Gluten Free Lemon Curd Muffins
These irresistibly tangy Lemon Curd Muffins are a divine little treat. Served warm, every bite provides the perfect combination of muffin that’s oozing with a deliciously bright yellow curd. The recipe is gluten free, and with a few substitutions can also be made dairy free and nut free too.
In This Article
Nutritional Benefits
Enjoying a treat doesn’t mean we need to skip on providing ourselves with plenty of nourishment. And these muffins deliver the goods! They’re made with brown rice flour, which is one of many whole grain flours full of added nutrients. Compared to refined white grains, whole grains offer a greater concentration of things like vitamins, healthy fats, antioxidants and dietary fibre (1). The outer husk and bran retained in the processing of brown rice means it contains higher amounts of minerals like calcium, zinc and iron too (2).
Ingredients – What You’ll Need To Make This Recipe
A couple of ingredients here may be harder to find at your local supermarket. This includes the brown rice flour, arrowroot, and rapadura sugar. Many do stock them, but perhaps not all will. If this is the case, your local health-food store will definitely have them.
- Brown rice flour – Has a mildly nutty flavour and is a great base for gluten free baked goods.
- Arrowroot – This is essential in gluten free baking, as it helps bind all the ingredients together. It also produces a lighter and fluffier result, which is needed as many gluten free flours are very dense if used alone.
- Rapadura sugar – an unbleached and unrefined cane sugar that retains many of its natural vitamins and minerals.
- Desiccated coconut – Adds texture and flavour.
- Baking powder + baking soda – Produce lift to help the muffins rise, enhance browning, and help to neutralise the acidity in the lemon juice.
- Greek Yoghurt – adding a little extra fat and a lot of moisture. It’s also an acidic ingredient that interacts with the baking soda, which helps the muffins rise.
- Eggs – Another ingredient that works to make these muffins lighter in taste and texture.
- Lemon juice + lemon zest – Adding the signature flavour plus moisture. The lemon juice is also an acidic ingredient that interacts with the baking soda to help create lift.
- Macadamia oil – A neutral tasting oil that keeps the muffins moist and tender.
- Vanilla essence – Enhances the flavour of other ingredients.
- Lemon curd – Adding lots of gooey lemon flavour to the muffin and can double as a frosting too. My advice is not to skip this.
See the recipe card below for substitutions that will make these muffins dairy free or nut free if required. There is also an option to make the lemon curd dairy free too.
How To Make These Lemon Curd Muffins
I had several attempts at making these before arriving at a recipe I loved. It was inspired by the book Wholefood Baking by Jude Blereau, in addition to the many of her classes I’ve attended. When making these, I found that mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately before finally combining them ensures all the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the muffins. And be sure to use eggs at room temperature. They blend more evenly into the batter and help the muffins rise easily.
- Preheat the oven to 180℃ / 350℉
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, mix with a whisk to combine, then set aside.
- Next combine all the wet ingredients into another bowl. Whisk together until well combined.
- Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and gently stir until it all comes together. Set aside while you prepare your muffin tray.
- Line a muffin tin with paper baking cups. Fill each cup ⅓ of the way, dollop 1 Tablespoon of lemon curd on top, then top with more muffin mix. Spread the remaining mix out evenly between the baking cups so you have 10 muffins roughly the same size.
- Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Remove the muffin tin from the oven and leave to sit for 5-10 minutes. Add another big dollop of lemon curd on top of each muffin and serve.
These muffins are best served warm. The curd inside will be nice and gooey, which is a great combination with the warm crumb of the muffin. They are the perfect afternoon treat with a cuppa on a cold autumn or winter’s day.
Substitutions And Variations
The rapadura sugar gives these muffins a lovely hint of caramel flavour. However, if needed, replace it 1:1 with any sugar you have on hand. The same is true for the arrowroot, which can be replaced by cornstarch 1:1.
Use coconut yoghurt in place of the Greek yoghurt to make these muffins dairy free. It does slightly change the flavour profile but it’s equally delicious.
If you need a nut free muffin – use butter or coconut oil in place of the macadamia oil. If using one of these and they’re in a solid form you’ll need to melt whichever you choose and let it cool slightly.
Note too – that this recipe assumes that you have already made the Lemon Curd or have some in the fridge. A homemade one is extra delicious and takes little time so give it a go!
Tips For Success With This Recipe
Those of you familiar with gluten free baking will know it’s a difficult beast. You don’t have the luxury of the gluten doing a lot of the work for you. As such, the ingredients chosen for a gluten free recipe all play an important role.
While I’ve given substitutions if needed for the nuts and dairy, a change in flour is not something I will suggest. I’ve trialled several others in the process of making these lemon curd muffins and brown rice flour combined with a little arrowroot produced the best results every time.
Storing/Freezing/Make Ahead
These muffins are best enjoyed fresh, though leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for several days.
To freeze, wrap each muffin in cling/plastic wrap separately and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To defrost, preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C. Place the muffins on a baking sheet and heat for 10-15 minutes, or until completely warmed through.
FAQ
You can, but it gives these muffins that extra layer of deliciousness that is missed when it’s left out. It also makes the muffins more moist in addition to adding another texture. Leave it out if you choose to but know you’re not getting the best this recipe has to offer.
If you need to get your eggs to room temperature fast – Fill a small bowl with warm water, then carefully place the eggs in. Leave them to sit for 5 – 10 minutes. If you do this before starting the recipe, by the time you’ve measured out all the ingredients – the eggs will be ready to use.
Want More Dessert Ideas? Take A Look At These!
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Gluten Free Lemon Curd Muffins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1.5 cups brown rice flour (8.5oz/240g)
- ¼ cup arrowroot (see note 1) (1oz/30g)
- ⅔ cup rapadura sugar (see note 2) (4oz/110g)
- ¼ cup desiccated coconut (1oz/30g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
Wet Ingredients
- 3.5 fl oz lemon juice (100ml/6 Tbsp + 2 tsp)
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- ⅔ cup Greek yoghurt (see note 3) (5oz/50g)
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 fl oz macadamia oil (see note 4) (90ml / 6 Tbsp)
Add Ins
- 1 batch lemon curd for filling and topping (see note 5)
- Any added sprinkles for the top you like. Freeze dried strawberries or hemp seeds are great. (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/180℃.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. This is the brown rice flour, arrowroot, desiccated coconut, rapadura sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir it all together to ensure it's well-combined then set aside.
- Combine all the wet ingredients into another bowl. This is the lemon juice, lemon zest, yoghurt, eggs, vanilla extract, and macadamia oil. Whisk together until well combined.
- Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and gently stir until the mix comes together. Set aside while you prepare your tray.
- Line a muffin tin with paper baking cups. Fill each cup ⅓ of the way with muffin mix, dollop 1 Tablespoon of lemon curd on top, then top with more muffin mix. Spread the mix out evenly between the baking cups so you have 10 muffins of roughly the same size.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and leave them to sit in the tin for 5-10 minutes. Add another big dollop of lemon curd on top then serve. These are best served warm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Gabby Campbell
Gabby is a degree qualified Naturopath/Nutritionist (BHSc Nat) with a love of all whole foods. She started her Naturopathic career in clinical practice before making the move to recipe development and online education – a result of wanting to combat the misinformation that abounds on the internet about food and health. Whole Natural Kitchen aims to transform the way you think about healthy eating by helping you embrace an abundance of nutritious foods while leaving the health fads behind. MORE ABOUT GABBY