Lemon Curd Jumbo Almond Muffins
Note to self: always add lemon curd
These Lemon Curd Jumbo Almond Muffins are for lemon lovers! They are full of sliced almonds, the tops are ultra crunchy and yes, they have lemon curd in the batter and lemon zest in the streusel on top. The texture is super crumbly, typical of quick breads. You will feel the hint of lemon in every bite!
I’m so happy to bring you this brand new recipe, the first in the last couple of months. I’ve been away working in something that’s been on my to-do list for a very long time, probably more than 5 years. A basic cooking course that will help everyone have a happier experience in the kitchen, plus all the craziness of creating a real business behind. (If you are interested, join the waiting list here because I’ll launch it first with the people on the waiting list.)
But finally something magical happened. The universe showed me the way. More than that, it placed what I needed to make it happen. Every piece of the puzzle has been fitting perfectly, and not gonna lie, it can be extremely beautiful and very scary at the same time. You feel undeserving of such perfection and walk through it with hesitation. You may know that feeling. So I guess it’s not so perfect after all. I know that the hesitation is an important piece the universe is putting me in the journey as well, because it’s something I need to learn to overcome. Be more trusting I guess. Is there a course for that? Ha!
One morning when I needed to decompress from all the work, I wanted to push myself to create something new. I needed the challenge. I opened the fridge and there it was, a half jar of my homemade lemon curd. I’ve been adding a tablespoon or so to my pancake batters with mega delicious results. That’s when I thought, why not make muffins with it? Pretty similar batters so I guessed they would end up pretty amazing! And oh boy! I was right!! Luckily, besides having readily available lemon curd, my fridge had the rest of the ingredients I needed. It was a go immediately!
I ate only half of one so even if the batter yields 6 to 8 muffins it’s a double yield. The texture of these muffins is crumbly with a tight crumb, typical of quick breads. I will have to admit though that the tops are the best part. Elaine was so right! : )
That’s the cool thing of having homemade lemon curd around. You can spread it over soooo many things! Pancakes, cream cheese toast, ice cream or make a tart. That’s why even if a recipe calls for a little lemon curd, I always make the whole batch. Find my homemade lemon curd recipe here. It will keep well in the fridge for months. I won’t tell you to make lemon curd just for this recipe. But if you have lemon curd leftover or can buy a high quality lemon curd, then these muffins are such a nice morning treat and a creative way to use the curd.
If you don’t have lemon curd you can make my Jumbo Earl Grey Blueberry Muffins, which is a similar recipe, and you may leave the earl grey tea leaves out as well.
Read my notes on making these jumbo treats.
How to make this Jumbo Lemon Curd Almond Muffins:
You can use any thick lemon curd or better yet, make your own using my lemon curd recipe. Every time I need to make a lemon tart I make a full lemon curd portion to spread on pancakes, toasts, ice cream, and now to add to muffins.
Line the muffin pan and make room for it in the fridge for later. Chilling the muffin batter is kind of optional but those extra 15 minutes improve not only the texture but the rise of these muffins.
This is a one bowl batter. To make it whisk the dry ingredients, make a well in the center of the bowl and add the wet ingredients, roughly mixing them first without incorporating the flour, then mix with the flour using a wooden spoon.
If you want to get the mushroom like muffin top fill the muffin tins to the top.
After topping with the streusel I like to sprinkle extra (insert here whatever the recipe calls for, in this case sliced almonds).
Use a course sugar like Demerara or turbinado for sprinkling on top of each muffin. Those granules are what give muffins its crunchy bite!
Chill and bake according to recipe. Let them cool before cutting or eating. Store in a cool dry place. You can use an airtight container but if you like them crunchier the next days, store them in the oven or just cover them with aluminum foil. Reheat in a counter top oven at 325° to 350° for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how crunchy you want them.
Let me know if you give these a try, or if I inspired you to have lemon curd in your fridge as a standard item. Will keep working on all the projects that I’m envisioning for you. To help you have a greater, easier, fulfilling and happier cooking experience. In the meantime, lets eat muffins!
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Lemon Curd Jumbo Almond Muffins
Ingredients
Lemon Curd Almond Muffins
◯ Unbleached all-purpose flour - 3 cups, 400g
◯ Natural granulated sugar - 1 ¼ cup, 269g
◯ Baking powder - 3 ½ Tsp, 15g
◯ Granulated sea salt - 1 Tsp, 6g
◯ Full fat coconut milk - ½ cup + 1 TBSP, 135g
◯ Sour cream - ½ cup, 120g
◯ Large organic eggs - 2
◯ Lemon curd - ½ cup, 133g (find recipe here)
◯ Butter, melted - 5 TBSP, 71g
◯ Vegetable oil - ½ cup, 120g
◯ Sliced or slivered almonds - 1 cup, 100g
Lemon Streusel
◯ Unbleached all-purpose flour - ½ cup, 75g
◯ Natural granulated sugar - 2 TBSP, 28g
◯ Organic butter, barely softened - 4 TBSP, 57g
◯ Lemon zest - about 1 TBSP or more, the zest of a large lemon or 2 small
◯ Granulated sea salt - a pinch
◯ Lemon juice - 1 TBSP
◯ Demerara or a course grain sugar to top muffins
Details
Yield:
6 to 8 jumbo muffins
Total time:
55 minutes
Prep time:
15 minutes for making the batter, 5 minutes for making the streusel (while muffins are in the fridge), 5 minutes topping muffins with streusel.
Baking time:
27 minutes
Equipment:
jumbo muffin pan or regular cupcake pan, large muffin liners.
Steps
To make the muffins:
Preheat oven to 425°. Line a jumbo muffin or regular cupcake pan with muffin or cupcake liners. Make space in your fridge for the pan.
In a large bowl mix with a hand whisk the 3 cups of flour, the 1 cup of sugar, the 3 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and the teaspoon of fine sea salt.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix lightly the ½ cup of coconut milk with the ½ cup of sour cream.
Make a large well in the center of the dry ingredients. Dump the 2 eggs in the middle and beat them there, trying not to mix with the flour. Add the ½ cup of lemon curd and mix. Add the melted 5 tablespoons of butter and the ½ cup of vegetable oil and mix to blend these wet ingredients. Pour coconut milk-sour cream mix and mix once more.
Using a wooden spoon or silicon spatula, slowly start incorporating the flour into the wet ingredients. Add the cup of sliced almonds and mix just until the large streaks of flour are gone (batter should look well mixed and hydrated but not super smooth). Spoon about three scoops of batter on each lined muffin well, until batter reaches the top. Highly recommended to chill the raw muffins for 15 to 20 minutes to improve texture and rising. In the meantime, prepare the lemon streusel.
To make the lemon streusel:
In a small bowl mix the ¼ cup of flour with the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Add the 4 tablespoons of butter and then add the lemon zest. Using two table knives roughly cut the butter in chunks to mix with the flour and sugar. Add the pinch of salt and the tablespoon of lemon juice and keep cutting gently the butter into the flour until mixture looks lumpy.
Assembling the muffins:
Take muffins out of the fridge. Cover each muffin with the streusel. Sprinkle more almonds on top if desired. Sprinkle throughly with Demerara or a coarse grain sugar for a crunchier top.
Place them in the oven and bake for 7 minutes, then decrease oven temperature to 350° and bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean of batter after you inserted it through the middle.
Remove from oven and let them cool down completely. You can serve them with butter or more lemon curd for an extra lemony bite. They can be at room temperature for one day. After that, store in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat them in a counter top oven at 350° for a few minutes for an extra crunchy top or warm them in the microwave for a softer texture.
