Sadly I don’t have a story about how I loved the classic poppy seed lemon cake because believe it or not I actually have never had it before. But I do like lemon desserts a lot. They’re incredibly irresistible because of that subtle zing at the end of the sweetness that kind of peeks your interests enough to make you want go back for another bite. A tart and tangy zap to the tongue that starts an electric charge on desire for more. Kind of strange how that slight sourness makes you want to go back for another. The salivation starts and so begins the cycle of going back for the rest of that tart little muffin.
It’s slightly hard to understand really because it’s a sour aspect to it but it’s just one of those balancing properties that bring it together I suppose. Although at the same time I know several people who seem to not like lemon desserts, to which I do not comprehend. All I can do is feel sad for those who are missing out on a tantalizing, citrusy strike to the senses. Well wait, I do like biting into lemons now that I think about it. But don’t worry, I made sure not to make this one that sour. We wouldn’t want to make our face pucker into itself would we?
Thankfully my though for lemon deserts was spiked by a good friend of mine named Izy, whom runs a fantastic blog with the most gorgeous photography and happens to be my age,when we were talking about her love for lemon desserts. That brought me to the realization that I needed some lemon dessert love in my life.
Due to my tastes and what I know a lemon dessert should be like I did add a little bit of vinegar to the batch to give it a little bit more tang to the flavor as a whole. I noticed that a lot of people actually use yogurt in their lemon desserts but I didn’t have any when I made this, and after experimenting with it I actually liked the one with vinegar a little bit more for the muffins. Although, the vinegar one isn’t necessarily better, it just has a bit more depth to the zing where as the yogurt provides a smoother creamier zing. So it depends on the mood you’re in really.
This was originally going to be a poppy seed muffin but then I thought, well poppy seeds are great and all but I have this elephant sized bag of chia seeds that I need to get rid of. Actually it’s not that large, but they are so little and there are so many it might as well be. Surprisingly this did actually help me get rid of them because I had to test these so many times to actually get them right. One unfortunate thing after another.
All I know is that if you do it in a muffin pan and it seems like it is sticking then abandon all hope because they are stuck in there for eternity. Sure you could pull them out but that of course is going to tear them to bits and leave nothing but an odd looking crumbled nub instead of a nicely shaped bottom.
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- zest from 2 lemons
- pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup almond milk mixed with ½ teaspoon liquid stevia or ½ cup honey
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl add coconut flour, chia seeds, baking soda and pinch of salt and mix together thorougly so the chia seeds adn baking soda are combined in the coconut flour well.
- In another medium bowl crack eggs and add, vanilla extract, almond milk mixed with stevia or honey, melted coconut oil, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar.
- Add lemon zest to the dry ingredients you just mixed and pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix very well until fully incorporated, the mixture has thickened and there are no clumps of coconut flour left.
- Pour into paper muffin cup lined regular muffin tins or greased muffin tins ¾ way to the top. (I tried greasing my muffin tins and making them and they stuck, but it might just be my muffin tin. I also noticed that foil muffin cups are better than the paper if you want them to not stick at all to the paper and have perfect scalloped edges.)
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or when pierced with a toothpick and it comes out clean.
- Pull out of the oven and twist out of muffin tin and place on a cooling rack and let cool for 10 minutes.
These look awesome! I’m new to using Chia seeds, so forgive me if this is a novice question, but: is it okay to use ground Chia seeds? Or will whole ones be the only ones that work?
(PS – love your blog!)
Hi Kyla, for these you’re definitely going to want whole chia seeds. It’s kind of like a lemon poppy seed dessert, you want them whole for the appearance and the texture.
Wow these look amazing! I’ve made lemon poppyseed muffins with coconut flour before but using the lemon zest and they were quite wonderful. Actually I’m known to eat the lemons at restaurants which accompany water too, much to my parents’ embarrassment. It didn’t help that when I was little I tried eating the rind too!
I love your recipes! I don’t cook with anything except Stevia at the moment – so I love that I can browse your page & find something delish to cook! Cheers! 🙂
Josh these look amazing and delish! Your photography is beautiful too. Can’t wait to try them.
