Whenever we are in the midst of the cold winters here in the Great White North, I always seem to gravitate to my recipes that take me back to Summer. And these muffins are no exception. These vegan lemon drizzle muffins will wake up your taste buds with just the right amount of citrus to remind you of warmer days.
Why You Should Make These
If you’re a fan of lemon drizzle cake, you will LOVE these. Using my favourite vegan substitutes such as apple sauce, plant-based milk, and oil, they are light and fluffy and perfectly easy to make. Kids and grown-ups will enjoy these tasty treats and I personally adore eating them with a nice cup of tea in the afternoon. Just 30 minutes from prep to plate.
Ingredients and substitutions
To ensure that this recipe is allergen-friendly, I am using a couple of substitutions in place of egg and butter. There are a few options you can use and if you are not vegan or have other dietary requirements, keep reading. Also check out my FAQ section for more questions.
Dry Ingredients
Main ingredients: I’m using all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. A lot of muffin recipes use self-raising flour which is often hard to find in Canada. I have added extra baking powder and salt to all-purpose flour to give the muffins that extra rise. Remember that baking powder adds PUFF to a recipe which is exactly what we want here. I haven’t tried this with gluten-free flour but would recommend using a 1-to-1 GF flour substitute if you want to experiment.
Sugar: I’m using regular white sugar. In the UK this is also known as caster sugar. If your sugar is coarse, give it a quick blitz in a food processor to grind it down a bit. No food processor? No problem. A coarser sugar will slightly affect the lightness of the muffins but they’ll still taste great. You can also substitute with coconut sugar.
Wet Ingredients
Apple sauce: To keep the muffins nice and moist, I am using 100g of apple sauce. This is a great egg substitute in muffins as it adds sweetness and extra moisture without bulking them out too much. You could also use two flax eggs if you prefer.
Plant-Based Milk: Dairy milk is often used in muffins to add richness and moisture. My preference is to use almond milk as I like the creaminess that it adds to my batter. I also find that it reacts very similarly to dairy milk. If you prefer to use nut-free milk, you can go ahead and substitute it with your preferred non-dairy alternative (150 ml).
Canola oil: The oil is used to add fat to the muffins. You can substitute with melted plant-based butter (50 ml) or even use coconut oil. Just bear in mind that coconut oil will slightly change the flavour profile.
Flavourings
Lemon: We are using as much of the lemon as we can in this recipe to ensure we get the full punch of flavour. Make sure that you retain half of the juice to make the drizzle once the muffins are baked.
How to Make Lemon Drizzle Muffins
Did I mention how easy these are to make? We’re using an all-in-method to make the batter for the lemon drizzle muffins and baking can’t get much easier than that! Combine all of the batter ingredients in a bowl then mix everything together with a hand mixer. Once everything is incorporated, give it a few last turns with a spatula. This muffin batter is thick so I love using my trusty ice cream scoop to evenly fill my muffin cases without getting in a huge mess. Once they are baked, we’ll be adding the drizzle which gives them that extra final zing.
Common Questions
This recipe makes 6 large muffins. No muffin cases? Feel free to use cupcake cases instead. You should end up with 9-10 cupcakes.
My preferred plant-based milk is almond milk but you can substitute it with any plant-based milk such as oat or soy milk if you are nut-free. Just use the same amount.
No, you can store these in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.
If you wish to omit the oil, use 50 ml of melted butter or melted coconut oil to add fat to the muffins.
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Vegan Lemon Drizzle Muffins
Ingredients
For the muffins
- 250 grams All Purpose Flour (just over 2 US cups)
- 100 grams White Sugar (1/2 US cup)
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- 50 mililitres Canola Oil
- 150 mililitres Plant Based Milk (see recipe notes)
- 100 mililitres Apple Sauce
- 1 Lemon (zest and ½ juice)
For the drizzle
- ½ Lemon Juice (reserved from the batter mix)
- 50 grams Icing Sugar (use more for a thicker drizzle)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven at 350°F (180°C) and line muffin pan with 6 muffin cases.
- Zest the lemon.
- Combine all of the muffin ingredients in a bowl and mix until fully incorporated.
- Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin cases evenly.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 25-30 minutes, until they start to turn a light golden colour.
- Remove pan from the oven and rest on a cooling rack.
- Combine the remaining half of the lemon juice with icing sugar to make the drizzle. Add more icing sugar for a thicker glaze.
- Using a spoon, drizzle over the warm muffins.
- Allow to cool then enjoy!
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes 6 large muffins. No muffin cases? Feel free to use cupcake cases instead. You should end up with 9-10 cupcakes.
- My preferred plant-based milk is almond milk but you can substitute it with any plant-based milk such as oat or soy milk if you are nut-free. Just use the same amount.
- If you wish to omit the oil, use 50 ml melted butter to add fat to the muffins.
- Best enjoyed on the day of baking. If you wish to store them, place them in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for 2 days.
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