn oil as well.
• Caster sugar – also referred to as superfine sugar in the UK and US.
• Eggs – use large eggs (approx 60g size). Make sure your eggs are at room temperature as this helps the eggs to mix better, resulting in a lighter texture.
• Lemon zest – use only the yellow skin, not the white pith under the skin.
• Buttermilk – if you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own by adding ½ tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to ½ cup (125ml) of milk. Stir and set aside for 5 minutes before using.
• Lemon juice – preferably fresh lemon juice if possible, otherwise use store bought.
• Plain flour – also called all purpose flour.
• Salt – just a pinch, it brings out the flavours!
• Baking powder – check the expiry on your baking powder and make sure that it is in-date. If it’s past its best, it won’t be as effective as a raising agent in your baking.
• Bicarbonate of soda – in Australia, we often refer to this as bicarb soda, whereas overseas it is often known as baking soda.
• Raspberries – I have used fresh raspberries in these muffins, but out of season I use a handful of frozen raspberries instead!
• Raw sugar – for sprinkling on top (optional).

Equipment Required

It’s worth investing in a good quality non-stick muffin tray, I guarantee you’ll get plenty of use out of it!

• 12 hole muffin tray.
• Paper muffin cases – use pretty coloured muffin cases, or plain white cases for a café style look.
• Bowl, whisk and mixing spoon.
• Oven – if your oven is conventional (not fan-forced), then increase the temperature by 10 – 20 degrees celsius.

Step By Step Instructions

I LOVE a simple one bowl, whisk and bake recipe. These delicious lemon raspberry muffins take only minutes to prep and there’s hardly any washing up!

Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.

Step 1 – Whisk Oil, Sugar, Eggs And Zest

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees celsius, and place muffin cases in the muffin tray.

Place the oil, caster sugar, eggs and lemon zest in a large bowl.

Whisk ingredients together to combine.

Step 2 – Add The Buttermilk And Lemon Juice

Add the buttermilk and lemon juice. Mix again to combine all wet ingredients.

Note: If you don’t have buttermilk, add ½ tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to ½ cup (125ml) of milk, and stir this. Set aside for 5 minutes before using.

Step 3 – Add The Dry Ingredients

Gently fold through the sifted flour, salt, baking powder and bicarb soda until just mixed. Be careful not to overmix, some lumpy bits are ok!

Step 4 – Fold Through The Raspberries And Bake

Gently fold through the raspberries, taking care not to break them up.

Note: If you are using frozen raspberries, there’s no need to defrost them prior to adding.

Carefully spoon the mixture into the paper muffin cases, filling to two thirds full, and sprinkle with a little raw sugar (optional).

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until they spring back when lightly touched on top.

Allow lemon raspberry muffins to cool in the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Expert Tips

Here’s a few tips to make sure your lemon raspberry muffins are the very best!

• Use room temperature ingredients – eggs, buttermilk and lemon juice. Room temperature ingredients mix together easier, and allow the baking process to start immediately once the muffins are put in the oven.
• For lemon zest, you only want the yellow part of the lemon skin, the white bit underneath is known as the pith and tastes bitter so avoid this.
• Buttermilk – if you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own by adding ½ tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to ½ cup (125ml) of milk. Stir and set aside for 5 minutes before using.
• Lemon juice – preferably use freshly squeezed juice, however you can substitute with store bought juice. 
• Raspberries – fresh or frozen raspberries can be used. If using frozen raspberries, do NOT defrost them before using as they break down too much when thawed.
• Be careful not to over mix your batter – gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stopping as soon as it just comes together. A few pockets of flour in the batter is fine. Over mixing may result in tougher, more dense muffins.
• For fluffy and moist lemon raspberry muffins – avoid overcooking your muffins! Muffins are cooked when they spring back when pressed gently on the top of them.
• Storing – store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
• Freezing – lemon raspberry muffins can be frozen for up to 3 months, by wrapping individually in cling wrap, and then placing into an airtight container.

FAQs

Use my basic muffin recipe to make a batch using whatever you have on hand. You’ll see that muffins really are so versatile!

WANT EVEN MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES? Subscribe to my newsletter or follow along on Facebook or Instagram. And if you love baking, then please come and join my Facebook cooking club group or subscribe to my YouTube channel.