Thursday baking - crunchy lemon muffins

As we bake our way through A Treasury of New Zealand Baking...

Alison Holst says she's often told these are the most frequently made muffins in her several muffin books. Becs and Libby both remember having these muffins in the 90's, however I think my family missed that craze as I don't recall ever eating or making them before. As we have a bowl full of lemons, I thought I'd give these a go and see what I've been missing out on.

The muffins are easy to make. They were delicious when still warm out of the oven, but I found that even an hour or so later they were a bit tougher (perhaps I over-mixed the mixture - mine didn't look nearly as delicate as the ones in the picture in ATONZB). The recipe recommends serving the muffins warm or reheated with tea and coffee, and I agree this is the best way to have them. The lemon and sugar mixture definitely lifts these muffins, and I think they'd also be delicious with a dollop of cream cheese in the centre - I might try that next time!

crunchy lemon muffins (Alison Holst) - week 19

2 cups self-raising flour

3/4 cup sugar

75g butter

1 cup milk

1 egg

grated zest of 1 large or 2 medium-sized lemons

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 200C. Coat a 12-hole muffin pan with baking spray.

Stir the flour and place it into a fairly large bowl. Add the first measure of sugar, and using a fork, toss to mix. Melt the butter in the microwave. Add the milk, egg and lemon zest, then whisk together with a fork until combined. Tip this mixture into the dry ingredients.

Mix gently, using a flat-bladed stirrer, until the dry ingredients are dampened, but the mixture still looks rough. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pans, try to put only one rounded spoonful into each hole (I forgot to do this when I was spooning in my mixture!)

Bake for about 10 minutes, until the tops of the muffins are lightly browned and the surface of a muffin springs back when lightly pressed. While the muffins bake put the juice and the second measure of sugar into a small bowl. Without stirring to dissolve the sugar, use a pastry brush to apply the sugar and lemon mixture to the hot, freshly cooked muffins in their pan. Repeat until all the lemon mixture is used. While the muffins are still fairly hot, lift them carefully from the pan onto a wire rack to cool. Serve them warm or reheated with tea or coffee, add to packed lunches or enjoy on any other occasion.