Bright, fluffy lemon poppy seed muffins decadently contrasted with dark chocolate ganache. Vegan, gluten-free, snack or dessert approved!
SPONSORED BY HU
I have a lot of favorite flavors of muffin – blueberry, chocolate chip, lemon poppy seed, pumpkin spice, anything with streusel, double chocolate zucchini oatmeal chip – that I have given up trying to rank them. So they are all my first place, top top, numero uno favorite. And if that doesn’t make sense to you, I don’t think you realize just how passionate I am about muffins.
But I have discovered one simple little way to elevate a muffin above the rest, and that way is: CHOCOLATE GANACHE.
Now the last thing I want you to be thinking right now is that the chocolate ganache is the only thing exquisite happening here. Trust me when I say I extensively tested this muffin recipe itself to bring you what is undoubtedly the best lemon poppy seed recipe I’ve ever shared. So the muffins alone, FLAWLESS.
But when you take a moist, perfectly tender and bouncy, citrusy sweet LPSM (lemon poppy seed muffin), and top that little bundle of all things happy and good with chocolate ganache…it’s magic, friends. That’s all I can say. You have to experience it.
The muffins. Now I don’t want you to scroll down there and get discouraged thinking these muffins are high maintenance. Yes we do have a few different flours in the mix, but I promise (PROMISE.) it’s worth it. This combo will deliver the best fluffy, un-gummy, vegan/gf texture possible.
The tapioca starch can be substituted with arrowroot or cornstarch. Or, if you must, omitted. But you will have a slightly more crumbly muffin in that case.
Sure the poppy seeds can be skipped if you don’t have them. And yes honey or agave works instead of maple syrup. And why not get crazy and try out a batch with orange or grapefruit. I support any and all muffin experimentation. But even more so I support topping these babies with a generous and decadent spoonful of…
The ganache. This really couldn’t be any easier or more delicious! I’ve made dairy-free ganache before with canned coconut milk and chocolate chips, but turns out good ol’ almond from the carton works just as well.
Since there are only two ingredients involved, the quality of your chocolate matters. If you’ve been here for even half a second you know about my undying love for Hu chocolate, so of course that is what I used here. Their Gems to be specific, but you could melt down a bar too.
This ganache will be thin and drizzle-able right after you make it, so if that’s the consistency you’re going for workfast. If you let it cool for a while or chill briefly, it will thicken to more of a spread-able frosting consistency. Both are obviously ridiculously delicious.
If you’ve never tried the combination of dark chocolate and citrus, there is no better moment than right here, right, now, with THESE muffins.
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Bright, fluffy lemon poppy seed muffins decadently contrasted with dark chocolate ganache. Vegan, gluten-free, snack or dessert approved!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (180g) nondairy yogurt (or applesauce)
- 1/2 cup (120g) lemon juice
- 1/3 cup (105g) maple syrup
- 1/3 cup (50g) coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup (120g) almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups (210) oat flour
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup (30g) tapioca flour (optional)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 3 tbsp (20g) poppy seeds
Glaze
- 1 cup (180g) Hu Gems
- 1/2 cup (120g) almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Whisk together the yogurt/applesauce, lemon juice, maple syrup, coconut sugar, almond milk, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients, and whisk/stir till no lumps remain.
- Fold in the poppy seeds.
- Scoop into a lined muffin pan, filling each 3/4 of the way (makes 12).
- Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350ºF.
- Cool completely before glazing.
- For the glaze, melt the Gems with the almond milk. Stir until smooth.
- Top the cooled muffins. Chill briefly to set.
- Enjoy! Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week, or you can freeze the un-glazed muffins for longer storage.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 346
- Sugar: 17g
- Sodium: 234mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Carbohydrates: 37g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 7g
Keywords: gluten free, citrus, baking, dessert, ganache, egg free, dairy free, easy, one bowl, snack
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This recipe looks wonderful!!! But I am wondering… Are there any alternatives to almond flour, not only in this recipe, but in general?
Other nut flours will work, but any grain-based flour is much drier and doesn’t have the same natural oils as almond flour so they really don’t substitute super well.
Wow, these look fantastic! I need to try these for my family!!!
I am obsessed with how these turned out, hope you do Tori 🙂
How much almond milk do you add to the melted chocolate for the glaze?
I’m sorry, I see it
Sorry I didn’t see this fast enough, but glad you figured it out 🙂 Enjoy!
What perfect timing – I just ordered my first bag of Hu Gems from Thrive and silky ganache is obviously the PERFECT recipe for them. I has taken time to warm up to the idea of citrus and chocolate but when we’re talking high quality dark chocolate, I have found that it makes just about anything taste extra amazing =)
Omg I am SOOOOOOO excited for you to finally try them!! Love that Thrive has them now too🤗 Can’t wait to hear what you think of Gems just by themselves, and (if you manage to not eat the whole bag straight up 😆😂) the muffins!
Excellent recipe, the taste is fabulous – Thank you Natalie. The lemon flavor was not overwhelming and just right. I’ve never been interested in lemon poppyseed muffins and so happy I step out of my comfort zone for these.
Did half the muffins with chocolate ganache and the other half I mixed powdered sugar and lemon juice then pored over when muffins were still hot.
★★★★★
I am so happy you gave them a shot! Not such a crazy flavor once you try them, the poppy seeds are barely detectable. Love the idea a warm glaze too, that sounds absolutely AMAZING. Appreciate the feedback AJ!
Hi. Just tried your chocolate muffins!! Wonderful. For the ganache here, Would Lily’s chocolate work?
I’ve never worked with Lily’s since I personally don’t do well with stevia, but from what I’ve seen it works pretty similar to regular dark chocolate so should be fine!
Cannot wait to try! Just wondering also if this will work as a cake?
Sure! I don’t recommend it as a loaf cake but it would work fine in a 8-9″ square or round cake pan 🙂 I’d recommend baking for 30-35 minutes, or toothpick test it!
Do you think I could add blueberries to the batter? I’m excited to try these! Never had a gf lemon poppyseed muffin.
Absolutely, I love that idea! They may need to bake a little longer since the berries release moisture while it bakes, lean more towards 30-35 minutes. Let me know how it goes, I love these so hope you do too 🙂
They definitely took 5 minutes longer so thanks for that tip, but they were absolutely delicious!! I subbed half oat flour because I ran out of almond flour but otherwise followed exactly and am so glad I did. Will make again for sure!
★★★★★
I am so happy they worked! Sounds delicious and appreciate your feedback too 🙂 Happy Monday!
Can I substitute oat flour for more almond flour or coconut flour?
Neither will work in place of the oat perfectly, but maybe try this recipe instead it already just uses almond flour: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/lemon-poppyseed-muffins/