Raspberry Lemon Custard Muffins (Vegan Gluten-Free)

These Raspberry Lemon Custard Muffins are fresh and zesty, packed with lemon and raspberries with a thick and creamy custard middle. Top these with raspberry whipped coconut cream for a delicious vegan and gluten-free muffin.

I love everything lemon and raspberry this time of year, there is something so fresh, zingy and invigorating about the flavours. They have the classic zing from the lemon with the sweetness of the berries and the thick and creamy custard filling is divine. I like to top these sweet muffins with a berry-streaked whipped coconut cream frosting and more berries which make a great showstopping yet easy bake.

How delicious are these Raspberry Lemon Custard Muffins?

These muffins are so good this time of year, and all year round. They are:

• Light, fluffy and moist
• Zesty, lemony and packed with fresh berries
• Easy to make in one bowl
• Filled with thick and creamy egg-free custard
• Topped with not-too-sweet whipped coconut cream
• Naturally vegan and easily gluten-free
• A great showstopping dessert
• Fun to make and decorate

If you already love these muffins, then skip ahead to the recipe card. Or, let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.

What ingredients do I need?

The base for these muffins is similarly inspired by my Lemon and Blueberry Loaf as I find the texture just so perfect and lends itself really well to muffins and cupcakes.

• Thick dairy-free yoghurt: this adds a lot of moisture, fat and creaminess to the batter that makes for a moist muffin. My go-to brand is Cocos Organic coconut yoghurt which is my favourite. The natural or the vanilla are great to use here, or you can use similar thick, Greek-style dairy-free yoghurts.
• Vegan custard: as these are custard themed, the muffins use some thick and deliciously egg-free, dairy-free custard from Natures Charm. If you don’t have any custard, see below for swaps.
• Plant based milk: any milk will work here like oat, almond, soy or coconut.
• Olive or sunflower oil: this adds a lovely tenderness to the batter. You could use melted and cooled coconut oil, if you prefer, but the texture is best with a room temperature liquid oil like olive or sunflower.
• Caster sugar: or coconut sugar work best.
• Lemon: juice and zest adds flavour to the muffins. The juice also acts as a natural binder within the batter as it curdles the milk to form a buttermilk.
• Plain or GF plain flour: sift the flour to make the flour lighter and the texture is softer once baked. If using a GF blend, make sure it’s one you regularly use and trust as all blends vary. Also check that it contains xanthan gum to help bind the mix or add your own.
• Ground almonds: add a lovey nutty, sweet taste and texture to these muffins.
• Baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt: for rise and flavour.
• Raspberries: I prefer to use fresh but frozen will also work. Toss the berries with flour before adding into the batter to prevent them from turning the muffins soggy and from sinking to the bottom.

Onto the filling and topping:

• More custard: as above, I used the thick and creamy Natures Charm Custard which is thick enough to scoop at fridge and room temperature.
• Coconut whipping cream: I love this as it’s not sweet but really light and fluffy. The brand I use is also Natures Charm or you use other plant-based whipping creams for the frosting. Or, try vegan vanilla buttercream or even white chocolate buttercream, too.
• Lemon: for a little zest in the frosting.
• Freeze dried raspberry powder: this adds the lovely berry-coloured streaks in the frosting. You could use strawberry powder too if that’s what you have and freeze-dried powders are better than adding fresh berries which can cause the mix to split. That said, if you want to use a berry frosting using some jam, try my Raspberry Jam Buttercream from my Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cake.
• Raspberries: use fresh berries for adding on top of these Raspberry Lemon Custard Muffins.

How do I make these muffins?

They are really easy to make in one bowl:

• Toss the raspberries in flour: so that they don’t sink to the bottom of the cakes and make them soggy.
• Whisk together all the wet ingredients: till combined.
• Add in the dry ingredients: and whisk till smooth. The batter will be quite thick, this is perfect.
• Fold in the raspberries: gently so as not to break them up too much.
• Scoop into the muffin cases: till about ¾ full. Top with another raspberry.
• Bake till golden and springy to touch: about 17-18 minutes.
• Remove from the tin: to fool fully.
• Core out the middle of the muffins: to fill with the custard.
• Whip up the berry coconut cream: and pipe on top.
• Dig into to these delicious muffins: and enjoy.

How long will these last?

Once made, these keep well in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-5 days. I like to let them sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before eating them. You can freeze un-filled and un-frosted muffins for 1 month, wrapped tightly.

Are these gluten-free and nut-free?

To keep these Raspberry Lemon Custard Muffins gluten-free, use your favourite GF flour blend with xanthan gum. To make these nut-free, swap the ground almonds for ground sunflower seeds (just add them to a blender and process to a fine texture) and check that your yoghurt, milk, custard and whipping cream are all free from nuts.

I cannot find vegan custard, can I use something else?

Yes, you can! The Natures Charm custard is thick and scoop-able at room and fridge temperature so make sure that your custard is similarly thick. You can find this stocked all over the world, and especially online. If you want to skip the custard:

• Use extra yoghurt in the batter: to make a total of 120g yoghurt.
• Do not fill the muffins: leave them as they are.
• Fill the muffins with jam: instead of the custard.

I love these muffins, what else can I make?

I hope you will enjoy these Raspberry Lemon Custard Muffins and for more fruity baking ideas, how about my:

• Orange and Rhubarb Loaf Cake
• Sticky Orange Banana Bread
• Vegan Lemon and Blueberry Loaf
• Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
• Vegan Strawberry Lemonade Cake

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Raspberry Lemon Custard Muffins so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make these, please tag me in your bakes, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With raspberry custard love x

p.s. the recipe was first made with Natures Charm products, which I love. They are a lovely brand but this blog post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own.