This looks so good! Would it be possible to use almond meal in stead of coconut flour? I can’t find it anywhere?
I’m so excited to make these for Easter! Did you use powdered or liquid stevia? I’m guessing the liquid that comes with an eyedropper, but I don’t want to ruin the batch if not! Thanks for your lovely blog, I particularly enjoy your food writing!
Thanks for reminding me to fix that. It’s liquid stevia.
These look soo good! Just getting into Paleo and have made your recipe for cauliflower mash part of my families repertoire! Just wondering if I could substitute chickpea flour for the coconut flour?
I don’t think you could make that substitution. Coconut flour is very unique in how it works. I linked to a pretty great source of coconut flour on the recipe part of this post.
Just pulled these out of the oven and they are WONDERFUL! My 2.5 year old loves them. I followed the recipe to a T, using honey instead of liquid stevia. I found your blog from The Food Lover’s Kitchen recommendation today and am so glad they recommended you! Your story is amazing. Keep up the incredible work!
WOW! I just pulled these out of the oven and they are FANTASTIC! I made the stevia version. I used silicone muffin liners and the cakes fell right out. Thanks so much for posting the recipe!
I LOVE my silicone muffin tins but they always come out so flat compared to what I see from photos of muffins baked in regular tins. Can you help me?
i made these as a treat for myself this morning, and i’m pretty pleased with the results.
one thing i noticed is that the texture is pretty eggy. it seems almost kind of custardy it’s so fragile.
thoughts on substitutions for eggs?
Hmmm, that’s really odd. I tested this about a dozen times with no problems. Did you change anything in the recipe? Perhaps you didn’t bake them long enough.
Oh wow I’ve got to try this after my 21 day sugar detox! I love anything with lemons and I’m glad to see coconut flour instead of a nut flour.
These looks so good! I can’t wait to try them.
Coconut flour seems to sit on my stomach like a rock.Do you know what the almond flour substitution amount would be?
Thanks!
Well you could sub almond flour for this recipe but you would get a completely different texture, taste, and it would be a totally different recipe at that point. Sorry that coconut flour doesn’t work for you. I’ll see if I can work on another recipe similar to this one with almond flour.
Hello Joshua,
I recently found your site through “theclothesmakethegirl” and I LOVE it. I tried these muffins yesterday and mine hardly stuck. I used a silicon muffin pan for 12 muffins. I think next time I would only make 6 because I was only able to fill them 1/3 and they did not rise much. Yours look fluffy and perfect. Had you only made 6 on the the try that worked?
Also, I added some shredded unsweetened coconut in addition to the chia seeds. Perhaps next time I’ll try with only the coconut.
Thank you so much for the wonderful recipes.
Michele
I just made these earlier today and they turned out amazing! I was trying to stay sugar free for my family and used the stevia. I was completely shocked that they tasted awesome, even with stevia! If anyone wants happens to use coconut milk instead, that is fine. I had to. I forgot to soak my almonds the night before for milk. They still turned out great. (Canned light coconut milk- not in the carton)
Thankyou for answering my question on this 🙂 I wanted to sub coconut milk as we do t use almond milk here. Nice to know it works so well!
Thanks so much for the recipe. I baked the muffins tonight and they were the BEST muffins I ever made! Loved ’em and so did my beau.
Could powdered stevia be used? I don’t have liquid in the house and wanted to try these out. They look fantastic!
I’ve never tried using it in it but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Substitute the same amount of your powdered if it is pure stevia extract.
Just baked these today and they are delicious! One question though – do you usually sift your coconut flour?
That’s a really good question actually, no I don’t usually sift my coconut flour I usually just run the tongs of a fork around in thee to break up any clump if there are any but I really need to start sifting it and see if there is a difference.
Good to know! Thank you! I’m new to coconut flour and I read somewhere that it’s important to sift it but I sifted for this recipe and ended up adding a bit of coconut flour cause the batter seemed too thin. Of course you didn’t say to sift so that was just an experiment of sorts on my part, but they still turned out really well, it’s an awesome recipe!
