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    Home » Breads and muffins

    Published: May 4, 2023 by Cynthia · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    Bakery Style Crumb Cake Muffins

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Crumb Cake Muffins have the light, fluffy cake and delicious cinnamon crumb topping of a New Jersey Crumb Cake - but in portable, take-away muffin form. Perfect for breakfast on the go or a snack!

    side view of an unwrapped crumb cake muffin.

    If you live on the East Coast of the United States, mainly New Jersey and New York, you have probably eaten the best crumb cake in the world. I've turned that cake into the crumb cake muffin of your dreams!

    Not messing around, I top a light and fluffy sponge cake with an equal portion of cinnamon flavored crumb topping. Half cake, half crumb topping; the way crumb cake was meant to be, but in the portable, take-away form of a muffin.

    I've also cracked the code on getting your preferred piece of cake. No more fighting for the corner piece to make sure you get caramelized and crispy edge bits along with your fluffy cake. It's all edge, baby!

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Substitutions
    • Instructions
    • Regular sized muffins
    • Expert tips
    • Recipe FAQ's
    • More muffin recipes
    • Bakery Style Crumb Cake Muffins

    Ingredients

    I hate when recipe developers tell you that you probably have all the ingredients, then give you a list of some crazy, niche items. With the exception of buttermilk, which I offer substitutions for, I'll bet you have everything you need for these muffins. You're welcome 😉

    ingredients to make crumb cake muffins.

    See recipe card for quantities.

    Substitutions

    Buttermilk

    If you don't regularly keep buttermilk in your fridge, you should probably start! A lot of my most popular recipes use buttermilk, including biscuits, pancakes, waffles, and a pretty epic chocolate cake. If you don't have it and still want to make these crumb cake muffins, I got you:

    • Make your own buttermilk - I get it. Not everyone has buttermilk in their refrigerator. If you don't have access to buttermilk you can make your own substitute. For the ½ cup of buttermilk needed in this recipe, pour 1½ teaspoons of lemon juice or vinegar into a measuring cup. Add enough whole milk to total up to ½ cup or 120 grams. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes, or until it looks thick and slightly curdled.
    • Replace the buttermilk - Alternatively, you can replace the buttermilk with either plain or Greek yogurt or kefir. Because of the thickness of yogurt, you'll need to thin it to properly hydrate the flour. To do this, add ⅓ cup of plain or Greek yogurt to a measuring cup, then add enough plain milk or water to total up to ½ cup, or 120 grams. Kefir has a similar thickness to buttermilk, so the measurement remains the same at ½ cup.
    • Not buttermilk (one last thing) - Sometimes my Grandma Olga Mae just used plain milk. Nowadays, some people prefer to use milk alternatives. Both will work. I just happen to think that a liquid with a bit of acidity, like buttermilk or yogurt, adds a distinctive flavor to biscuits that I otherwise miss. Whatever floats your boat!

    Flour

    Cake flour vs. all-purpose flour - In this recipe (and the recipe for New Jersey Crumb Cake) I have you use cake flour in the crumb topping, and all-purpose flour in the cake. There are good reasons.

    • Topping - Using cake flour in the topping allows you to have a sky high crumb, while keeping it soft enough to bite into. It is also light enough to sit atop the cake.
    • Cake - The cake is made with all-purpose flour so that it has the strength to hold up that confident layer of crumb. Using buttermilk (see above) helps keep the muffins soft and tender.

    Instructions

    Making Crumb Cake Muffins requires only a couple more steps than making crumb cake, and it all starts with lining your muffin pan.

    making jumbo muffin liners with 6 inch squares of parchment paper and using a spice jar to press them into place.

    You can line each hole in a muffin pan with a 6 inch square of parchment paper. Just place a piece over a hole and use a spice jar, tomato paste can, or anything similarly sized, to press it into place. It may want to pop up, but adding the muffin batter will hold it down.

    placing jumbo muffin liners into a muffin pan.

    You can also line the muffin pan with a jumbo tulip parchment liner, named that way because the pre-folded liners resemble a tulip. These liners allow you to make jumbo sized muffins using a standard muffin pan. Handy!

    tulip muffin liners and a muffin pan.

    This is the brand of tulip liners I prefer, but similar suitable liners can be found in hobby stores and online. Okay, now that you've lined your muffin pan, let's make some Crumb Cake Muffins.

    adding melted butter to crumb topping ingredients.

    1. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cake flour, then add melted butter.

    mixing crumb topping with a wooden spoon.

    2. Mix thoroughly, until fully combined. Put in the freezer while you make the batter.

    adding wet ingredients to dry ingredients.

    3. Whisk the dry ingredients. Whisk the wet ingredients. Pour the wet into the dry.

    whisking yeast waffle batter.

    4. Mix well into a fairly thick batter. Only mix until the last of the flour is incorporated. Over-mixing can lead to dense muffins.

    closeup of adding muffin batter to a lined muffin tin.

