The Perfectly Sweet Coffee Cake Muffins Everyone Grabs First

In (what felt like) practically all of the shows I used to watch when I was younger, the characters always seemed to have some sort of cloche-covered cake stand stacked with breakfast pastries on their kitchen counter or dining table.

I’d watch as the characters on TV would frantically rush towards the door because they were late, but manage to have time to stop and grab something from said stand. For whatever reason, that imagery imprinted on me, and I always wanted to be one of those cake-stand-full-of-pastries-people when I got older.

These muffins are exactly what I want constantly stacked up and on display in my kitchen. In this recipe, a vanilla-flavored sour cream muffin batter gets layered with a cinnamon brown sugar filling and topped with a buttery crumb topping.

The result is a coffee cake-inspired muffin that’s plush, moist, warmly spiced, and as perfect on its own as it is with a hot cup of coffee. 

A Cinnamon Swirl That Stands Out

If you search for coffee cake muffins on the internet, you’ll be met with a slew of visuals, most of them with a barely-there cinnamon band running through the center of the muffins.

In developing my version, I wanted a cinnamon sugar filling that was as visible and bold as that in a coffee cake. After half a dozen batches of muffins, I figured out exactly what to do (and what not to do!) to get that perfect cinnamon center.

One key to that perfect cinnamon swirl? Patience. Giving the batter a rest helps it to thicken and therefore maintain the definition between the cinnamon sugar filling and the muffin crumb. Adding some flour to the cinnamon sugar stabilizes the mixture once heated and prevents it from leaking out or absorbing right into the muffin.

Finally, while the goal with many muffins is a big, very risen top, these muffins actually fare better with a more moderate rise. In testing the amount of leavener in the muffins, I found that a lower amount prevented unwanted gapping between the two layers of muffin batter. This in turn, helped to yield a better cinnamon sugar band. 

Tips and Tricks for Making Coffee Cake Muffins

• The batter may look lumpy, but don’t overmix! This can yield a chewy, tough muffin. 
• The crumb topping mixture will likely seem too wet when first mixed. If the butter is particularly warm, it may even be pasty. Do not add more flour. The flour will hydrate as it sits and become drier and more crumbly. Prepare the crumb topping while the batter rests to give it time to dry out. 
• Allowing the muffins some space between them in the tin helps them to bake more evenly. If you have two muffin tins, spread out the 12 muffins between them, lining every other cavity of each tin and baking six muffins in each. 

How To Glaze Them Instead

These muffins are perfectly sweet when simply dusted with powdered sugar, but for something even sweeter to contrast a bitter cup of coffee, you can instead finish the muffins with a vanilla glaze.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup (113g) powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 4 teaspoons milk (of any kind) until smooth. Use a spoon, piping bag, or zip-top bag with the corner snipped off to drizzle the glaze over the cooled muffins.

More Muffin Magic

• Bran Muffins
• Nothin' Muffins
• Pumpkin Muffins
• Zucchini Muffins