Citrus and Poppy Seed Muffins

These tasty little confections toe the dangerous line between cake and muffin, making for a lovely dessert but also being able to double as breakfast (I'm not eating cake for breakfast! Its a muffin, I swear!). However, not all lemon poppy seed muffins are created equal, these little critters are not only more nutritious than their counterparts but tend to taste more strongly of citrus. These muffins are made truly exceptional by the additional kick granted to them by the lemon syrup, inspired by Canadian Living's recipe. To top it all off, the addition of orange gives the muffins another layer of flavour all the while giving a wonderful golden tone not shared by its predecessor. Are these muffins really better than traditional lemon poppy seed muffins? Only one way to find out, get to it!

Serves 24
Ingredients

1 1/2 c. butter

2 1/4 c. granulated sugar

6 eggs

3 ½ c. all-purpose flour

1 c. wholewheat flour

9 tsp.  poppy seeds

4 tbsp.  grated lemon rind

1.5 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 c. soy milk

¼ c. orange juice concentrate (from frozen concentrate)

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. lemon juice

Lemon Syrup:

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp grated lemon rind

½ tsp orange rind

2/3c. lemon juice

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees, grease 2 large muffin trays

2) Combine flours, baking powder and salt

3) Cream butter and sugar together until homogenous, add eggs gradually and mix

4) Add vanilla, lemon juice, orange juice concentrate to the egg mixture mixing together

5) Combine wets and dries, add poppyseeds, pour into muffin trays

6) Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes, test readyness with toothpick 
7) Coat baked and cooled muffins with syrup.