Passion Fruit Poppy Seed Muffins

Needing to find more ways to use the lovely passion fruit puree that lives in my freezer, I decided that lemon poppy seed muffins could use an upgrade!  These took a couple tries to nail down, but now everyone has given their thumbs up.

What makes me especially happy about these muffins is that they disappeared throughout the week without my help.  That means my normally muffin-apathetic family members really did like them! 

Passion Fruit Poppy Seed Muffins
makes 12 standard muffins

½ scant cup (105g) large egg whites, room temperature (from 6 or 7 eggs or carton whites)
6 tbsp (90g) sour cream, room temperature
6 tbsp (90g) passion fruit purée, room temperature
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp milk
¾ tsp vanilla
1½ cups (200g) all-purpose flour   
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar (May be reduced to ¾ cup 150g if desired)
2 tsp baking powder   
½ tsp sea salt    
¼ cup (56g) butter, melted
¼ cup avocado oil    
1 tbsp poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling   

Passion Fruit Icing   
¾ cups (90g) powdered sugar   
2 tbsp (30g) passion fruit purée   
½ tbsp butter, melted   
¼ tsp vanilla   

For the muffins:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Grease or line with baking papers, a large six-cup muffin tin. 

In a bowl or liquid  measuring cup, whisk together the egg whites, sour cream, passion fruit purée, poppy seeds, and  vanilla.  Let sit for at least 10 minutes.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine the flour,  sugar, baking powder, and salt.  

On low speed,  add in the melted butter and oil, mixing until a sandy mixture is achieved.  Fluff with a fork to ensure no large lumps and give another quick mix for a few seconds.  

Add the wet ingredients and mix to incorporate, about 20-30 seconds at medium speed, until smoothly combined.  

Portion the batter into the muffin cups; the batter  should fill the wells to about ¼ inch below the rim. 

Tap the pans gently on the counter once or twice to remove any air bubbles. 

Bake in the center of the oven for ~20 minutes, rotating the pans  halfway through baking.  Muffins will be pale and have a crackled top and a wooden skewer or  toothpick inserted into the centers should come out with a few moist crumbs.    

For the icing drizzle:

While the muffins are baking, whisk together the powdered sugar, passion fruit purée, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth. 

Add a few drops of water if necessary to thin the icing to the desired consistency. 

When the muffins are done baking, let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Brush or pour half the icing over the tops of the  muffins before removing them from the tins.

Transfer to a wire rack set over a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. 

Pour the remaining icing over the  muffins and sprinkle with additional poppy seeds.

Let cool completely. 

Muffins are best eaten the same day they are made, but may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.  

 Here are some more muffins for your Monday:

• Chocolate Zucchini Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Gingered Lemon Poppyseed Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mango Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Passion Fruit Poppy Seed Muffins from A Messy Kitchen
• Pepperoni Pizza Muffins from Food Lust People Love