Coffee Cake Muffins
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This recipe for Coffee Cake Muffins takes a classic coffee cake and transforms it into an individual muffin. Moist, fluffy, and filled with a brown sugar cinnamon swirl. These Coffee Cake Muffins are topped with a crumb topping, pecans, and a sweet glaze.
If you love coffee cake as much as I do, check out some of my other favorite coffee cake recipes like my Cinnamon Pecan Babka Coffee Cake, Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake, or my Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake.
Table of Contents
Growing up, coffee cake was reserved for very special occasions. Christmas morning, sometimes Easter or Thanksgiving, but it wasn't very often. My mom would pick up a 9-inch round coffee cake from some bakery downtown that I never had the privilege of going to. I don't even know if it was Dutch, Polish, Scandinavian, Swedish – it could have been anything as Chicago is a melting pot. But, it was the most insane coffee cake I've ever had. I finally recreated it, and that is my Cinnamon Pecan Babka Coffee Cake.
So, when I think of coffee cake, that's what comes to my mind. And these Coffee Cake Muffins have the flavor profile of that coffee cake but they require very little effort! This is why this recipe is so amazing. These moist and fluffy muffins are filled with a brown sugar cinnamon swirl, topped with a crumb topping, pecans, and a sweet glaze. These Coffee Cake Muffins are an easy bake to make any weekend morning and you have a fresh baked muffin that you didn't spend your entire morning baking.
What is coffee cake?
It is literally any cake that is intended to be enjoyed with coffee. And today with all the recipes and all the bakers out there, this could mean anything! But, most people have adapted cinnamon and sugar for the flavor profile, and a yellow or vanilla sponge cake as the base. Coffee cakes can have swirls inside, they can be made in round pans, square pans, loaf pans, muffin pans… and the list goes on. Some coffee cakes even have a streusel topping, which are my favorite kind! I love that little sweet crumb topping and I personally feel you can't call anything a coffee cake without some kind of streusel topping!
Coffee cake is also dangerous as I can eat a lot of it! When I make it in a round 9-inch pan, I end up cutting off little slivers, and then more little slivers, and then more… before I realize it, I have eaten like 2 giant pieces of coffee cake! So, I thought I would make these little Coffee Cake Muffins (so I can control myself, to be honest). But, in all seriousness – having a portable little coffee cake muffins is perfect for the morning. It also prevents you from having to cut through that crumb topping, which can sometimes be messy and difficult as you can loose the top. With a Coffee Cake Muffin, the topping is all safely baked right into the top, and it's all yours!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Mini Coffee Cakes: These Coffee Cake Muffins are like mini coffee cakes! And everyone knows if you make it mini, you make it better.
Irresistible Flavor Combination: These muffins combine the moist, tender crumb of a classic coffee cake with a deliciously crunchy streusel topping. The mix of cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter creates a rich, aromatic flavor that pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee or tea, making each bite a delight.
Quick & Easy: Coffee Cake Muffins are simple to prepare with basic ingredients and straightforward steps. They take way less time than traditional coffee cake, making it easier to make any day of the week.
Ingredients
Organic Valley Heavy Whipping Cream
Cairnspring Mills Organic All Purpose Flour (use code MIMIORGANIC15 for 15% off your order!)
Homemade Organic Dark Brown Sugar
Frontier Co-Op Organic Korintje Cinnamon
Florida Crystals Organic Powdered Sugar
Organic Raw Pecans
Tools Needed
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Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two muffin pans with liners.
Step 2
To make the batter: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and cane sugar and mix on low until combined and there are no chunks. Add the eggs, cream, and sour cream and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and sea salt and whisk together. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until a smooth batter forms, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Step 3
To make the swirl: In a small bowl, add the dark brown sugar and cinnamon and mix together.
Fill the muffin tins half the way full with batter, then sprinkle some of the swirl mixture in, then top with more batter so they are about three-quarters full. Use the remaining swirl mixture to add on top.
