Raspberry Lemon Muffins

Ok, here's a question - what do raspberries & lemons have in common? No clue, you say! Well, my favorite answer is that they pair up perfectly well to create one of the most sinfully delicious (devilicious?) low-fat muffins I have ever had the pleasure of sinking my 32 pearls into. Oh, but where are my manners - I should do a proper introduction. So... dear reader, meet Raspberry Lemon Muffin. Dear Raspberry Lemon Muffin, meet someone who's about to fall madly in love with your golden looks & your delectable, luscious charms - just like I did! It is simply too hard to resist the heavenly tangy-sweet flavors produced by bringing together the sweet zestiness of fresh raspberries, the sour tartness of lemon juice, the bitter intensity of the lemon zest, in a moist & delicious muffin.

The Raspberry Lemon Muffin will give you the perfect companionship for breakfast. Besides their tangy, light fluffiness that reminds one of springtime, they are really simple & easy to prepare, and not to forget, low fat compared to the traditional muffin recipes. Serve these yummy muffins up for breakfast or brunch, or snack up on them whenever you get hit by sweet cravings. Enough introductions - time for you to make Raspberry Lemon Muffin & discover their delicious goodness in person :)

LOW-FAT  RASPBERRY  LEMON  MUFFINS  RECIPE

Yield : 8 Muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Raspberry Yogurt (I used Yoplait Light); or plain yogurt (see Tips)

1 large Egg

3 tbsp fresh Lemon Juice

1/4 tsp Lemon extract; optional

3 tbsp Vegetable Oil or unsweetened Apple Sauce

1 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour (Maida)

2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp grated Lemon zest

3/4 cup White Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

24 pcs fresh Raspberries

How to make Raspberry Lemon Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Coat 8 regular muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt & lemon zest. In a separate bowl combine yogurt, oil, egg, lemon juice & lemon extract. Add the yogurt mixture to the flour mixture and fold until almost blended (do not overmix).
3. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Top each muffin with 3 raspberries & push them into the batter almost 3/4 way down.
4. Bake the muffins for 18- 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the muffin. 
5. Cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tin then remove to a cooling rack. Serve warm.

TIPS:

1. Do not fold rasperrries into the batter as raspberries might end up touching the sides or bottom of the muffin cup, & you will end up with soggy muffins. So, it is better to add the raspberries at the top after pouring in the batter into the muffin cup.
2. Use raspberry yogurt, it gives a better flavor to the muffins than plain yogurt. 
3. It is important that you do not use any other oil besides vegetable oil.