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.

↓ 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

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).

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!