A perfect treat to pair with coffee or tea, these decadent crumb cake muffins are like a slice of your favorite coffee crumb cake, but in handheld form. Just like in my go-to muffin recipe, the sour cream in the batter keeps the muffins moist and tender without weighing them down. But let’s be real: we are really here for those buttery brown sugar cinnamon crumbles on top… and there are plenty!
Recently, I set out to make a muffin version of my super-popular recipes for coffee cake and New York-style crumb cake. Individually portioned muffins that have all the same qualities you love about classic crumb cake:
- Flavors of cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla
- A moist, slightly dense crumb made with sour cream
- Oodles of delicious crumbles on top
- And a little vanilla icing drizzle for good measure!
Behind the Recipe: Testing Crumb Cake Muffins
It turned out to take more rounds of testing than I expected! As someone who has made countless batches of muffins over the years, and could probably make any variation of this versatile muffin recipe in my sleep, I thought it would be a piece of (crumb) cake to develop this recipe!
Instead, as the muffins were rising in the oven, they started shedding their crumbles all over the muffin pan, like they couldn’t wait to be free of them. What a disappointment—not to mention a mess.
Here’s how we fixed it:
After a few more rounds of testing, my team and I figured out what needed to change to convince the crumb cake muffins to hold onto their crumbs:
- Don’t fill the muffin cups completely. In most of my muffin recipes, I direct you to fill the muffin cups all the way to the top, because we want those super-tall bakery-style muffin tops. But we need these muffins to not rise into tall peaks, so the crumbles don’t go tumbling off in an avalanche. Using less batter in each muffin cup extends the batter to make 15 muffins, so you get 3 bonus muffins! You’re welcome!
- Skip the usual high-heat trick. Again, with most of my muffin recipes, I instruct you to start baking the muffins at 425°F for the first 5 minutes, and then lowering the temperature to 350°F for the remainder of the bake time. This quickly lifts the tops of the muffins up, but again, we don’t want that here. Bake the entire time at 350°F (177°C).
Even with these adjustments, you should expect to still lose a few crumbles as the muffins expand and rise in the oven. But don’t worry, I’ve made sure the recipe makes plenty of crumb topping for these muffins!
Grab These Ingredients:
- Brown Sugar: Moist brown sugar is the key to a crumb topping that’s soft, not crunchy.
- Cinnamon: A key flavor in both the topping and the base of these muffins.
- Butter: You need melted butter for the crumb topping, and room-temperature butter for the muffin batter. Creaming the room-temperature butter with sugar produces a wonderfully cakey texture.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the best choice for the topping as well as the batter.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: These leavening agents help the muffins rise. You’ll notice I reduced the baking soda from my usual muffin recipe—this creates a slightly more controlled lift, allowing the muffins to hold onto more crumbs. They’re still wonderfully light and tender!
- Salt: Flavor enhancer.
- Granulated Sugar: While you could use brown sugar here, I recommend white granulated sugar to ensure the texture of the muffins isn’t overly heavy and dense.
- Eggs: Bind ingredients together, and add tenderness and richness.
- Vanilla Extract: If you have homemade vanilla extract, use it!
- Sour Cream: The magic moist maker! Just like in this white cake, sour cream adds moisture without weighing down these cake-like muffins.
- Milk: Just a little, to thin out the batter.
Make the Crumb Topping First
You’ll mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter together. I usually just use a fork to do this. Add in the flour, and stir until medium-sized crumbles form. You don’t want to overmix it or you’ll end up with a paste. Refrigerate the crumb topping until you’re ready to use it.
Why? Cold crumbs hold their shape better while baking.
Next, Make the Muffins
Whisk the dry ingredients, cream butter and sugars, add the remaining wet ingredients as the recipe instructs below, and mix it all together as you add the milk.
Divide the batter between 15 muffin liners. If you try to make fewer muffins, they will rise too much, and all of the crumbs will fall off. Trust me, my team and I have made many failed batches in our attempts.
Press the cold crumbs down as much as possible to adhere them to the batter:
While I love muffins with add-ins, from fruit to chocolate chips, nuts, and more, this muffin is anything but plain. Instead, with nothing to distract from them, the sweet, buttery, cinnamon-y flavors really shine through! A few taste testers even asked for “more of those delicious brown sugar muffins.”
Excellent flavor here!
However, if you want to take these crumb cake muffins to the next level of crumb cake indulgence, you can always add a drizzle of easy 3-ingredient vanilla icing. 😉
Can’t get enough crumb topping? Here are some more favorite recipes for you:
Crumb Cake Muffins
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes
Total Time: 47 minutes
Yield: 15 muffins
Category: Muffins
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American
Description
These rich and buttery crumb cake muffins capture all the goodness of a classic crumb coffee cake but in a perfectly portioned, handheld treat. For the best results, follow the recipe closely—divide the batter evenly into 15 muffins (no fewer) and chill the crumb topping to help it maintain its texture.
Crumb Topping
Muffins
Optional Vanilla Icing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners; line 3 cups of a second muffin pan with 3 liners (or bake in batches)—this recipe makes 15 muffins. Set aside.
- Make the crumb topping: Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter together in a small bowl until combined. Add the flour and use a fork to gently mix until crumbs form. Don’t over-mix into a paste. Just mix until it is crumbly. It will seem like a lot of crumb topping, and it is! These are generously topped. Place crumb topping mixture in the refrigerator while you make the muffin batter. Cold crumbs hold shape better when baking.
- Make the muffins: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Add the sour cream and vanilla, and beat until the mixture is combined and mostly creamy. (It’s ok if it appears somewhat curdled.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients, followed by the milk. Avoid over-mixing—you may need to switch to stirring with a spatula or whisking by hand to be sure no flour pockets are hiding at the bottom of the bowl. Batter is thick.
- Spoon approximately 3 Tablespoons of batter into each of the 15 prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full. Spoon crumb topping on each, gently pressing it down so it adheres to the batter.
- Bake for 22–24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It’s normal for some of the crumb topping to fall off the sides as the muffins expand, but most should remain securely on top.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan(s), then transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling. Let them cool for at least 15 minutes before icing.
- Make the icing (if using): Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, 2 Tablespoons milk or heavy cream, and vanilla extract together. Add another Tablespoon of milk or heavy cream to thin out if necessary. For thicker icing, add a little more confectioners’ sugar. Drizzle over muffins.
- Iced or plain muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked & cooled muffins for up to 3 months. You can freeze with or without the icing, but making the icing fresh before serving is always best. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature before enjoying. Warm up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Milk: You can use any milk, dairy or nondairy, in both the muffin batter and icing. For best taste and texture, I do not recommend nonfat milk.
- Confectioners’ Sugar in Icing: I use and recommend Domino brand confectioners’ sugar.
