Easy Lemon Curd Muffins are super sweet and tangy, and with this recipe, you always get that wonderful, slightly crunchy muffin top!
I hate it when you see muffin recipes or when you bake your own, and they’re basically cupcakes. They don’t have that gorgeous domed muffin top that’s a little crunchy, and the inside isn’t light and fluffy.
When you buy a muffin from a shop, bakery, or café, it’s a very different thing.
Bakery-style muffins have a clear difference between the top and bottom, they rise to domes, and the middle is exceptionally soft and fluffy.
They don’t taste, feel or look like cupcakes. But many home recipes do.
I’ve gone through many different muffin recipes to try and get that perfect bakery taste and feel.
This is the one that I’ve stuck with.
These Lemon Curd Stuffed Muffins are not pretty. They aren’t neat and tidy. Bits of muffin batter spill out of the case, they rise at all funny angles, and the middle is delightfully gooey, which can mean leaks.
They are perhaps neater than my Rhubarb and Custard Muffins!
But the texture around the big dollop of lemon curd is light and fluffy, the tops are domed, and they are just gorgeous.
Why I Love This Lemon Curd Muffin Recipe
I love my lemon muffins with lemon filling because:
- I love all of the lemon flavour desserts and treats. They are delicious!
- They are very moist lemon curd muffins.
- You can use homemade lemon curd. There’s a fab homemade lemon curd recipe here if you want it.
- But you can also use store-bought lemon curd like I do.
- They’re a bit messy – to eat and to look at – and I like that!
- They’re the perfect afternoon treat.
Lemon Curd Muffins
Lemon curd is one of my favourite things in the world.
I love lemon curd on toast, as a drizzle on cakes, and all kinds of other combinations. It’s that sweet, sticky lemony flavour. It’s ace.
This Lemon Curd Muffin Recipe is lovely.
I include the zest and juice of one lemon in the muffin batter. Which is just a hint of lemon, really, and not a super strong flavour.
But then each Muffin’s Filled with Lemon Curd. With a big dollop in the middle of the muffin for a delicious burst of tangy curd when you get to the centre. Perfect.
For extra sweetness and a nice crunchy top, I sprinkle over a little granulated sugar. I’ve tried dotting some extra lemon curd onto the top of my Easy Lemon Curd Muffins but it just kind of sinks and spreads, and you can never really tell.
So I prefer to top it with sugar. It’s totally optional, though.
Ingredients for Muffins with Lemon Curd
When I make my lemon curd muffins, I use:
Self Raising Flour
Bicarbonate of Soda – I don’t use baking powder, but if you only have plain flour, add a teaspoon baking powder, too.
Caster Sugar
Soft Light Brown Sugar
Eggs
Buttermilk
Vegetable Oil
Vanilla Essence
Lemon Juice
Lemon Zest
Lemon Curd
Granulated Sugar
You’ll also need a large bowl, a jug, a muffin tin and muffin cases.
Find out how to make lemon curd-filled muffins in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Domed Muffin Tops
While I don’t use her recipe, there are some tips from Sally’s Baking Addiction that I’ve always used with muffins.
First, fill them to the top. When I bake cupcakes, I fill to around 2/3s. But when I bake the muffins, I always try to get the mix to very near the top of the muffin case.
Next, start the bake very high.
I bake for 10 minutes at 200 degrees C (Fan-Assisted) and then reduce the temperature to 160 degrees for a further 10-15 minutes until the muffins are cooked through.
That gives you a lovely domed top, that’s a little more well-done than the middle. The perfect muffin texture.
If you want bigger lemon-filled muffins, use different cases. I tend just to use cupcake cases, but you can buy jumbo muffin cases and fill these to the top. Just remember that these will need baking for longer.
How to Make Light and Fluffy Muffins
Your ingredients are important when it comes to light, fluffy muffins.
I use a combination of oil and buttermilk, which gives me a fantastically soft and fluffy muffin. I know some people make Lemon Curd Muffins with Yoghurt, which can work well. But I’ve always preferred oil and buttermilk.
