Raspberry Lemon Muffins With Cream Cheese
I’ve been making these raspberry lemon muffins with cream cheese for years. Along with my Nova Scotia seafood chowder and brown sugar shortbread cookies, they’ve become one of my most popular recipes!
This recipe is inspired by muffins my Mum used to bring me home from her work at our local children’s hospital. She would come home with a small grease-spotted paper bag. I always knew what was inside—moist lemon muffins studded with chunks of tangy cream cheese just for me.
I started adding raspberries a few years ago. They complement the rich cream cheese and bring out the bright lemon flavor. Moist and tender with a cake-like crumb, these muffins are a lovely breakfast or afternoon tea treat.
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Ingredients For Raspberry Lemon Muffins
Ingredient Notes
- Cream Cheese: Adds a creamy texture and slight tanginess reminiscent of cheesecake.
- Eggs: Bind the ingredients together and add moisture, contributing to the muffin’s texture.
- Lemon: Both the zest and juice add a fresh, tangy flavor that complements the sweetness of the raspberries.
- Milk: Adds moisture to the batter, ensuring the muffins are tender. Use any milk you prefer.
- Raspberries: Using frozen berries helps keep them intact during mixing, but you can also use fresh if you are gentle.
- Vegetable Oil: Adds moisture and helps keep the muffins soft and tender.
It’s important to note that when making substitutions in recipes, the texture and flavor may be slightly different. However, these substitutes are the best options for changing the original recipe.
Ingredient Substitutions
- All-Purpose Flour: You can use whole wheat flour for a denser texture or a gluten-free flour blend for a gluten-free option.
- Baking Powder: Substitute with ¼ teaspoon of baking soda and ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar.
- Baking Soda: Use 4 times the amount of baking powder, though this may affect the texture slightly.
- Cream Cheese: Mascarpone cheese is a good alternative, providing a similar creamy texture.
- Lemon: Lime can be used if you want a different citrus flavor. Orange zest and juice will also work.
- Milk: Any non-dairy milk, such as almond, soy, or oat, can replace regular milk.
- Raspberries: Fresh raspberries can be used if you have them. Blueberries are also great.
- Salt: Kosher or sea salt can replace regular table salt in the same amount.
- Sugar: Brown or coconut sugar can be used for a different flavor profile.
- Vegetable Oil: You can substitute melted coconut oil or any other neutral-flavored oil, such as canola or sunflower oil.
- Vanilla: Almond extract is an excellent substitute for vanilla. It pairs beautifully with raspberries!
Recipe Variations
Try any of the following for a twist on this raspberry lemon muffin recipe:
- Blueberries: Replace half of the raspberries with blueberries.
- Chocolate Chips: Mix in ½ cup of chocolate chips.
- Coconut: Stir in ½ cup of shredded coconut.
- Dried Fruit: Add ½ cup of dried cranberries or apricots.
- Ginger: Incorporate 1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger.
- Honey: Replace some of the sugar with honey.
- Lemon Glaze: Drizzle with a simple lemon glaze.
- Lime: Use lime zest and juice instead of lemon.
- Nuts: Add ½ cup of chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans.
- Oats: Mix in ½ cup of rolled oats.
- Orange: Substitute lemon zest and juice with orange zest and juice.
- Peach: Replace half of the raspberries with diced peaches.
- Poppy Seeds: Stir in a tablespoon of poppy seeds.
- Spices: Add a teaspoon of cinnamon or homemade chai spice or a pinch of nutmeg or cardamom.
- Streusel Topping: Top with a simple streusel made from flour, butter, and sugar.
- White Chocolate: Stir in ½ cup of white chocolate chips.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of this post, or scroll to the bottom to see the PRINTABLE recipe card with ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
How To Make Raspberry Lemon Muffins With Cream Cheese
STEP 1: Use your hands or a knife to section the cream cheese into small pieces. Set aside. Grate the lemon zest into one bowl and squeeze the lemon juice into a second bowl.
STEP 2: Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl with the lemon zest. Whisk to combine.
STEP 3: Mix the vegetable oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla in the bowl with the lemon juice.
STEP 4: Add the dry flour mixture to the lemon juice mixture.
STEP 5: Stir the muffin batter about halfway.
STEP 6: Add the raspberries and cream cheese pieces.
