Coffee cake muffins with double the crumbs: in the middle of the muffin and piled on top!
I'm going to need a slow clap starting now. When the oven timer goes off, you can begin. When I pull these out of the oven, start to pick up the pace. When I undress a muffin, go ahead and burst wildly into applause. These perfect coffee cake muffins deserve it.
My friend Heather requested a small batch of coffee cake, and since she has given me tons of amazing restaurant recs since I've been in St. Louis, who am I to deny her the sweet, crumbly coffee cake of her dreams?
I debated over making a mini coffee cake in a 6" pan, but after almost 5 years of blogging, I've realized that everyone has a muffin pan, not everyone has a mini 6" cake pan.
If you do own a mini cake pan, welcome to the dessert for two club. I love you.
I used my recipe for coconut cupcakes as a starting point for this recipe. If you've never made those, you must. Go ahead, I'll wait. (And whoa, check out that photo quality from a few years ago. Oy). They are dense, like coconut pound cake. I've turned coconut haters into coconut lovers with that cupcake! Every time that recipe called for coconut something-or-other, I substituted cream. Heavens. These coffee cake muffins are sinful from the start.
I double up on the crumb topping in this coffee cake muffins, because I'm the boss of my own kitchen. I added crumbs to the middle and the top of the muffin, because a coffee cake without two instances of crumbs is just plain sad.
This recipe makes 4 mini coffee cakes, and I know you'll like them.
Variations on coffee cake muffins:
If you don't have cream, you may use sour cream.
If you want to substitute Greek yogurt instead, that's fine too, but maybe not fat-free, ok? Muffins need fat for moisture.
A small batch of coffee cake muffins deserve applause!
I have a video for blueberry muffins, and I thought I would share it here because it's so similar to this recipe for coffee cake muffins. This recipe has fresh blueberries in it, and isn't the same, but it will give you some general pointers for muffin making. Make both recipes if you're a total morning muffin fanatic like me!
Video here:
(Sometimes the video pops over to the side bar, so check for it there if you don't see it above).
P.S. If you love crumb topping as much as me, check out these crumb donuts I found in my archives from 2012! I think that was the first time I discovered how to make photo collages. I probably spent hours on that while shoving crumb donuts in my face. It was a very good day, no doubt. I think it's time to make these again!
Coffee Cake Muffins
Coffee cake muffins with streusel on top. So good!
Ingredients
For the crumb topping:
- ¼ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
For the muffins:
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream (or sour cream)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375, and line 4 cups in a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl, make the crumb topping: combine all the ingredients and pinch together to make crumbs. Set aside.
- Next, in a medium bowl, beat together the oil and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for 4 minutes. Next, add the salt, egg, cream, and vanilla and beat for 15 seconds.
- Sprinkle the remaining dry ingredients on top, and beat just to combine.
- Scoop 1 ½ tablespoons of the batter into the muffin cups. Top with a spoonful of crumb topping, and then divide the rest of the batter between all muffin cups.
- Bake for 19-23 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out cleanly, and the crumb topping is nice and golden brown.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 340Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 142mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 0gSugar: 31gProtein: 3g
Matt says
Can you do a single thick layer of crumb on top of a single layer of cake?
Christina Lane says
Sure.
Kathi says
Thank you for this recipe.. made them today and they are delicious!
Debbie says
If I make this in a 6" pan how long should I bake it?
Christina Lane says
Not sure, Debbie, I haven't tried that. I would just start at 15 minutes and keep checking it with a toothpick?
Dee says
This recipe is so good! I kind of misread the directions and mixed the eggs and sugar first (oops! I was on a conference call at 5am today!) and then just added the oil, vanilla and cream after. It all worked out just fine. I also did everything by hand because I didn't want to take the mixer out. Results - a super fluffy and moist muffin with delicious cinnamon crumbs inside and the muffins rose so beautifully encased with the streussel topping. They were just the right amount of sweet. Oh and I doubled the recipe because I knew 4 would not be enough! Also, one other thing I loved was the smell of cinnamon permeating throughout the house!
Helena says
These were absolutely delicious!
The last time I made coffee cake, I made French toast out if the left overs. I was looking for something simpler, and easier for the morning.
I paired two of these babies, with some peach slices and walnuts, toasted in brown sugar, butter, and a splash of Old Camp Peach Pecan Whiskey. Fighting the urge to have more..
Thank you for the recipe.
Siobhan says
These turned out great! Hubby hates cinnamon (I know, total nonsense) so I made 2 with extra vanilla in the crumb and 2 with LOTS of cinnamon for me. Thanks for these mini-goodies, love to try new recipes without tons of leftovers.
Jenn says
Delicious! I made these tonight and put them in my muffin top pan. Four perfect muffin tops. So many other recipes I've found make a dozen which is too many. This was just enough.