Light and fluffy blackberry lemon poppy seed muffins are on a whole new level! Greek yogurt or sour cream keeps them extra moist, creamed butter creates a wonderfully soft texture, and fresh blackberries add a burst of fresh flavor. Drizzle each with sweet, tart lemon icing for a finishing touch.
Today’s blackberry lemon poppy seed muffins are fruity and summery, featuring the season’s freshest berries. I love any and all lemon poppy seed muffins (try my orange lemon poppy seed muffins next), but when you introduce berries—it’s a whole new level of awesome. The sweet blackberries cut the tartness of the lemon muffin and add a new texture to each bite. Let’s dive in!
These Blackberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins Are:
- Like my favorite lemon poppy seed muffins, with a burst of berry flavor
- Light and tender
- Like soft and fluffy lemon cake
- Made with basic ingredients
- Baked at an initial high temperature for tall muffin tops
- Studded with blackberries
- Drizzled with lemon icing
- Perfect for summer mornings, when fresh blackberries are in season
Best Ingredients to Use
These blackberry lemon poppy seed muffins are a variation of my master muffin recipe, which we also use as the base for my favorite blueberry muffins. We’ll use pretty much the same ingredients for today’s batter! Here are all of the ingredients you need and why each is important:
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the base of these muffins.
- Poppy Seeds: Can’t have poppy seed muffins without them! Same goes for lemon poppy seed bread and glazed orange poppy seed bars.
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder: Both leaveners help the muffins rise.
- Salt & Vanilla Extract: Salt and pure vanilla extract add flavor. Try using homemade vanilla extract.
- Butter: We use creamed unsalted butter for a lighter texture. My orange lemon poppy seed muffins are made with melted butter for a denser, heartier texture.
- Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the muffins, balancing out the tart lemon. Brown sugar adds a kiss of flavor, plus extra moisture.
- Eggs: 2 eggs bind everything together.
- Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt: Adds unbeatable moisture.
- Milk: Milk adds moisture. I usually use unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Any milk, dairy or nondairy, works.
- Lemon Juice & Lemon Zest: Both add tartness and lots of lemon flavor.
- Blackberries: Fresh blackberries are best, but frozen blackberries work, too. If using frozen, do now thaw before using. You can use blueberries instead, or try raspberries or chopped strawberries. A mixed berry combination would be a delicious option! Keep berries to a total of 1 and 1/2 cups.
Baker’s Tip: It’s important to fill your 12-count muffin pan (or cupcake liners) all the way to the top. You’ll have a lot of batter in each cup. Because we bake the muffins at an initial high temperature for 5 minutes, the muffins won’t overflow. In fact, this is what creates tall muffin tops! The high heat raises the muffin tops up, then you’ll reduce the oven temperature for the remaining time which will cook the muffins inside. Not only does this trick create beautifully sky-high muffin tops, it also makes the muffins extra fluffy inside because the tops don’t stay flat.
Optional Lemon Icing
For a little something extra, I like to top each muffin with a drizzle of lemon icing. You only need 3 ingredients: confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and milk. It’s sweet and tangy and, after an hour or two, sets and becomes reminiscent of doughnut glaze. While totally optional, I always encourage adding extra sweetness!
More Favorite Muffin Recipes
- Banana Muffins
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Cream Cheese Zucchini Muffins or regular Zucchini Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Blackberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Light and fluffy blackberry lemon poppy seed muffins are on a whole new level! Greek yogurt or sour cream keeps them extra moist, creamed butter creates a wonderfully soft texture, and fresh blackberries add a burst of fresh flavor. Drizzle each with sweet, tart lemon icing for a finishing touch.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest
- 2 and 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk (any kind), at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (250g) fresh or frozen blackberries (do not thaw if using frozen)
Lemon Icing
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons (22ml) lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk (any kind)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Make the muffins: In a large bowl, toss the flour, poppy seeds, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute, then turn up to high speed and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Mixture may look a little chunky and curded; that’s ok.
- With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients and milk into the wet ingredients and beat until no flour pockets remain. Gently fold into the blackberries; they may bleed a little color and that’s ok.
- Spoon the batter evenly into each cup or liner, filling each all the way to the top. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C), then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 15–18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 22–23 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Make the icing: Whisk all of the icing ingredients together and drizzle over warm or cooled muffins.