These. Were. Awesome.
I just made these – and not only does my house smell wonderful, but this is the best thing I’ve ever made with coconut flour. Delicious! I have to go put them away now before I eat any more of them!
PS: do you know if they freeze well???
OH MY LANTA!!
These are Devine!!!
Just pulled them out of the oven and they are so very very delicious!!
Thank you for sharing.
Next weekend I’m making the vanilla Petite scones!
If I wanted to make these almond instead of lemon. What would I do to change it?
I found that when I added the melted coconut oil it hardened back up. I was able to save it by lightly mixing in a blender, but I would recommend bringing the eggs and almond milk to room temperature.
Hi!
I really like your rec- can I use dark amber maple syrup? I do not have honey in hand.
I don’t see why not, just make sure you sub the same amount. The maple syrup may make it less sweet in equal quantities though.
I…love… this. It was so easy, the smell was divine while mixing and baking… will be eating it shortly – I’m on a ketogenic diet and so I limit my carbs… this recipe was perfect. I added some granular stevia, but just a dash or so. Will report on how they taste… but they rose so well, I halved the recipe and it made 3 good sized cupcakes, just enough for my work snacking for the next couple days 🙂
Ahhh… I halved your recipe with the exception of the coconut oil 🙁 Mine was super moist, but the taste was awesome 🙂 Will be making another batch (Correctly this time) again soon!
I just tried this and was disappointed. I used coconut milk instead….maybe that’s why it tested weird, dry, tasteless and not fragrant. Or maybe I used the wrong liquid stevia (glycerite) as well. I used all other ingredient in exact proportions….
From all the positive feedback, this is definitely the problem with the chef….
I tried substituting the coconut flour with almond flour–not a good result. The taste was ok but the texture became more like a custard with chia seeds on top. Wish I would have read the comments first as I didn’t realize coconut and almond flour were not replaceable. Will try this again sometime with coconut flour.
If you check my FAQ’s page it mentions that you cannot sub almond flour for coconut flour. Sorry it didn’t work out for you.
I tried again this morning and used all the correct ingredients. My four kids looooooved them and so did I. This is definitely a keeper recipe. Thanks
I might have made too many substitutions because my first attempt with these was utter failure. They taste great but very mushy and fragile even though I baked for 35 min.
Instead of 4 eggs I used 2 eggs plus 1/2 cup of apple sauce. Instead of liquid sweetener, I used coconut sugar.
Something went awry with my subs which sucks because I thought this recipe was great aside from the fact that I thought it had too many eggs/high fat content. 🙁
Once you make that many substitutions I cannot vouch for the recipe any longer.
Hi Joshua, I was turned on to your blog following your interview on the Fat Burning Man Show – you’ve got some great recipes here! The first of your recipes I’ve sampled is for these lemon and chia muffins and they’re delicious! They turned out perfectly with a lovely cakey texture and a deep, satisfying lemonyness. I’m having these for dessert tonight served with a primal cream cheese frosting! Thanks! I look forward to the release of your book.
Thank you Glyn, I’m glad you enjoyed them!
These were really interesting (lemon pound cake meets a macaroon). I followed the recipe except I only had about 1/2 of the coconut oil. They were still very tasty and very moist (they didn’t seem to be crying out for more fat). The coconut oil did clump up when I added it. I also used a blender to mix the wet ingredients. I used the full amount of honey, and they were just a tiny bit too sweet for my taste –probably the perfect amount of sweetness for most people. I might try the stevia next time, but I did love the honey taste (maybe 1/2 stevia and 1/2 honey next time).
I discovered you through Abel James and I love your story, humor and intellect. Way to go kiddo! You rock! And so did these yummy muffins. 🙂
Just made these. I used milk instead of almond milk and only a 1/4 honey. I also put a chocolate macaroon drop on top. These were good. Very yummy indeed!!
