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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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Fabulous recipe. Follow it exactly and they turn out perfect :) I also recommend, as always, to read the recipe through completely before starting and then follow it the way it is written.
I made these tonight. If you use the 1/4 cup batter the muffin will rise nicely, but you will only get about 6-7 muffins.. After 20 minutes at 325, they barely had a rise on them. I also agree that the topping is way to much I had about 3/4 left over and I put plenty on muffins. I just tasted one and sorry to day that Little Debbie Coffee Cakes are much better. These lacked flavor and they were a little on the dry side.
I hate to say this but this was not a good recipe. It was a total disaster. Too much crumb topping and the batter was only enough for 6 cupcakes. I’m sure you have many other good recipes but this one wasn’t a good one in my opinion.
Would a large muffin pan work for these?
Hi Mary – yes, it should. Large meaning compared to a mini muffin pan or large meaning regular size?
I tried this today. The flour for the crumb was waaaaay too much. I ended up adding a lot more butter to make it look like an actual dough. Also, the batter for the muffins was too little. You can make maybe 6 or 8 with that quantity. Instead of muffins cups I used a small cake pan. In oven at 325 degrees for 20 minutes? I don’t know if my oven it’s special…but I needed to wait at least 50/60 mins for this cake to be ready.
Hi, you made this recipe in a small cake pan not muffin cups, so the recipe, as written for 325 degrees for 20 minutes for muffins is correct.
Made these and tasted delicious. However, my batter completely engulfed the crumb topping while baking. I called them “Inside out” muffins and they were a hit. I say that someone else had the same issue…any tips?
Haha, that’s a great name for it! I would say next time, use less batter in the muffin cups and more crumb on top.
I have these in the oven now. The cake batter only made 8 cupcakes and I had way too much crumb topping. The raw batter tasted awesome so I think it will come out great. Next time, I think I’ll bake it in an 8 x8 pan so I can use all the topping and not worry that it will fall off. A little drizzle of icing would be great too. I used vanilla yogurt instead of buttermilk.
I’ve been trying for a good crumby topping like this for so long! I’m elated..lol. great recipe!
Hi Julie,
We are avid bakers and followed this recipe to the letter, but our crumb topping sunk right into the batter. I’m not sure where we went wrong. Any ideas? Thanks!
Hi Andrea, I would use less batter and more crumb topping on each muffin next time to see if that helps. I think the batter ‘eats’ the crumb topping since it rises so much.
Hi! I am hoping to make these today l, but don’t feel like running to the store. Will light vanilla yogurt work instead of the plain yogurt Julie? (:
It should work just fine!