Monday, February 27, 2012

Daring Bakers: Lemon Muffins


The Daring Bakers' challenge this month seemed not very daring at first sight. The challenge was to make quick bread, something most people, even non bakers can usually do. The more interesting part was that you could choose any flavor combination you liked.

Still, I honestly wasn't very inspired and almost skipped this challenge. But after reading the provided recipes I changed my mind. The Meyer Lemon Loaf looked really promising and so I made the recipe into some muffins. Unfortunately we can't get Meyer Lemon here in Germany, I even doubt that many people have heard of them. I managed to bring some back from California last year, maybe I should have kept the seeds to grow a tree. ;-)


Well, back to the muffins, even with regular lemons they tasted very good and had a very nice texture. I will definitely make them again, when I need a quick recipe, as I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.



Lemon Muffins
(adapted from Recipe Girl’s Meyer Lemon Loaf)

- makes 12 muffins -

250 g flour
½ tsp. baking powder
zest of 2 organic lemons
250 g sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
120 ml creme fraiche, at room temperature
20 ml rum
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt
50 g butter, melted and cooled

Simple Syrup:
75 g sugar
80 ml water
juice from ½ lemon


Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.

Sift together flour and baking powder; set aside.

Place sugar, lemon zest, and eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat with a whisk until the mixture is a light lemon color and thickened a bit. This can also be done with a mixer. Whisk in sour cream, then salt, then rum and lemon juice.

Gently whisk in the flour in four parts, then whisk in the butter in three parts. You’ll have a thick, pourable batter flecked with lemon zest.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

While the muffins are baking, prepare simple syrup. Boil together sugar and water and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice.

Turn the muffins out of their pan onto a cooling rack and brush liberally with the lemon syrup, repeat brushing as you feel necessary. Let cool.


Enjoy and Guten Appetit!




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