These Vegan Lemon Muffins are OMG-level good! With fluffy, lemon-scented insides, buttery, crumbly, streusel topping, and a drizzle of zippy, sweet lemon glaze to take them over the top. You're going to love every last crumb!
Preheat oven to 425°F (218 °C) with a shelf ready in the middle and grease or line a 12 hole muffin pan. The temp is not a mistake. We want the oven that high.
For the streusel
First make the streusel - To a medium bowl add the cooled melted butter, brown sugar and white/cane sugar. Stir to combine. Add the flour to the butter mixture and using a fork (do not use a spoon or spatula), gently toss everything together to form a mix of sandy, small, medium and large clumps, making sure to incorporate all of the dry flour. Put it in the fridge while you make the muffin batter.
For the muffins
To a large bowl add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine.
To another bowl, add the melted vegan butter, sugar, milk, lemon zest and juice. Stir well to combine.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and gently fold together until you can't see any dry flour. Do not over-mix. Once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together it is important to work as fast as you can. The quicker you are the more the muffins will rise.
Fill the muffin wells to the top with the batter. All the way to the top. You should get 11 or 12 muffins depending on your pan. Don't worry, they won't overflow because of my high temperature trick ;O)
Remove the streusel from the fridge and sprinkle a really generous amount on the top of each muffin. Press it in just a little with your fingers then get the muffins straight in the oven. Don't leave them hanging around.
Bake for 5 mins then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175 °C) and bake for about another 16 to 17 minutes or until the muffins look golden, well risen and a skewer, sharp knife or toothpick inserted into the middle of one comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and leave for 10 minutes in the pan before gently transferring to a wire rack.
For the glaze
Once the muffins are cool, put the powdered sugar in a small bowl. Very gradually add the lemon juice a small drop at a time, mixing well as you go to work out lumps, until a thick, but drizzle-able glaze is formed. You will not need nearly as much lemon juice as you think you will. The amount is very, very small. No more than 4 tablespoons. I usually use about 3 to 3½ tablespoons. That's why it's important to add the juice very gradually. If you do accidentally add a little too much juice, add a few more tablespoons of powdered sugar to thicken it up again.
Using a teaspoon, drizzle the glaze all over the top of the muffins allowing some to drip down the sides. The more rustic the better!
Video
Notes
Success tips
For the best results weigh the ingredients with a digital scale. Cups are not an accurate way to measure, especially when baking and you won't get the best results if you use them.
Be sure to use the lemon juice and zest. Zest for great lemon flavour, juice for the necessary acid to get a great rise.
Once you mix the wet ingredients with the dry you need to move as fast as you can to get the streusel top sprinkled over and the muffins in the oven. This is so that you can take full advantage of the chemical reaction between the baking soda and the lemon juice. The quicker you are the bigger your muffin tops will be ;O)
If you don't have a really, really great muffin pan that you can totally trust, use good-quality muffin liners.
My tip for perfect muffin tops? They need an initial, very hot blast in the oven. This creates steam that will raise those muffin tops right up from the inside out. Then you need to turn them down after 5 minutes so that the insides cook through more gently. That’s my temperature trick and it really works so don’t skip it!
Do you know how most recipes and “muffin experts,” say to only fill the wells two-thirds or three-quarters full? Well, we are breaking all the rules and are going to fill them all the way to the top. This helps with the aforementioned muffin tops. And don't worry, the batter won't overflow because of the initial high temperature.
Do not over-mix the batter. Just mix until you can’t see any dry flour. Resist the urge to stir or beat the batter until it is smooth and lump-free. Some small lumps are fine.
Mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately as instructed, before adding them all together helps avoid accidentally over-mixing.
Go easy on the lemon juice when making the glaze. You barely need any to create a thick, drippy glaze.
How can you tell when muffins are cooked properly? Use the toothpick (or skewer or sharp knife) test. Stick one in the centre of a muffin and if it comes out clean then they are done.
To make oil-freeTo make this lemon muffin recipe oil-free you will need to omit the streusel and use cashew butter instead of vegan butter for the muffin batter. Use the same quantity and blend it up into the milk before proceeding with the recipe. If it's not really drippy/runny nut butter, you will need to add an extra 2 tablespoons of milk. Cashew butter has a neutral buttery flavour and will provide the necessary fat to create a nice spongy, good textured muffin. Note that they will not be quite as light and fluffy as they would if you use vegan butter.
To store
Once completely cool, store in an airtight container with some paper towels underneath and placed gently on top. They will be ok for a couple of days.
To freeze
Muffins freeze extremely well for up to 3 months. Pop them into a freezer bag or a freezer-safe container and place them carefully in the freezer. When you want them, remove them from the freezer and let them defrost for a couple of hours at room temperature.
To refresh old muffins
You can refresh older lemon muffins to fresh from the oven status very easily. Simply place on a baking tray in the oven at 350°F (175 °C) for about 7 minutes. They will come out good as new!