- Cover and store leftover muffins for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, freeze muffins (with or without icing) for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or warm up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Muffin Liners | Glass Mixing Bowl | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack | Whisk
- Milk: You can use any milk, dairy or nondairy.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally! Made this recipe today and family loved it. However, I was wondering, if there are any possible substitutes for butter in this recipe, or any of your muffin recipes? Thanks a bunch! 🙂 Love your blog – always my go-to for baking recipes!
Hi Tammy, You could likely replace the butter in muffins with the same amount of softened coconut oil (since it must be creamed).
These are awesome!! What a beautiful light muffin! Only thing I changed was the yogurt and no blackberries. All I had was some lemon Greek yogurt and they turned out amazing!! Will pin this recipe to make time and time again!! I bet this base would work well for so many other flavor combos! Thank you for posting!!
Hi Sally! It’s my first time making muffins today and they turned out so gorgeous, fluffy and flavorful. I followed the recipe exactly, room temperature butter and all. Will be trying your scones recipe next ~
I made these using frozen blackberries and had to bake them almost 5 minutes longer than the suggested baking time. Still some came out a bit mushy inside. Would it have been better to use fresh blackberries? The dome on the muffins also came out a bit lopsided. Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful.
Hi Debbie, Fresh berries are usually better when they are available. If using frozen berries do not thaw first and expect the bake time to be longer.
Hi Sally.
I made these muffins using Namaste GF 1-1 flour and made them in a giant muffin pan. They came out perfectly and were so delicious!! I will be making more sooner rather than later. I’ve also made a number of your other recipes using this same flour and everything comes out deliciously! Thank you!
I made these tonight with oranges instead of lemons (orange juice and orange zest) and no poppy seeds. They turned out amazing!!! Thank you for this and your master muffin mix. (:
Hi Sally!! I was just wondering if you could swap out the granulated sugar for a natural sweetener like maple syrup. Would the muffins be the same or would it turn out different?
Hi Jenna! The best unrefined sugar to use in this recipe would be coconut sugar. I don’t recommend a liquid sweetener.
Hi Sally can I use a jumbo muffin pan?
You can! Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 350°F for 22-25 minutes for a total of 27-30.
I made these today and followed the recipe exactly… with one change. I used Coconut oil in place of butter because that is what I had on hand. I don’t think mine took this long to cook as what was indicated but I am used to checking quick breads sooner than a recipe says. Guessing my oven might run a little hot. They were very good and we will make them again
I am looking for a recipe for just lemon poppy seed muffins, I have noticed this recipe and also the orange lemon poppy recipe. Can I leave the blackberries out of this one? Or replace lemon for orange in the other recipe? Which do you think would be best? Thank you! This is my go to site for any recipe 🙂
Hi Keri! I love this muffin recipe because it produces extra soft muffins. (The others are a bit denser.) Simply leave out the blackberries.
Made these last night and my husband is obsessed! Used half sour cream/half yogurt because that’s what I had on hand. They didn’t puff quite as much as I would have liked (I used more blackberries as to not waste them) but cannot recommend this Recipe enough! Definitely a new staple for us.
Could you make this into a loaf?
Yes! Any muffin recipe yielding around 12 standard size muffins doubles as a quick bread recipe. You can use this batter and follow the baking instructions for my Blueberry Muffin Bread.
I’ve made these and everyone absolutely loves them.
Can they be made with blueberries instead?
I’m glad they were such a hit! Yes, blueberries work well also!
Making these for the 2nd time in 3 days. They are absolutely delicious!
Hi Sally- I was wondering, would it be at all possible to make this recipe but without any of the lemon parts so it’s just a blackberry poppyseed muffin? Thanks
Definitely. Leave out the lemon zest and replace the lemon juice with milk.
I just made these and they are wonderful!
I came into some wild blackberries this year and needed a way to use them up. I have always loved lemon poppyseed muffins, and these were just wonderful! I brought them to an even to share and received rave reviews. I’ll definitely make these again!
I just made these yesterday and ended up eating two The some day they were so delicious. I also wanted to mention I “veganised” the recipe. I used an egg replacer instead of the milk, Becel vegan margarine, Daiya black cherry yogurt and soy milk. I can’t believe how perfect and fluffy they came out. I look forward to trying many more of your recipes since this one was so successful.
Hi Sally,
I made these muffins to day and they were AMAZING!
I had just come in from picking raspberries from my garden, so I used those.
I am a big fan of your recipes and I have your cook book so I will definitely be making these again.