    5. Use a medium scoop or ¼ cup measuring cup to portion the batter into the jumbo muffin liners.

    closeup of adding crumb topping to muffin batter.

    6. Top each muffin batter portion with a medium scoopful or ¼ cup of crumb topping.

    sheet pan full of crumb cake muffins.

    7. Bake at 325°F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a skewer placed into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

    closeup of hands holding a crumb cake muffin.

    8. Dust each muffin generously with powdered sugar.

    closeup of hands holding an open crumb cake muffin.

    9. Enjoy the best Crumb Cake Muffin in the world!

    Regular sized muffins

    If you don't have a jumbo muffin pan or large parchment muffin liners, you can make these as regular sized muffins.

    • Line each hole in your muffin pan with standard muffin liners.
    • Use a small scoop, or a tablespoon, to place 2 tablespoons of batter in each liner.
    • Top each muffin with 2 tablespoons of crumb topping.
    • Bake at 325°F for 20 to 24 minutes.

    Expert tips

    • Mix the batter only until the last of the dry ingredients is mixed in. Over-mixing can lead to dense muffins.
    • If you have time, let the finished muffin batter rest for 10 minutes. This will allow the leavening agents to give their initial push to rise.
    • When baking, the cake batter is going to try and push up and out of the crumb topping in spots. Let the cake do as it wants. You're going to be covering them in the traditional snow shower of powdered sugar and no one will ever know!

    Recipe FAQ's

    How do I store leftover crumb cake muffins?

    Store leftover muffins in a covered container, such as a cake stand or plastic storage container, for up to 3 days.

    Can I store them in the refrigerator?

    Storing muffins in the refrigerator will allow them to last up to 5 days, but I find that the crumb topping gets too hard for my liking.

    Can I freeze these muffins?

    Yes. Store cooled muffins in a zip top bag, or other airtight container, for up to a month. Allow to thaw at room temperature.

    More muffin recipes

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      Buttermilk Muffins: Better than Basic
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    Did you try this recipe? Tell me all about it!
    Leave a ⭐️ review and comment below!
    Take a pic and tag @butfirst_webrunch on Instagram!

    side view of an unwrapped crumb cake muffin.

    Bakery Style Crumb Cake Muffins

    Crumb Cake Muffins have the light, fluffy cake and delicious cinnamon crumb topping of a New Jersey Crumb Cake - but in portable, take-away muffin form. Perfect for breakfast on the go or a snack!
    5 from 2 votes
    Author: Cynthia
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 21 minutes mins
    Total Time 36 minutes mins
    Course Breakfast, Brunch, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 8 muffins
    Calories 398 kcal

    Equipment

    • Standard size muffin pan
    • Tulip liners
    • Medium scoop

    Ingredients
     

    Crumb topping

    • ¾ cup (165 g) brown sugar
    • ¾ tablespoon (6 g) ground cinnamon
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1 cup (120 g) cake flour
    • 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter melted

    Muffins

    • 1 ½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
    • ½ cup (100 g) sugar
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1 large egg
    • ½ cup (120 g) buttermilk
    • 2 tablespoons (30 g) canola oil
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla

    Instructions

    Prep

    • Preheat oven to 325° Line 8 holes of a muffin pan with tulip liners or jumbo muffin liners.

    Crumb topping

    • Whisk sugar, cinnamon, salt, and all purpose flour in medium bowl to combine. Add melted butter and mix with sturdy rice paddle or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, crumbly dough. Refrigerate while you make the cake batter.

    Muffin batter

    • Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
    • Combine the wet ingredients, and pour into the dry ingredients and fold until just combined.

    Assemble and bake

    • Use a medium scoop or ¼ cup measuring cup to portion batter into liners. Top each muffin portion with a medium scoopful or ¼ cup of crumb topping.
    • Bake at 325°F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a skewer placed into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes, then dust generously with powdered sugar.

    Notes

    • Mix the batter only until the last of the dry ingredients is mixed in. Over-mixing can lead to dense muffins.
    • If you have time, let the muffin batter rest for 10 minutes. This will allow the leavening agents to give their initial push to rise.
    • These muffins can be made in a standard size muffin. See the full blog post for exact instructions.
    • When baking, the cake batter is going to try and push up and out of the crumb topping in spots. Let the cake do as it wants. You're going to be covering them in the traditional snow shower of powdered sugar and no one will ever know!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 398kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 391mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 323IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 2mg

    The nutritional and caloric information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It does not assert or suggest that readers should or should not count calories, and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s or doctor’s counseling.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @butfirst_webrunch or tag #butfirstwebrunch!

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    Hi, I'm Cynthia! In our house, we get up with the sun and most of us don't stop working until late in the night, so breakfast and brunch are our family meals. So join me at the kitchen counter, where I cook up delicious food for my busy family, starting first thing in the morning!

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