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
These muffins came out perfect! I used blueberries instead of blackberries. Amazing! The lemon flavor really comes through. Beautiful muffin tops. Fantastic recipe
can i use extra yogurt if I’ve run out of milk?
Hi Susie, the muffin batter will be a but too thick with yogurt instead of milk. Any milk, dairy or nondairy, works!
also has anyone cut down on sugar a bit?
I always cut sugar 10-25% – usually starting on the 10% side if it’s a new recipe. I made these with 10% less sugar and they were still delicious – but I did not cut sugar for the glaze btw
can i use buttermilk instead of yogurt?
Hi Susie, You can use buttermilk to substitute both the yogurt and the milk — so use a total of 3/4 cup of buttermilk in place of the 1/2 cup yogurt and the 1/4 cup milk.
Good morning Sally,
I was wondering if I could substitute blackberries and use blueberries instead?
If that is possible would I still be putting in 1 1/2 cups?
Would fresh blueberries be best to use for this recipe?
Hi Jessica, yes, you can certainly do a combination of blackberries and blueberries. Keep the total amount of fruit add-ins to 1.5 cups. Fresh blueberries would be best, but you can use frozen if needed (do not thaw).
Hello @Lexi I would only want to do just blueberries for this recipe and not use any blackberries is this possible?
Hello Sally,
What does 1 Zest of a Lemon equal to either cup, tablespoon or teaspoon wise?
Would whole milk be better for this recipe or would it be best to stick to skim milk like you call for using?
Hi Jessica, an average lemon yields about 1 tablespoon of lemon zest. Any milk works! Whatever you have on hand will be fine. Enjoy!
The muffins are delicious. Have made several times as family loves them. However, sometimes – but not always, I don’t get them to dome and they come out flat. Haven’t made any modifications to recipe. Not sure what I am doing wrong as doesn’t consistently happen. Any advice?
Hi Susan! Over-mixing can cause flat, dense muffins. Make sure to mix until *just* combined. Oven temperatures can vary as well – we always recommend using an in-oven thermometer to ensure your oven is the correct temperature. We’re so glad you love these muffins!
I was wondering if I can make this in a bunt pan? Or is it better to just add black berries to your lemon poppyseed bunt cake?
Thanks so much!
Hi Lacey, we’d recommend adding blackberries to our lemon poppy seed Bundt cake as you mention. Enjoy!
should the milk and yogurt be room temperature or cold?
It’s best if they’re room temperature!
how much is the zest of one lemon?
Hi Addie, it will depend on the size of your lemon, but the zest of one medium size lemon should yield about a tablespoon of zest. Feel free to use a bit more / less depending on your flavor preference.
These are FANTASTIC! This website is my go-to for any baking recipe, and I will be making these muffins over and over again. I used the zest of two full lemons and the juice of one lemon to make them extra lemony, but opted to not add the blackberries. I also used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and it was totally fine- no taste of almonds in the finished product. These have amazing tops and are so fluffy! The glaze takes them to a whole other level. Thank you for sharing your fabulous recipes!
I haven’t made these yet but I was wondering if you can make this recipe in a loaf pan instead of muffins. If yes, how would the recipe need to be adjusted?
Definitely. We guess it would need at least 45-50+ minutes at 350F.
THESE ARE PERFECTION.
I use every recipe from Sally’sBakingAddiction when I’m baking because it -always- turns out great, no matter what. Especially as a gluten-intolerant person, it’s hard to find recipes that work since the cup-to-cup flours don’t always work exactly right in every recipe.
The ratios in the muffins especially are perfect for gluten free substitutions. My only note just from experience is to add an extra half teaspoon or so of baking powder to help get the additional rise that normal flour has and gluten-free flour lacks.
I added the zest of 2 lemons and an extra splash of lemon juice because I like my muffins really lemon-y. Delish!
Hey Sally ☺
Tried the recipe without the berries and it was just as good. Do you think it would come out as perfect if it were a sponge?
Hi Buhle! That would require some recipe testing. You may love these recipes for Lemon Cupcakes With Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting or Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake instead!
I tried this for the first time, worked great! Modifications: used 1 cup wheat flour and 3/4 cups all purpose flour; whipped cream cheese instead of sour cream; baked 12 minutes @350 after the 5 minutes @425; glazed with one tbsp powdered sugar and 2 tbsp lemon juice then sprinkled white sugar lightly. Breakfast for 3 days! Thank you so very much
I love all the recipes. My Mom is diabetic and I want to try them for her. I think the skinny recipes will be a nice treat without all the guilt and regret. The website is easy to use and navigate and the recipes actually print without going through hoops. Thanks for that!!! The brownie recipe and the muffin recipe that can be adapted to what is in my cupboard-Great idea! I will get back to you when the baking is done today…Happy Baking!
My husband Is diabetic and I use Splenda instead of white granulated sugar and use Splenda brown sugar and the recipes turn out perfect.
My MAN. You have just made my LIFE. I cannot believe I just made a perfectly sweet (but not too sweet), tart (not too tart), light, fluffy, delectable muffin with the perfect dome and it’s all thanks to this amazing recipe. It’s impossible to express the bliss I felt while eating that freaking muffin. I never wanted the moment to end. I’m not sure if my life is even worth living anymore, because I’ve just hit my peak, and it was when I took the first bite of that muffin. All my troubles and worries have melted away and are dripping off of my soul like a sweet lemon-y glaze. In conclusion, good recipe.