I just made some of those and followed the recipe and I am so happy with the result. Delicious! Thank you!
Can I used redwine vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar? That’s one ingredient I don’t have on hand 🙁
I don’t recommend you do, the taste is significantly different.
Just made these (with the honey) and they are AWESOME! I agree with some of the reviewers, they are a *tad* sweeter than I’m used to (may try 1/3 cup), but they have such a rich lemony taste! Also, this may sound strange, but they even tasted good right freshly baked – My experience is with many coconut flour baked goods is that they have a bit of a strange taste right out of the oven (but fine when cooled). They were not too “egg-y” either, which is also something I run into with coconut flour cooking. Again, so good! This is my first “Slim Palate” recipe, can’t wait to try more.
Our family saw your cooking demo of these muffins in Austin this past weekend. I’ve been eating paleo for the past year and usually don’t do treats, but my kids and I loved the samples from the demo so much I had to try it out. I reduced the amount of honey to 1/3 C based on the suggestion of other reviewers. It wasn’t sweet enough for me. I should have just stuck to 1/2 a cup. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes! Best of luck to you Josh.
Awesome, glad you guys enjoyed them. The ones we demoed were actually the poppyseed ones from my cookbook here by the way: http://amzn.to/1aidgBG
Ah, I thought they tasted a different. I will have to get my hands on your cookbook then 😉
Hello! I was wondering if you think these could work as bars? I know it’s a cop out. But I don’t have any muffin cup liners and I suppose I could go to the grocery but there are certain barriers involved, like getting dressed. Thanks for this lovely recipe!
I made this with cocnut milk instead of almond milk and went heavy on the lemon juice & zest and it’s delicious, also baked in loaf tin as no muffin cases and was fine – wasn’t a massive rise but very light – broke in half when I tipped it upside down – I was a bit heavy handed and should have waited longer for it to cool more. I used a Thermomix and did the zest and wet ingredients first with the dry 2nd mixing both well and leaving half of the lemon juice to activate the bi carb.
What the shit. These are amazing. There should be a warning at the top that you will be required to make an additional 5 batches once you taste the first one!!
Hi,
Do have any calorie/fat/dug are info on these?
Mainly so I can see how many I can eat without it being really too naughty
Yummy!! Just made theses ….very very good! Will makes them again.
I made these last night and they turned out well. I used rice malt syrup instead of honey. I think next time I might use even more lemon zest! Good recipe.
For anyone who wants the nutrition info, calculated with stevia:
Nutrition Facts
10 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 161.4
Total Fat 10.2 g
Saturated Fat 7.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.1 g
Cholesterol 75.8 mg
Sodium 138.2 mg
Potassium 103.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 10.5 g
Dietary Fiber 5.2 g
Sugars 3.3 g
Protein 6.6 g
Vitamin A 3.4 %
Vitamin B-12 6.2 %
Vitamin B-6 2.5 %
Vitamin C 1.4 %
Vitamin D 7.2 %
Vitamin E 0.1 %
Calcium 7.4 %
Copper 0.3 %
Folate 3.2 %
Iron 2.6 %
Magnesium 1.4 %
Manganese 0.3 %
Niacin 0.3 %
Pantothenic Acid 1.7 %
Phosphorus 8.5 %
Riboflavin 8.5 %
Selenium 1.8 %
Thiamin 0.8 %
Zinc 3.1 %
Just crunched the numbers on SparkRecipes before making…
Was really looking forward to making these and finally did so today! I used liquid stevia and subbed the 1/4 coconut oil for natural yoghurt (however heavily greased the pan with coconut oil). The texture of these are lovely but didn’t taste as expected! They weren’t sweet enough.. Im suspecting my stevia liquid brand maybe, I will try with stevia powder next time as I have always had success with that (first time trying liquid for this recipe). Also I didn’t find it overly lemony. I’m going to give these another go but use double lemon juice and use stevia powder.. Keep u posted on that result 🙂
To anyone reading this, if you are looking fora treat to serve to a group of “regular people” but want it to be paleo so you can partake, you have found a great choice! I made these this weekend for a little “Mommy’s Day Off” party. The host is paleo. I’m sort of partial paleo, but the other 7 ladies were not. These went over very well. Everyone thought they were delicious and one person wanted the recipe to make them for her kids. I love that the chia seeds add a bit of nutrition, and the muffins were moist and delicious. My husband liked them, both my kids loved them (3 year old boy and 5 year old girl) and my nephew was babysitting for us and he LOVED them, he said they tasted just like the hostess lemon bars. He is 14 and addicted to junk food, and even he thought they were great. My only possible critique would be the absence of the big puffy muffin top. Mine looked just like your picture and I had just enough batter for 12 muffins that just hit the top of the paper liner when done baking. But I think that is just par for the course with paleo baking. If you ever find a way to tweak the recipe to make more of a rise, that would be great. But flavor is a 10!
