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I pretty much share all my treats with coworkers & friends because there’s no way it’s healthy if Jason and I ate all of them! I love that the panettone baking cups stand up on their own so you don’t even have to put them in a muffin tin.
You just place them on a baking sheet and bake! They fill a lot too, which was great for this recipe since the crumb to cake ratio was about 3:1 – the best!
Sidenote: You know what’s worse than craving Chick-Fil-A on a Sunday and having it be closed? Rolling up to a Chick-Fil-A on a Thursday evening and seeing that it’s CLOSED due to renovations.
What the what?! So inappropriate!
We pulled up to the CFA parking lot and there were about 7 other cars just parked in the parking lot looking as confused as we were trying to quickly think of plan B for dinner.
Can you imagine if you had a wailing 5 year old in the backseat? “But I WANT Chick-Fil-A!!!!!” Yeah, good thing we don’t have one of those. This lady even got out of the car to see if this was a joke.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a joke. Lame-o.
When it comes to crumb cakes, especially the New York-style coffee crumb cakes, I’m all about the crumb.
I prefer very little cake and a massive crumb topping. When I found this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated, I knew I had to try it.
If you’re tempted to substitute all-purpose flour for the cake flour – don’t. Just go to the store and buy cake flour. Why?
If you use all-purpose flour, you’re going to end up with a dry, tough muffin. Also, use buttermilk! If you don’t have it, you can always substitute it with plain yogurt or put 1 tablespoon of white vinegar into 1 cup of milk.
The recipe says it makes a dozen and you might find that a little unbelievable, but remember: this recipe is more about the crumb topping than the cake.
This recipe has just a cushion of cake compared to the massive crumb topping. If you want to make an even ratio of cake vs. crumb, then it’ll only make 6 muffins.
New York-Style Coffee Cake Crumb Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
For the crumb topping
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (73 g) dark brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoon (112 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ¾ cups (219 g) cake flour
For the muffin
- 1 ¼ cup (156 g) cake flour
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoon (84 g) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (79 ml) buttermilk, or 1/3 cup plain yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 °F (163 °C). Line muffin pan with baking cups or prepare panettone baking cups by spraying them lightly with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the butter over top and using a wooden spoon, mix until incorporated. Then add the cake flour and mix until mixture resembles a thick and cohesive dough. Set aside.1/3 cup (67 g) granulated sugar, 1/3 cup (73 g) dark brown sugar, 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 8 tablespoon (112 g) unsalted butter, 1 3/4 cups (219 g) cake flour
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes.1 1/4 cup (156 g) cake flour, 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 6 tablespoon (84 g) unsalted butter
- Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and buttermilk and mix until all has been incorporated and batter is light and fluffy.1 large egg, 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/3 cup (79 ml) buttermilk
- Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup (**see NOTES below), divide up batter into prepared muffin pan. Then, sprinkle a generous amount of the crumb topping on top, using your fingers to pinch the dough into a crumbly mixture, if not already. Do not press the crumb topping into the batter. Just let it sit on top.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until crumbs are golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. (Note: I did stick my muffins under the broiler at about the 15 minute baking mark so the tops would get nice and brown. If you do this, make sure to watch it carefully. You do not have to do the broiler step and can omit it completely.)
- Let muffins cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi! These look so yummy and I can’t wait to make them! But- what size “Panettone Baking Cups” are yours? I looked on Amazon and there were different sizes. Please let me k ow what size you used.
If you click the link in the first paragraph…I linked directly to the panettone baking cups and on that website it says the exact size.
The crumb topping in the picture of these muffins called my name, so I promptly did what anyone with a sweet tooth the size of Montana does…I made the muffins!
Flavor-wise, these have a sweet, sweet taste to them. I could have easily cut the sugar for the batter portion of the muffin, omitting a good 3 tablespoons or so.
The crumb mixture did not turn out “crumby” at all for me, even though I followed the instructions to a tee. The crumb mixture was more like a stiff batter.
I used regular muffin cups, so filled the cups about 1/3 full, maybe a little less than that. For the crumb topping, I scooped some of the crumb mixture, then “pieced” it off of the spoon onto the top of the muffins, because it was so stiff, and not crumbly at all.
I baked the muffins for 20 minutes. When I went to take them out of the oven, they were very light, but done, but I kept them in the oven for 3 more minutes, hoping they would get a little darker. (I note that the blogger indicated placing them under the broiler, but I decided to not tempt fate and go that route. I kept them in the oven just a little longer).
I noticed at that point that the crumb pieces had fallen from the top into the middle of the muffin. No pretty picture muffins this time.
After the three extra minutes in the oven, I took the muffins out of the oven. They were still pretty light in color, but were baked through. I did a taste test – of course! The muffin itself is light and sweet. The crumb topping – the way my turned out and after baking in the oven – came out tasting like batter that had not been baked long enough. It didn’t taste bad, but it didn’t have the texture I was going for.
Followed the recipe as written on this blog. Surprised the blogger has not corrected this recipe – using 1/4 cup to divide only produces 7 or 8 muffins in taller cups, not the 1 dozen it indicates. Also leaves excess crumb topping as well. Because the 1/4 cup division is way too much, the muffin rises nearly to the top of a taller cup, pushing the crumb topping off to the side or over the top of the cup. I’d be interested to see the Cook’s Illustrated recipe as it likely has the right ratio for a better outcome.
This recipe has success written all over it. Not too complicated and worth the effort. They have been added to my collection, a very short one, of “Feeling a little blue today ” recipes. Thank you for this recipe! Have a wonderful day!
I made this today for breakfast. It’s a really great tasting coffee cake. I did substitute sour cream for the buttermilk since I didn’t have any of that. Very moist and delicious!
Thank you!
I agree that the way the recipe is written is super confusing, since “crumb” is not usually referred to as “dough,” and you note that the batter should “resemble small crumbs.” The clarification in the comments helps a little, hope I don’t forget and confuse myself when I make these!
They look delicious!
Can I make this in a 13 by 9 baking dish looks great can’t wait until I make them
You probably could! I haven’t tried it myself, though.
Just made these and they were DELICIOUS! I wouldn’t change a thing! Thank you for sharing. ;)
These are amazing! I’ve used regular baking cups with 2 tbsp. of batter and had no problem. I also made my own buttermilk sub using milk and vinegar and they still came out delicious! Could I sub Greek yogurt for regular?
Making the recipe again today for Father’s Day! Thanks again!
Yes, you could sub greek yogurt for regular! Glad you enjoyed this!