Easy Raspberry Muffins Recipe (fresh or frozen berries)
This delicious raspberry muffin recipe will rise, crack, and bake to a golden brown. They're moist and soft, with a subtle lemon flavor mixed with bursting raspberries that can be fresh or frozen. They are ready in 45 minutes and freeze wonderfully.
Servings 12 regular muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour cake flour also works
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar dark also works; the color will be deeper
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- ¾ cup milk at room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil I use sunflower oil
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and warm, not hot
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen raspberries unthawed, straight from the freezer
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
- Line 12 regular muffin tins with paper liners or butter/spray the pans. The yield can vary depending on the size of the berries.
- In a large bowl, mix the sifted flour mixture: 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Add ½ cup white granulated sugar and ½ cup packed light brown sugar and mix to combine. You can sift them before in a separate bowl or have the ingredients measured and sift them directly over the butter mixture when prompted (my choice).
- In a medium bowl, whisk 2 eggs, ¾ cup milk, ¼ cup vegetable oil, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and lukewarm (not hot), and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Do not beat but stir well until no streaks of egg whites remain.
- Add 1 teaspoon lemon zest.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir with a spatula or hand whisk until you barely have streaks of flour; do not overmix. It will be lumpy and not completely integrated, and that is fine.
- Fold in 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen raspberries and stir lightly. Be careful not to mash them. Use a silicone or rubber spatula.
- Divide evenly among the muffin cups or muffin liners, filling no more than ¾ of their capacity to avoid overflowing during baking.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top is cracked, golden brown, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don't overbake.
- Let cool on a wire rack and eat warm or let cool down completely, plain, with a dab of butter, and a light drizzle of maple syrup or honey.
- They are best eaten the day they are made, but you can keep them for a day at room temperature, covered or wrapped. Store leftovers, covered in plastic wrap or in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for a few days or frozen for a month.
Video
Notes
Baking time: remember that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer that is placed inside the oven to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Raspberries: fresh berries are always my first choice, but these homemade muffins can be made year-round with frozen raspberries. Add them to the batter straight from the freezer; no need to thaw them.
Muffin tin: I like to use muffin liners because they're easier to clean afterward, they keep the muffins moist, and they're great if you want to transport them. But you can simply butter or use baking spray for the muffin pan.
Filling the pan: Make sure you distribute berries in all of the muffin cups. I like to use an ice cream scoop to fill them with the same amount of batter. Don't go over ¾ of their capacity.
Extra lemon flavor: Use a teaspoon or two of lemon juice in the batter in addition to the lemon zest.
Variations: Use orange zest that goes very well with raspberries, and add a pinch of ground cinnamon for a different flavor. Substitute blueberries for the raspberries.
Crunchier topping: you can add a sprinkling of sugar (half a teaspoon) on the top of the muffins before baking. Use regular, brown sugar, or even turbinado sugar (also called raw sugar,) which is coarse sugar and doesn't melt much.