If you don’t have buttermilk, add 2 tbsp of lemon juice to your regular milk, and leave to sit on the side for 30 minutes.
Either way, though, try to bring your milk up to room temperature before adding it. This helps to get that light texture. If you usually keep your eggs in the fridge, these should be at room temperature too.
Mixing muffins is ridiculously simple. You whisk together the wet ingredients, toss the dry ingredients to mix them up, and then whisk it all together.
But you shouldn’t over-mix. I literally mix for a couple of minutes with my electric whisk (you could easily do it by hand) just until there are no lumps, and then that’s it.
Then, the timing is important. Don’t underbake. But check after 15 minutes at 170.
The skewer test isn’t as effective here because your skewer is going to come out with lemon curd on it, but you should be able to spot any raw cake mix on there too.
Making Lemon curd Muffins with Oil
A lot of muffin recipes use a combination of yoghurt, butter, and milk. But I’ve never found the texture as good. I think butter gives you a heavier, denser texture.
Using oil and buttermilk, I think, is what really gives this Recipe for Lemon Curd Muffins its super soft and light texture. It clearly sets them apart from Lemon Cupcakes.
How to Get Lemon Curd into a Muffin
There’s no great science to making Lemon Muffins with Lemon Curd Filling. I just add a big dollop into the middle.
I spoon around 2 tablespoons of lemon muffin mix into the cake case. Then, I add around 1 tablespoon of lemon curd (it’s easier if it’s at room temperature) to the middle before topping with another tbsp of muffin mix.
This will all move around as it bakes, so don’t worry about exact measurements or making sure the lemon curd is completely covered. It’s ok to be a little messy.
The lemon curd will sink a little. Actually, I think it’s more that the muffin mix rises around and above it, more than that below it. So the lemon curd dollop ends up near the bottom of the muffin.
The less lemon curd you add, the less it will move to the bottom. But then you’ve got less lemon curd, so personally, I’d rather have more of it close to the bottom than less in the very middle.
Can You Freeze Lemon Curd Muffins?
This Recipe for Lemon Curd Stuffed Muffins is perfect for freezing.
Either wrap individually or place baking paper between the stacked muffins so that they don’t stick together, and freeze in an airtight bag or container for up to 2 months.
You Might Also Like:
If you enjoy this lemon curd muffins recipe, you might also want to try:
- Lemon Shortbread
- Raspberry and Lemon Loaf Cake
- Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes
- Lemon Drizzle Cake
- Loaf Cake with Lemon Curd
- Lemon Cheesecake
- White Chocolate and Blueberry Muffins
- Mincemeat Muffins
- Rhubarb and Custard Muffins
- Nutella Muffins
Lemon Curd Muffins
Ingredients
- 375 g Self Raising Flour
- 2 teaspoons Bicarbonate of Soda
- 150 g Caster Sugar
- 50 g Soft Light Brown Sugar
- 2 Medium Eggs
- 240 ml Buttermilk (at room temperature)
- 120 ml Vegetable Oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 Lemon (Zest and Juice)
- 200 g Lemon Curd (at room temperature)
- 3 tablespoons Granulated Sugar (Optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C (fan-assisted) and line a muffin tin with cake cases.
- Toss together the flour, bicarb, and sugars gently until well mixed.
- In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla for a few minutes.
- Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together until the batter is smooth (around 2 minutes with an electric whisk).
- Add the lemon juice and zest, and whisk for another minute.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of muffin mix into each cupcake case.
- Add a tablespoon of lemon curd.
- Top with another tablespoon of muffin mix.
- Sprinkle on a little granulated sugar (optional).
- Bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes, before reducing the temperature to 160 for 10-15 minutes, checking after 10.
Notes
- If you don’t have buttermilk, add 2tbsp lemon juice to normal milk and leave it on the side until it’s at room temp.
- Muffins are ready when the tops are golden brown and domed and still bounce back a little when pressed. You can also use a skewer to check that the centre is cooked, trying your best to avoid lemon curd.
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
