Lemon and Poppy seed muffins

I'm not lying when I say I've been wanting to make these for about a year; the biggest problem I had was procuring poppy seeds (which seem to be non-existant in my town). However on Saturday I managed to find two packs of the elusive things and so I was free to bake! I made these yesterday. Recipe and verdict after the cut :)

I used a recipe from Nigella.com, found here. I've not used the site before and so I was a little anxious that my muffins may not turn out as I wanted - I need not have worried! This recipe uses store cupboard ingredients (my biggest problem with all the other recipes I found was that they wanted yoghurt or creme fraiche, which I don't keep in) and is really simple like most muffin recipes - mix all the dry and then mix all the wet in! Took me about ten minutes to whip them up, and about 20 minutes cooking time.

Taste wise, they're not lemon-y enough for me and next time I'd squeeze more than just one half of a lemon in. And maybe add the extract of lemon that's called for in the recipe which I didn't add because I assumed lemon juice would be a good enough substitute! They are absolutely gorgeous warmed up though and have a really nice, light texture with a crunchy top - perfect. I can't wait to make these again! I used my new silicone muffin tray that I got for my birthday for one batch and did the other batch in cases in a metal tin. I think the ones in the silicone have come out much better to be honest, so I'm going to buy myself another one as it only holds 6 muffins. I would definitely recommend this recipe to first time bakers and seasoned pros alike for it's simplicity and great results.

Here's a few more pictures of the muffins for you to feast on...