Let my Lemon Curd Muffins brighten your mornings with soft, fluffy, and citrusy goodness! Sweet and tangy in every bite, this pastry is the perfect muffin for spring. Enjoy for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon treat! Who's grabbing one?
Bring these Lemon Curd Filled Muffins to Easter and Mother's Day for the ultimate brunch experience.
If you have a sous vide stick, you'll love how easy my Sous Vide Lemon Curd is! Just combine the ingredients in a bag, cook for an hour, and strain. No sous vide? No problem! I've also included a classic stovetop lemon curd recipe for you to try.
Lemon and Spring go together like peanut butter and jelly! For example, my Lemon Blueberry Cookies and Air Fryer Scones are popular this time of year.
For more delicious muffin recipes, try my Blueberry and Cottage Cheese Muffins, Strawberry White Chocolate Muffins, and Banana Blackberry Oatmeal Muffins.
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🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Soft and Sweet - The texture of these muffins is soft due to the addition of sour cream!
- Bright and Zesty - Every bite is filled with delicious lemon curd.
- Perfect for Brunch - These are the best lemon muffins to bring to Easter and Mother's Day Brunch.
🧾 Key Ingredients
Here is a visual overview of the Lemon Curd Muffin Ingredients. Scroll to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
Lemon Curd Ingredients
- Egg Yolk - I like to crack the 5 eggs into a bowl and scoop out the egg yolk with my hands to separate the yolks from the whites.
- Sugar - To make the curd sweet!
- Lemon - You'll use the lemon zest and lemon juice in this recipe.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter that is at room temperature.
Lemon Muffins
- Butter - Adds richness, flavor, and a tender crumb.
- Flour - We used all-purpose flour.
- Sugar
- Sour Cream - Try adding sour cream or Greek yogurt for a soft and tender muffin.
- Baking Powder - To give the muffins some lift!
- Eggs
- Lemon - Lemon juice and lemon zest are added for citrusy goodness!
- Vanilla - Commonly used in baking for flavor enhancement and its aroma.
- Salt - If you don't add salt, your pastries will taste bland.
Streusel Topping
- Butter - Melt butter in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Flour - Use all-purpose flour
- Sugar - Equal parts of white sugar to brown sugar are mixed.
- Vanilla - Flavor enhancer.
Lemon Glaze
- Powdered Sugar
- Milk
- Lemon Juice
See recipe card for quantities.
🙋♂️ Substitutions + Variations
- Dairy Free: Omit the sour cream, replace the milk with a high-fat alternative like coconut or macadamia nut milk, and swap the butter for a plant-based option like MIYOKO'S.
- Greek Yogurt or Cottage Cheese: Swap sour cream for Greek yogurt or cottage cheese for a high-protein option.
- Make blueberry lemon curd muffins by adding 1 cup of fresh blueberries to the muffin batter.
🔪 How to make Lemon Curd Muffins
Lemon Curd
For a foolproof way of making lemon curd, I suggest using my Sous Vide Lemon Curd Recipe. Stove-top lemon curd can be a little tricky, so I've included detailed step-by-step instructions for you.
Lemon curd is great on scones, Gluten-Free English Muffins, or as a filling in tartlets or cookies.
Step 1. Wash lemons under cold running water and pat dry. Using a microplane, remove the yellow zest from the lemons. Cut and squeeze the lemons. You should have ⅓ cup of juice.
Place a medium bowl with a mesh wire sieve near the stove. In a large bowl, whisk the yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
Step 2. Place the lemon-egg mixture over a saucepan of simmering water. Using a spatula, stirring often, cook the curd, until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. (An instant read thermometer will read 185°F/85°C.)
Step 3. Strain the mixture through the wire sieve into a medium bowl. Whisk in the room temperature butter, one cube at a time.
Step 4. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the lemon curd and poke a couple of holes to allow the heat to escape. Cool completely, transfer to a covered container, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Streusel Topping
Adding a streusel topping to the Lemon Curd Muffins delivers a delicious crunch that compliments the tangy curd perfectly!
Step 5. In a bowl, combine melted butter, flour, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mix with your hands or a pastry cutter until the crumble topping looks like image 5.
