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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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I just made these, and they are absolutely divine! And I was surprised at how easy they were to make! The cake was soft and moist while the crumbs were crunchy, not falling to pieces and the right amount of cinnamon to add to the fullness of the taste. I made 9 muffins, as I ran out of cake mix. Thank you so much for the recipe, Julie, I will definitely be making these again!
What kind of cake flour?
As far as I know, there’s only one kind of cake flour.
I decided to try this recipe when, waking up, the rain was coming down, and it was cold. In Wisconsin. On June 7. The recipe makes a ginormous amount of crumb topping, and this is a very good thing. I got 8 muffins from the batter, using a scant 1/4 cup. This left plenty of room for ample topping.
I had to use regular flour and substitute sour cream for the yogurt/buttermilk. . Why? Because it was cold and rainy and I was willing to risk flavor/consistency to avoid having to go out in the cold and rain
The only other thing I changed was the baking time. At 20 mins, the muffins were still pretty wet. I continued baking in 5 minute increments, and ended up with a total baking time of 34 minutes. Maybe that was because of the substituted yogurt, or because I have an electric oven, or just a combination. But I already tasted a piece of the crumb topping, and it’s Delicious, so the rest of the muffin promises to be Delicious too.
Hey there! Man, I made these today, and they were such a big hit!! I took them to a get together and they disappeared in minutes – I didn’t even get one! Luckily I made two batches and kept a few at home for later. Just ate one – WOW.Have you ever tried these? http://muffinparadise.com/oatmeal-muffins/#APPLE_OATMEAL_MUFFINSOne of my favorites too! Thanks for the great recipe :)
HI, My first batch turned out well. In my second batch i wanted to make twice the amount and doubled the amount of ingredients …but the cake part ended up engulfing the crumble :( any advice as to where i might have gone wrong?
What do you mean you made twice the amount and double the amount of ingredients? Do you mean when you added it to the muffin cups, you added double parts to it?
Hi, I mean I made one batch with enough ingredients for 24 servings versus 12 servings. I still distributed 1/4 cup cake mix per muffin cup.
Huh, that’s interesting. I’m honestly not quite sure. I know in baking, sometimes doubling a recipe can affect the outcome. Wish I knew what went wrong – maybe put a little less of the cake mix next time if you’re doubling the recipe? Sorry I’m not much help!
I just made these muffins and they came out perfect!!! Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I used the plain yogurt instead of the buttermilk (I bought a 6 oz container and measured out 1/3 cup). These muffins are so moist and exactly what I was looking for. I used the taller baking cups and got a total of 7 muffins. Thanks again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them and that they came out perfect for you!
Can this recipe make a cake instead of muffins?
Not positive – I’ve never done it that way. Not sure if the batter to crumb ratio will be enough.
Hi Julie.. do you subscribe to Cooks Illustrated? I just made this exact recipe tonight from their magazine and wanted a denser cake so was looking online and found yours. But the recipe is exactly the same. Weird.
Hi Jan! Yup, at the time I made this recipe, I did subscribe to Cooks Illustrated and this is their recipe! I note it in the source below :)
would you use this crumb topping on a sweet bread, example challah?
thanks!
Hmm interesting. I don’t think I would but if you think it sounds good, go for it!
I tried these Saturday night for coffee at church Sunday morning. They were fantastic (but not better than tasting them 10 minutes after I took them out of the oven!). I even had the King Arthur baking cups you recommended. In fact today I went to my local ‘Cake Art’ store and bought what I hope are similar paper cups to make lots of these for our work fundraiser bake sale this coming Friday. I actually substituted regular flour (I have a conversion from my old Doubleday cookbook – sift, then, for each cup of flour, remove two tablespoons of the flour) Sat. evening. Now, for this bake sale I have cake flour. I am excited! Thank you for a GREAT recipe!
Awesome!! So glad these worked out for you and you’re making them again :)