Thank You so much for Sharing!
I made these this morning – amazing! Except for one thing…it had zero lemon taste. I used all the correct amounts (I’m not an amazing baker so I follow things to a T). Anyone else had this problem? I think I need to triple the lemon juice or something. But otherwise these were amazing and I will definitely be making them again! Had no zero problems with the blackberries!
Hi Sally
I cooked these muffins for a family gathering and no doubt these quickly turned into the main attraction of the party, the kids loved it too.. thanks for sharing 😀
Just a couple of questions though, what is the shelf life of these muffins?
Also any tips for storing the leftover batter so I can use it again?
Hi there! Muffins stay fresh stored in the refrigerator for 1 week. I don’t recommend holding onto the batter as once the baking powder is wet, it’s activated. And the batter should be baked shortly thereafter. You can prep the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately though.
I just made these today. Subbed blueberries and all purpose gluten free flour. They turned out amazing. I could eat the entire batch right now!!
Hi Sally! I made these for dinner with friends the other night and they came out GREAT!! I had blueberries on hand so I used those, but next time I am using blackberries for sure.
I got great reviews from my friends- the icing was so easy and the tops came out HUGE. I could have sworn they were from a bakery.
They looked very professional with the icing (which was very easy to make). Got lots of compliments.
My muffins didn’t dome 🙁 They are super flat. Any guess why? I baked them on the lower rack. Could that be why?
That could be the culprit. Did you fill the muffin cups all the way to the top?
Sally, your recipes are bullet proof! I have made so many and all amazing! This was first time I made muffins and Mine were flat as well and i did fill my liners all the way to the top.. delicious but flat. The appearance is so important to me , any other reason why mine didn’t get the dome? I am in UK and did 220C for 5 minutes and then 180C for 18 minutes. Any advice would be so appreciated. Thank you. X
Hi Nargess! Thank you so much for giving these muffins a try. Make sure your baking powder and soda are fresh – we find they lose strength after just 3-4 months.
Made these a couple days ago and they turned out lovely! I think next time I make them I’ll try putting on decorating sugar like you do with your blueberry muffins because I love the sugary crunch sooooo much.
Hi Sally, just discovered your website and my absolute favourite recipe is your blueberry struesel muffins. I decided to give these lemon poppy seed muffins a go this weekend but made a couple of tweaks – I used fresh raspberries rather than blackberries, and rather than the glaze I made a syrup using white sugar and lemon juice. As am from the UK we love lemon drizzle cake and so I just poured the syrup over the warm muffins and it absorbed into the muffins making it even more moist and lemony. Everyone absolutely loved it so one to try for a slight twist on the glaze. Think blueberries in it would also be wonderful.
Oh my gosh, you went above and beyond. They sound phenomenal.
So…I followed the directions to a T. I’m thinking that liners are a must…I have a “salvage the muffin tops” situation. Also, all the blackberries went to the bottom…I’m thinking maybe they should’ve been floured??? Also if mine flattened out more than they should’ve before puffing up should I go a little higher temp? (Not the best oven and don’t have a thermometer inside so I’m thinking maybe it runs a smidge cooler) they are super tasty though…and I love every recipe I’ve made of yours so when I’m trying to make something, if you have it…I use your recipe. Thanks!!
Tossing the blackberries in flour could definitely help! I’d increase the temperature even more; they should rise straight up. Are you changing anything about the recipe? I’m glad you love how they taste and I appreciate you coming back to tell me!
I had the same problem. Wouldn’t come out of the pan, fell apart with lovely muffin tops and berry mush bottoms. Could frozen berries have anything to do with the temperature issue? Anyhow, one change at a time. Should I increase the temp (by how much) for the first five minutes and drop down to 350 for the remaining time or increase the time (by how much) at 425 and drop down to 350 for 15-20 minutes…?
I have been following you for a bit and have made several things, mostly cookies, with spectacular success. Thank you so much. Keep up the great work.
Hey Sally, I made these and they were absolutely delicious! Question though, can I freeze the muffin batter so that in a week or so I can just pop them in the oven to bake for fresh muffins?
Hi Sascha! I don’t recommend that because the baking powder is activated once it is wet. But you can freeze the baked muffins for up the 3 months 🙂
These were great! I dipped the tops of the muffins right into the lemon glaze (which I may have added a bit more powdered sugar too). As good as a cupcake!