Raspberry Lemon Muffins

To clean out my freezer, I decided to make muffins using my frozen fruit.  This obviously is an ass-backward idea, because muffins go back in the freezer and take up more room than fruit, but I like muffins so I did it anyway.  Ha!

Anyway, I made blueberry muffins, mostly following this recipe, which I used when I first started baking with whole grains over the summer.  After those were done, I took a look at what kind of fruit I had and settled on a raspberry-lemon combination for the next batch.  I have a wonderful book called The Flavor Bible where I go either for inspiration for flavor pairings, or to confirm my brilliant ideas (such as this one).  Raspberry and lemon was listed as a flavor affinity (a most popular combination) so I knew I was on track.

Following is the recipe I used.  You can see the original recipe here.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar (I used Florida Crystals less-refined sugar)
2 large eggs
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt (not Greek)
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries

Directions

1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy and almost white in color. Scrape down the bowl to make sure all the butter is incorporated, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon zest and yogurt, and mix until incorporated.

3. Add the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed just until the batter is smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl once more, to be sure everything is evenly combined. Gently fold in the fruit and refrigerate at least an hour.

4. Lightly grease a muffin tin or line with papers.

5. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C or gas mark 6). Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, piling it on and using every last bit.  Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 24 minutes. Remove from the oven and tip the muffins over sideways in their cups as soon as possible to avoid a soggy bottom.  Move to a cooling rack after a few minutes to finish cooling.

Possible future variations: 1 tsp almond extract instead of the lemon zest, almonds sprinkled on top; substitute barley flour for part of the white whole wheat flour; use 1/2 raspberries and 1/2 blueberries.