I just made these and they are delicious! They are definitely the best muffins I’ve ever had or made! Would definitely recommend!
Made the muffins, they are great. I did however substitute the milk for lemon sparkling water. So moist and flavorful
These turned out amazing!
Made them for my father in law who loves lemon.
Sally any suggestions of making the batter have an even stronger lemon flavor?
Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Hi Erica, So happy you loved them! You can try adding more lemon zest next time, especially if your lemons are smaller – try the zest of 1.5 or 2 lemons instead of 1.
If I want things to be extra lemony, I’ll reduce my lemon juice by boiling it on the stove for a little while. It’s amazing in glazes especially!
Hi Erica,
We have a Meyer lemon tree in our backyard, and I’m often making lemon desserts and other delicious things requiring citrus. I have a suggestion for a stronger lemon flavor: King Arthur’s lemon juice powder, and Boyajian’s pure lemon oil (available on the King Arthur website). Use sparingly, and to taste.
delicious! I followed the recipe almost exactly and this came out nicely.
Next time I’d like them to be a little more moist so I’ll aadd some more liquid to the batter and make sure i work it a little less. My muffins didn’t dome up nicely like the photos but i didn’t use room temp butter so maybe that’s on me…
Also, for the topping I used less sugar (3/4 cup) and liked the extra lemon flavor since the base is pretty mild in lemon flavor.
Sally’s blueberry streusel muffins were the first I ever made and they came out amazing! So I knew I had to try these. I replaced the blackberries with raspberries and it was phenomenal! My sisters boyfriend loves lemon poppyseed muffins and he ate 8 of them in one sitting. I used whole fat yogurt and baked exactly as the recipe(but only baked the second temp for 10 minutes as my oven runs hot). I would recommend using liners because the fruit tends to stick to the pan! Thank you sally for another amazing recipe <3
I made these. They tasted good but they spilled over while baking and didn’t make the dome that’s pictured. However, the taste is great. Thank you
Made these and I’m in love!! If I wanted to make the in mini muffins, how wold I adjust/change cooking time for the size?
Were you able to convert these to mini muffins?
Hi Chandra! For mini muffins, the blackberries are pretty large, so we would cut them so they are a nice size for mini muffins. Bake at 350°F (177°C) the whole time for about 11-13 minutes, give or take.
I bake in a convection oven so the changing temperature technique messed up my muffins. They overflowed and browned too quickly on top. It was a huge mess. How long should I bake if I want to do at a constant 180°C?
Hi Muskaan, I would simply bake until the centers are cooked through. I’d say that time would be anywhere between 22-26 minutes in a convection oven.
Hi Sally, I just made these, and although they taste absolutely delicious, the texture is a bit of a disaster. Instead of doming up nicely, the batter spread all over the muffin tin as it rose, dripping down into the oven and making a mess. The muffins also stuck to the thouroughly greased non-stick pan and although they are fully cooked, they are so soft that they pretty much fall apart if you look at them the wrong way…
I’m sure this is not an issue with the recipe, given the rave reviews, and it has happened to me before when attempting to make muffins. Any idea what I could have done wrong? I followed the recipe exactly, except that I used almond milk and frozen blackberries (which I didn’t thaw).
Hi Robin, I wonder if your batter is much too thin. It should be fairly thick, does it look like the photos above? Be sure you are measuring your ingredients correctly. Also are you starting the oven at 425°F (218°C) and then lowering the temperature after five minutes without taking the muffins out of the oven? This should help the tops rise without spilling over. If using frozen berries your overall bake time may be a couple of minutes longer.
The batter consistency seemed perfect! Very thick and airy like the pictures, but once in the oven it became very runny, the butter seemed to melt before the batter had time to set… For measuring I use the metric system, so I can’t imagine having gone wrong there… I did start the oven at 218 C (I’m in Europe) but by the time I lowered the temp the batter was already spilling. Maybe my oven temp is just very off? I quite often find myself baking things for significantly longer than indicated in recipes, in order to fully cook them. I wonder now if my oven is just not hot enough. Would that explain the issue?
My son is obsessed with all things lemon, so we gave this yummy recipe a try. It came out delicious. I ran out of vanilla extract so substituted 1tsp of almond and 1/2 tsp of lemon. I also used raspberries instead of blackberries which made the perfect summer snack. So good! I’ll have to try the lemon poppy seed donuts next.
If you were like me and indecisive between a couple of lemon poppy seed muffin recipes, thinking “which one looks more promising?” Answer: THIS. ONE. RIGHT. HERE.
I didn’t have an plain yogurt so I used sour cream and that seemed to work just fine!
I made these into “extra large” bakery-style muffins-using only 9 of the 12 spots, also came out great (just adjusted the baking time to ~19-20 minutes)!
Thank you for a great recipe that I’ll keep forever!
Fantastic recipe, as usual. SBA hasn’t failed me yet.
I just made these with a serving of Activia vanilla yogurt (happened to have this on hand) and no berries, they are seriously the most light and fluffy muffins/cupcakes, delightful. Wolfed down two immediately. Thank you so much for this excellent and easy recipe!