STEP 7: Gently stir the batter until the berries and cream cheese are well distributed and the flour is just mixed in.
STEP 8: Spoon the batter evenly between a standard 12-cup muffin tin lined with paper wrappers. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if using, and bake.
Expert Tips
1. Using a digital kitchen scale and an oven thermometer will give you the most accurate and consistent results.
2. For a more cheesecake-like flavor, mix the cream cheese with powdered sugar to taste before adding it to the batter.
3. If you find the cream cheese too sticky, dip it in the flour to make it easier to handle.
Recipe Notes
- You can make this recipe by hand, or use an electric hand or stand mixer.
- Starting the muffins off at a higher oven temperature encourages a higher rise, but it can be inconsistent. Regardless of how tall your muffins are, they will be delicious.
Storage
- Storing these muffins in plastic zipper-top bags at room temperature can lead to a soggy texture by the next day. Once the muffins have completely cooled, I find it best to place them in a freezer bag and store them directly in the freezer. This preserves freshness and texture. Let the muffins thaw on the countertop for about 20-30 minutes, or warm them up briefly in the microwave.
More Summer Berry Recipes
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Printable Recipe Card
Raspberry Lemon Muffins With Cream Cheese
Special Equipment
- 1 12-cup standard muffin tin
- Baking spray
- Paper muffin / cupcake wrappers
- 1 Medium mixing bowl
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- Citrus zester or Microplane
- Measuring cups and spoons or digital kitchen scale
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- ½ cup cream cheese
- 1 medium lemon, zested
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk , see recipe instructions
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cups raspberries, frozen
- coarse sugar, optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly spray a standard 12-cup muffin tin with baking spray then place a paper muffin cup in each cavity. Set aside.
- Use your hands or a knife to section the cream cheese into small chunks. Set aside.
- Have one medium and one large mixing bowl ready. Wash the lemon and then use a citrus zester or Microplane to finely grate all of the zest into the medium bowl. Slice the lemon in half and squeeze out as much juice as you can into the large mixing bowl (approximately ¼ cup).
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the medium-sized bowl with the lemon zest. Whisk well to combine and set aside.
- Add the vegetable oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla to the bowl with the lemon juice. Whisk well to combine.
- Add the dry flour mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients. Gently stir the mixture until it's about halfway mixed. Add the frozen raspberries and cream cheese chunks. Continue to stir until the berries and cream cheese are well distributed and the flour is just mixed in.
- Spoon the muffin batter evenly between the 12 prepared muffin cups. Top each muffin with a sprinkle of coarse sugar if using.
- Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for 14 to 16 minutes more. Transfer the muffin tin to a wire rack and cool the muffins for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the tin and place them directly on the rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
- You can make this recipe by hand, or use an electric hand or stand mixer.
- Starting the muffins off at a higher oven temperature encourages a higher rise but it can be inconsistent. Regardless of how tall your muffins are, they will be delicious.
Storage
- Storing these muffins in plastic zipper-top bags at room temperature can lead to a soggy texture by the next day. Once the muffins have completely cooled, I find it best to place them in a freezer bag and store them directly in the freezer. This preserves freshness and texture. Let the muffins thaw on the countertop for about 20-30 minutes, or warm them up briefly in the microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. If accurate data is important to you, please verify it independently.
I like it when I bake muffins and my family wants more. I will have to try this recipe. Looks yum!
those muffins look lovely, i'd love to try them. can you please tell this European what a block of cream cheese means in grams, ounces or cups? thank you
Hi rozinchina! I use Philadelphia cream cheese and each block is approximately 250 grams 🙂
These look insanely delicious!!!
Yum! Love the cream cheese bits – it’s like a cheesecake in a muffin.
I don’t usually get too excited about muffin recipes, as they tend to all blend together after a while – but these are a breath of fresh air! Not only are they gorgeous, but they really do bring something different to the table. They feel special enough to be dessert (especially with some extra pureed raspberry sauce), but they nicely overlap with a breakfast muffin too, which is no small feat. I absolutely love the way you’ve incorporated the cream cheese too. Fantastic idea, and wonderful execution!
These are right up my alley. Love raspberries and lemon together.
Raspberries were a brilliant addition to these muffins! Love how creamy and tangy they are too. Pinned!
These muffins are so good. They’re like raspberry cheesecake in a muffin. 😋Delicious!