lemon poppyseed muffins with honey ricotta frosting
This is such a fun spin on a classic muffin flavor. I had a sweet pastry when I was visiting Italy recently that had a lemon and ricotta combination and it was so divine. I immediately wanted to use the combination for something at home! From that, these lemon poppyseed muffins with honey ricotta frosting were born!
These would be such a great thing to have at a baby shower (you could use a little food coloring to dye the ricotta frosting pink or blue!), a holiday morning brunch, or a spring time gal’s gathering. The opportunities with these muffins are endless.
These are the perfect combination of citrusy freshness, savory frosting, and sweet muffins. Like most baking recipes, you’ll start by mixing your dry ingredients in one bowl, and then your sugars and wet ingredients in the other before combining them to make the batter. Your batter will be on the thicker side for these muffins and will bake best if the batter is refrigerated for 20-30 minutes before baking.
3 tips and tricks for perfecting these lemon poppyseed muffins
- Really incorporate your lemon zest and sugar. This will help infuse the lemon zest oil into the sugars and enhance the flavors. Get in there with your fingers and really mix these two ingredients together.
- Whip your frosting. You got heavy whipping cream for a reason. Use your hand mixer and set it to medium and mix until those ingredients get nice and whipped. It should be light and fluffy after about 3-5 minutes. Immediately set in the fridge to help frosting set and thicken up.
- The Greek yogurt addition. You probably are wondering why these have Greek yogurt in them. Using whole fat yogurt is a great way to keep your muffins moist and gives your baked good a tender texture.
For saving and storing
If you’re serving these muffins at a brunch party or a gathering where a majority will be eaten at that time, go ahead and frost all of them. If you’re only planning on eating a few of them, or one at a time, keep your frosting in a Tupperware in the fridge and frost before eating your muffin! Drizzle with a bit more honey and zest with lemon and it should taste delicious! Your muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
This is a fairly easy recipe that tastes gourmet. With a couple simple up-leveled additions, a go-to recipe as quickly become something that tastes like it took hours.
As always, let me know if you make these! Enjoy!
Lemon Poppyseed Muffins with Honey Ricotta Frosting
Equipment
- 1 muffin tin pan (12 muffins)
Ingredients
FOR THE MUFFINS
- 2 1/4 cup flour 311g
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 cup sugar 200g
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 cup greek yogurt 246g
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1/2 stick, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla
FOR THE FROSTING
- 1 16- oz carton whole milk ricotta
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3-4 tbsp honey start with 3 and add 1 more if you want it sweeter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. Line your muffin tin with liners.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter on low (don’t boil it). Once melted, remove from heat and let cool for until use.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds and set aside.
- In another bowl, add your sugar and your lemon zest. Using your hands, mix this together to incorporate it – the oils from the lemon zest will help flavor your sugar. Add in your eggs, greek yogurt, whole milk, melted butter, vanilla, and juice from the lemons. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour your wet mixture in with your flour mixture and fold with a spatula until fully mixed. Place in the fridge while you make your frosting.
- In a medium sized bowl, add in your ricotta cheese, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and honey. Using your hand mixer, mix on medium for 5 3-5 minutes until the whipping cream is whipped. It should be light and fluffy! Taste test for sweetness and add more honey if you want it sweeter (keeping in mind your muffins will be sweet also). Place in the fridge.
- Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop your muffin batter into the muffin tins. Try to make them all even! The muffin tins should be about 3/4 of the way full. Place in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. I baked mine for 18 but every oven is different so start with 15 and add more time as needed. You can tell if they’re done but inserting a toothpick and if it comes out clean they’re done.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Set on a cooling rack for another 15. Grab your ricotta frosting and frost with a small butter knife or a piper! Either will work.
- Drizzle with a little more honey and zest a little lemon on top! Enjoy!
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