Lemon Curd Muffins | Recipe

Cake Fork | Mary Berry for Sainsburys ||  'S' Mug | M&S

If theres one thing that will make a particularly testing day a whole lot better, it's a sit down with a really good cup of tea, in my favourite mug, accompanied by something baked.

My most recent baked obsession has been courtesy of the British institution that is Marks and Spencer, with their lemon muffins providing the perfect naughty lunchtime pick-me-up. With a hidden lemon curd centre, springy sponge and a big old blob of some pretty tasty icing, they're just the best.

On a free Sunday a couple of weeks back, with a muffin craving and  not an M&S in sight, some trial and error ensued, and I managed to come up with my own version at home. They're really simple to make, you'll probably have most of the ingredients already in your cupboard, plus, they only take 15 minutes to bake... you can thank me later!

For six decent sized muffins, you will need:

1 large egg
200g self raising flour
100g caster sugar
150 ml milk
75ml sunflower oil
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of lemon curd for each muffin

For the icing:

3 tablespoons of icing sugar (with more to spare to adjust the consistency if needed)
Lemon curd to taste

Bowl | Mason Cash

Once you've set your oven to 190 degrees, lined a 6 hold muffin tin with paper cases and weighed everything out, grab a bowl and combine your flour and sugar.

In a separate bowl (or jug) , give your egg, milk, oil and vanilla extract a good whisk until fully combined.


Make a well in the centre of your dry mix and slowly pour in the liquid a little at a time, mix until you have a thick batter.

Half fill each of the muffin cases, then carefully pop a generous teaspoon of lemon curd on top of each before covering in the remaining muffin mix.

Place in the oven for around 15 minutes or until all are an even golden brown colour. Once baked and smelling yummy, place them on a wire rack to cool.


In the meantime, you can get on with making the icing. It's a little bit of trial and error, but you need the icing to be thick enough to place a decent sized blob on the top of each muffin, so three tablespoons and splash of water should do it. Add in a little lemon curd and mix in until it turns a very pale yellow shade.

Plate | Emma Bridgewater

Once your muffins are completely cool, spoon a generous blob of the icing into the middle of each. Serve with a big old cup of tea, a pretty plate and an obligatory cake fork. While they might not be the prettiest looking muffins in the world, they are certainly up there on the taste scale, and hey, it's not like Mary Berry is watching!