Lemon Muffins
This muffin is bursting with a lemony flavor! We use lemon zest and lemon juice for a bright and zesty taste.
Step 6. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Then add in the eggs and vanilla and whisk to fully incorporate.
Step 7. Stir in sour cream and lemon juice until combined.
Step 8. Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt).
Step 9. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet using a silicone spatula. Mix just until the flour is incorporated. If you overmix the muffins will become tough.
How to Fill and Bake Lemon Curd Muffins
Step 10. Place muffin liners into the muffin tin. Fill ¼ of the way up with the muffin batter and top with 1 tablespoon of lemon curd filling.
Step 11. Take the rest of the muffin batter and top each muffin, enclosing the lemon curd inside.
Step 12. Top each muffin with the streusel topping and lightly press it into the muffin batter.
Step 13. Place muffins in the center rack of the oven at 400°F/204°C. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F/190°C and continue baking for 15 minutes.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool completely.
Lemon Glaze
The lemon glaze gives the muffins a bakery-style look and even more of the lemony goodness!
Step 14. In a medium-sized bowl combine powdered sugar, milk, and lemon juice.
Step 15. Whisk until smooth and there are no more lumps. If your glaze is too thin you can add more powdered sugar.
Step 16. When muffins are completely cool, drizzle with the lemon glaze!
👨🏻🍳 Chef Tips
- To save time use store-bought lemon curd.
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt will give you a moist and tender muffin.
- Overworking the batter will yield a tough muffin.
- Cool the muffins completely before glazing them.
- Use room temperature ingredients for the best results.
🛠️ Kitchen Tools
📋 Recipe FAQ's
Yes! Using store-bought lemon curd will save you time when making this recipe. I will have to say my lemon curd recipe is a lot tastier than store-bought options.
If the muffins get too hot, they'll start absorbing the lemon curd. To prevent this, try reducing the baking time or lowering the oven temperature. Alternatively, use a piping bag with a tip to fill the muffins with extra lemon curd after baking for a perfect, gooey center.
Yes, use dairy-free high-fat options like macadamia milk or coconut milk and butter from a plant milk like MIYOKO'S.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
🍋 More Muffin Recipes
If you tried this Muffin Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Lemon Curd Muffins
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
- 2 large lemons
- 5 egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into ½-inch cubes
Streusel Crumb Topping
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2½ tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon Muffins
- 6 tablespoons butter room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 lemon zested
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
Lemon Curd
- Wash the lemon under cold running water and pat dry. Using a microplane, remove the yellow zest from the lemons. Cut and squeeze the lemons. You should have ⅓ cup of juice. Place a medium bowl with a mesh wire sieve near the stove. In a large bowl, whisk the yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Place over a saucepan of simmering water. Using a spatula, stirring often, cook the curd, until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. (An instant read thermometer will read 185°F/85°C.)
- Strain the mixture through the wire sieve into a medium bowl. Whisk in the room temperature butter, one cube at a time.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the lemon curd and poke a couple of holes, allowing the heat to escape. Cool completely, transfer to a covered container, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Streusel Crumb Topping
- Combine melted butter, flour, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Mix with your hands until the crumble topping looks like small pebbles.
Lemon Muffins
- Whisk together the melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Then add in the eggs and vanilla and whisk to fully incorporate.
- Stir in sour cream and lemon juice until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet using a silicone spatula. Mix just until the flour is incorporated.
- Place muffin liners into the muffin tin. Fill ¼ of the way up with the muffin batter and top with 1 tablespoon of lemon curd filling.
- Take the rest of the muffin batter and top each muffin, enclosing the lemon curd inside. Top each muffin with the streusel topping and lightly press it into the muffin batter.
- Place muffins in the center rack of the oven at 400°F/204°C. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F/190°C and continue baking for 15 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool completely.
Lemon Glaze
- Combine powdered sugar, milk, and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
- When muffins are completely cool, drizzle with the lemon glaze!
Notes
- To save time use store-bought lemon curd.
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt will give you a moist and tender muffin.
- Overworking the batter will yield a tough muffin.
- Cool the muffins completely before glazing them.
- Use room temperature ingredients for the best results.
Mike Cleavenger says
These lemon curd muffins are perfect for Easter, and Mother's Day brunches.