Lemon and Raspberry Muffins (Vegan, Gluten-free, Soya-free option)


Delicious, fruity muffins, bursting with pockets of shocking pink raspberry. Soft and light sponge is scented with lemon zest and made even more flavoursome with ground oats and almonds; healthy enough to get away with for breakfast and indulgent enough for dessert.

A lemon and raspberry muffin on a light pinks plate, with a few fresh raspberries scattered next to it. The muffins is slightly cracked and golden brown on top, and in a blue floral paper case. In the background is a plate with the res of the muffins, some more fresh raspberries and some wild flowers in pink, white and bright blue.

↓ Jump to the recipe!

We have a rather excessively productive raspberry patch in our garden so I’m always trying to think of new and interesting raspberry recipes. We freeze the raspberries to maintain a supply year round, my mum makes jam which we give away, we use them in drinks, cakes and ice cream, and yet every year when the plants start bearing fruit, we still have the tail end of last years crop in the freezer or in numerous jars.

So here is another attempt to make inroads into the year-round raspberry glut. Lemon and raspberry is a classic combination, and I love the contrast of sharp, tangy raspberries with the sweet lemon scented sponge. For the sponge, I use a mixture of gluten-free flour, ground oats, and ground almonds, which gives it a lovely, light texture and a more rounded flavour. You could always use plain flour in place of gluten-free if you prefer, but I’d keep the oats and almonds for extra deliciousness.

How to make lemon and raspberry muffins

A lemon and raspberry muffin split in half. The sponge is light and delicate, and interspersed with pockets of vibrant and glistening cooked raspberry.

This recipe makes enough batter for 9 large muffins or 12 cupcake-sized muffins. Whichever you prefer, line your muffin or cupcake tin with appropriate-sized paper cases, and pre-heat the oven.

Zest and juice an unwaxed lemon, then set the zest aside. Measure out the non-dairy milk (I used oat milk but any will do) and stir in the lemon juice. The acid in the lemon juice will curdle the milk creating a kind of buttermilk substitute – set this aside while you measure out the dry ingredients.

Measure out the oats and whizz them in a food processor or high-speed blender until you have a flour-like texture – you could use oat flour but this seems a bit unnecessary unless you are lacking in kitchen gadgets. Tip this into a large mixing bowl, along with the ground almonds, gluten-free flour, raising agents, salt and sugar, and give everything a good whisk until it’s thoroughly incorporated.

Then measure the oil and add it to the curdled milk along with the lemon zest and whisk to combine – I used melted coconut oil but any neutral tasting oil would do (vegetable, light olive, canola etc). Measure out your raspberries into a small bowl – you can use fresh or frozen – and sprinkle over a couple of tablespoons of sugar. Give it a quick mix to ensure the raspberries are evenly coated.

Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and whisk to a smooth batter, then stir in the raspberries until they are evenly distributed. Scoop the batter into the cup cake cases – gluten-free batter doesn’t tend to rise as enthusiastically as regular batter so you can fill the cases quite generously, about four fifths full.

For large muffins, bake for 18–22 minutes, or 15–18 for smaller ones. If you use fresh raspberries then the cooking time is likely to be at the lower end of the range, or at the higher end if using frozen. Once cooked, they should be golden brown on top, and spring back when you gently press the centre. The skewer test is tricky for these, as you are very likely to hit a pocket of gooey hot raspberry.

Transfer to a wire rack, and eat once cooled (partly to avoid raspberry burns, and partly because the muffins will come out of their cases much more easily if they are cool).

A birds-eye view of the lemon and raspberry muffins. One is on a pale pink side plate with a few fresh raspberries scattered next to it, and there are some more muffins on a blue platter at the top right of the picture. All of the muffins are golden brown, with flecks of raspberry peeking through. There are wild flowers, herbs and raspberries scattered on the table cloth next to the plates.

If you give these a try, I would love to hear how you get on! You can comment below or use the star rating at the top of the post, or you can tag me on Instagram or Twitter @greedybearbakes.

Happy Eating!

Lemon and Raspberry Muffins (Vg, Gf)

  • Servings: makes 9–12
  • Print

Delicious, fruity muffins, bursting with pockets of shocking pink raspberry, and with a light, lemon-scented sponge.

Vegan, Gluten-free, Soya-free option

Ingredients

  • 1 unwaxed lemon, zest and juice
  • 175ml (⅔ cup + 1 tbsp) non-dairy milk
  • 75g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) oats (gf if necessary)
  • 75g (¾ cup) ground almonds
  • 100g (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) gluten-free flour (sub plain flour)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 90g (½ cup) + 2 tbsp caster sugar
  • 60ml (¼ cup) neutral oil (e.g. vegetable, light olive, or melted coconut)
  • 200g (1 scant cup) raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C fan and line a muffin or cup cake tin with paper cases. This recipe makes enough for 9 large muffins, or 12 cupcake sized muffins.
  2. Zest and juice the lemon. Measure out 175ml non-dairy milk into a measuring jug, mix in the lemon juice, and set aside.
  3. Whizz 75g oats in a food processor or high-speed blender until you have a flour-like consistency. Tip into a large mixing bowl along with 75g ground almonds, 100g gluten-free flour, 2 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp bicarb, ½ tsp salt, and 90g sugar. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
  4. Add 60ml oil to the milk mixture along with the lemon zest and whisk to combine. Measure out the raspberries in a small bowl and sprinkle over 2 tbsp sugar, ensuring the raspberries are evenly coated.
  5. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and whisk to the smooth batter. using a spoon, stir in the raspberries until evenly distributed. Fill the paper cases to about 4/5ths full of batter, then bake for 15–18 minutes for smaller muffins, or 18–22 minutes for larger ones. You’re likely to need the full amount of time if using frozen raspberries, and less if using fresh.
  6. When the muffins are cooked they should be golden brown on top, and spring back if you press them gently in the centre. Transfer to a wire rack and eat once cooled.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s