Hairy Bikers Lemon and Blueberry Muffins

Hairy Bikers lemon and blueberry muffins are soft yoghurt muffins with lemon zest and juicy blueberries, each topped with a teaspoon of lemon curd. While the British Classics batch makes 12, each one comes to roughly 220 calories by my count, baked in about 35 minutes.

Blueberries and zingy lemons make “a flavour combo that we just can’t get enough of”, as they put it in British Classics. So the lemon turns up twice, with zest through the batter and curd on every top.

The order is what to watch here, because the blueberries and zest are stirred into the dry flour before any liquid goes in. Then the wet mix is folded through with a large metal spoon, stopping as soon as it’s very lightly combined.

Hairy Bikers Lemon and Blueberry Muffins

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Courses:Snack

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 15 minutesCook time: 20 minutesRest time: minutesTotal time: 35 minutesServings:12 servingsCalories:220 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

Melted butter, natural yoghurt and beaten eggs are folded lightly into self-raising flour with golden caster sugar, lemon zest and blueberries. Then every case gets a spoonful of lemon curd and a sugary sprinkle before a hot 20-minute bake.

Ingredients

For the muffins

• 100g butter
• 250g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 100g blueberries
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 eggs
• 150ml natural yoghurt (low-fat is fine)
• 2 tbsp milk

For the tops

• 12 tsp lemon curd (4 tbsp)
• 2 tsp golden caster sugar

Instructions

1. Get ready: Line a 12-hole deep muffin tin with paper cases, then heat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6.
2. Melt the butter: Melt the butter in a small pan over a low heat, then set it aside to cool for a few minutes.
3. Mix the dry: Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl, then stir in the 100g of sugar, the blueberries and the zest. And make a well in the centre.
4. Mix the wet: Beat the eggs in a bowl with a large whisk until smooth. Then beat in the yoghurt, milk and melted butter until well combined.
5. Fold it together: Stir the wet mix into the flour with a large metal spoon until only very lightly combined, and don’t overwork it.
6. Top with curd: Divide the batter between the cases, then put a teaspoon of lemon curd on top of each one. And sprinkle over the remaining 2 tsp of sugar.
7. Bake: Bake for 20 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. Then serve them warm or cool them on a wire rack, but don’t bite in straight away, because the curd gets very hot.

FAQs

Does the lemon curd go on top or in the middle?

On top, because the recipe has you spoon a teaspoon onto each filled case just before the sugar goes on. So nothing is hidden inside, and the curd bakes right on the surface.

That makes these the Hairy Bikers lemon curd muffins too, since they’re the only curd-topped muffins I could find in their books. And the same recipe is on BBC Food, linked to their Best of British series, with low-fat natural yoghurt.

Can I make my own lemon curd?

Yes, and the same recipe appears in their Brilliant Bakes and Chicken & Egg books. And you whisk 4 eggs and 4 yolks with 200g caster sugar, the juice of 6 lemons, the zest of 3 and 150g unsalted butter.

Then it’s stirred over barely simmering water for 5 minutes until the butter melts, and whisked for 10 to 12 more until it’s like custard. And it thickens as it cools in the jars, so I’d use it cold from the fridge here. Then the rest keeps for 2 weeks, which is plenty of time to spread it on their fruit scones.

Is there a lighter version?

Their skinny lemon cupcakes in The Hairy Dieters are built on almost the same base of eggs, yoghurt, milk, lemon zest and blueberries. But they swap the butter for 50ml of sunflower oil and the curd for a drizzly lemon icing, at 167 calories each.

So that’s the one to bake if you’re counting, while these are the treat. Or if the sharp lemon is what you love most, their lemon meringue pie is a much bigger lemon hit.

Can I make a smaller batch?

Yes, and since the recipe uses 2 eggs, it halves neatly to 6 muffins, which is my own scaling. So use 50g butter, 125g flour, ½ tsp bicarb, 50g sugar, 50g blueberries, 1 egg, 75ml yoghurt, 1 tbsp milk and 6 tsp curd. Then add the zest of half a lemon and bake for the same 20 minutes, checking they’re risen and golden.

For just two, their lemon and blueberry mug cakes in Hairy Dieters Make It Easy microwave in about 75 seconds, at 230 calories each. So they land at roughly the same calories as one of these muffins, but they’re ready in minutes. And in British Classics they say the success of their microwave mug cakes led them to develop this full-fat version.

How long do lemon and blueberry muffins keep?

The recipe gives no storage advice, so this is my own view: they’re best and most moist on the day, once the curd has cooled. Then keep any leftovers in a single layer in an airtight tin, so the sticky tops don’t touch, and eat them within 2 days. And since freezing isn’t covered either, I’d stick to the tin rather than guess.

If you’d rather skip the curd altogether, their blueberry muffins from Brilliant Bakes use skyr, honey and vanilla instead.