Step 4
To make the topping: In large bowl, add the melted butter, flour, light brown sugar, cane sugar, and chopped pecans and mix together until a paste forms.
Using your hands, crumble the topping onto the tops of the muffins.
Step 5
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the tins. (If you're baking at high altitude, be sure to check the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for high altitude baking instructions).
Step 6
To make the glaze: In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar and water and whisk together until you have a smooth glaze. Drizzle over the tops of the muffins.
Baker's Tips
- Make sure your butter is soft. I like to leave butter out on the counter so it softens naturally at room temperature, as I believe it results in the best butter for baked goods!
- Makes sure to cream butter and cane sugar together. This means mix on low until there are no chunks of butter. If you have butter chunks here, and you move onto the next step, then they will not go away and your finished muffins will also have butter chunks. This can leave muffins dry, as the butter is concentrated in certain spots and not evenly distributed. So, that is super important and why having softened butter is key to muffins and any types of coffee cakes.
- I really like to have my dairy at room temperature for any kinds of cakes. This helps so much as you just creamed the butter and sugar, you have no butter chunks, and then if you add in cold dairy, the butter can seize up. This can form new butter chunks! So, having room temperature eggs, cream, and sour cream really helps keep your batter smooth! Having a smooth batter is what makes your finished product moist and have that perfect crumb. So, this is a key step!
- I like using dark brown sugar in certain places as it has more flavor than light brown. In these Coffee Cake Muffins, I use dark brown sugar inside the swirl, as that is inside the muffin, but then light brown sugar for the topping. But, if you only have one kind, you can substitute it in either spot. The flavor will be a little different, as light brown and dark brown sugar have different flavors.
- The finer you can chop the pecans, the better! I like to have small pieces here and even if you want to food processor them, you can totally do that as well!
- Make sure that you store these muffins in an airtight container or cake dome works really well. I've linked the cake dome I have here, and this is how they live in my kitchen.
FAQ's
Yes, this is a great recipe to make ahead of time. If you make them the night before you can just allow them to cool in the pans overnight and they'll be fine.
When making a cake batter with butter, it's best to have dairy at room temperature because when it's room temperature it can be added to creamed butter without seizing the butter. If you add cold milk, cream, sour cream, etc. into butter that has been creamed, it can create butter chunks because the butter will seize back up when cold ingredients are added. So, for smooth cake batter that provides a delicious crumb, room temperature dairy is best!
If you're storing for more than a few hours or a day then storing these in a cake dome is best. While the muffin is wrapped up on the sides with the liner, that will protect it from drying out and the crumb topping on top will also protect it. But, it's still best in a cake dome.
Craving More?
Coffee Cake Muffins
Ingredients
Batter
- 113 grams salted butter (softened)
- 113 grams cane sugar
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream (room temperature)
- 57 grams sour cream (room temperature)
- 212 grams all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Swirl
- 28 grams dark brown sugar (packed)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Topping
- 57 grams salted butter (melted)
- 64 grams all purpose flour
- 28 grams light brown sugar (packed)
- 28 grams cane sugar
- 64 grams pecans (chopped)
Glaze
- 142 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two muffin pans with liners.
- To make the batter: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and cane sugar and mix on low until combined and there are no chunks. Add the eggs, cream, and sour cream and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and sea salt and whisk together. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until a smooth batter forms, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- To make the swirl: In a small bowl, add the dark brown sugar and cinnamon and mix together.
- Fill the muffin tins half the way full with batter, then sprinkle some of the swirl mixture in, then top with more batter so they are about three-quarters full. Use the remaining swirl mixture to add on top.
- To make the topping: In large bowl, add the melted butter, flour, light brown sugar, cane sugar, and chopped pecans and mix together until a paste forms.
- Using your hands, crumble the topping onto the tops of the muffins.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the tins.
- To make the glaze: In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar and water and whisk together until you have a smooth glaze. Drizzle over the tops of the muffins.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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