I’m sorry but these were more of a lemon quiche than anything. Look like a muffin, but the texture is scrambled eggs with strong lemon flavor. Not loved here. In fact, we gave them to the chickens. They were gross.
Did you use the correct type of flour or the right measurements for that matter?
I had the same problem both attempts. Followed the instructions exactly but the same outcome. Two layers, seed mix on top, egg on the bottom. Very strange.
i agree with Lisa, I made this today and followed it to a T. Although it tasted lemony, the consistency was like a quiche and smelled eggy. Def too many eggs. If I make it again I will use 2 eggs only.
What brand of coconut flour are you using?
Hi Joshua, just made these and they are beautiful. I used less than a teaspoon of stevia and added a teaspoon of honey. They are perfect for me, not too sweet and you can really taste the lemon. Coconut flour can be so hard to work with and some recipes give you an eggy taste but I think these are delicious. You have a new subscriber here in Australia 🙂
Could I omit the apple cider vinegar?
You need it for flavor, don’t worry you won’t taste the vinegar or anything. It just gives it the proper slight tartness.
These are hands-down the most delicious muffins I’ve ever tasted! And I’ve tasted quite a lot. Not even a huge lemon fan but these rock my world.
What is the nutritional value of these muffins?
Thank you for the recipe- these turned out wonderfully! Mine were not as yellow as in the picture, but they taste SO good! Definitely will make these again.
FYI I substituted unsweetened coconut milk for almond milk and used coconut sugar instead of honey and they still turned out great.
Happy baking!
These were amazing!!! I love anything lemon. Topped one with some plain yogurt and fresh strawberries and it was a fabulous dessert.
Hi! I love this recipe. It´s the first recipe I made with coconut flour that actually worked. It made me try coconut flour again, so thank you! One thing I did change though – because I am not a fan of almond milk, I used coconut milk instead. It makes them a little more moist and just the tiniest hint of coconut floats through with the lemon. Fantastic! I love it. I will substitute the lemon with lime (because everyone knows that lime and lemon together are DIVINE!!!)
I just took these out of the oven – they smell so delish! I can’t wait to try them!
I was a little scared that they wouldn’t turn out, because I didn’t expect that batter to be so thick! lol
I used the silicone baking cups, and they literally slid right out – thank you so much for the recipe!
Made the today to the recipe and they didn’t turn out right ? im not sure what I did wrong. The only thing I can think of is I mix my wet ingredients then added them to the dry ingredients?
Just made these .. so easy and AMAZING! I used a bit more coconut oil as I only had 3 eggs and one egg yolk, and I used light coconut milk from a can and half a cup of erythrytol powder. I didn’t think it was quite sweet enough (but I like things really sweet), so next time I’m going to add a bit more of the erythrytol and some more lemon juice. I didn’t have any apple cider vinegar but I just used white wine vinegar and only a teaspoon or so. Slipped out of the silicon muffin tray easily.
Not usually a commenter but these are absolutely delicious! Most of the paleo desserts I’ve made to date taste ok but have an unusual texture when baked. These however, taste like the real deal! Not only the texture but the taste too. Absolutely blown away! Well done and thankyou, the recipe is spot on.