Coffee Cake Muffins

Can you guys believe it’s February?! I can’t.

I know. I’m always talking about how much time flies on this blog.

I guess it’s because I don’t really sit down that often to think about what time of year it is until I’m writing up a blog post. Alright, February. Valentine’s. Oh man. Bring on the pink and excessively sweet.

Before the Valentine’s hype comes full circle in the blog realm I wanted to post about a classic breakfast-y treat.

I gotta say… I love coffee cake. I didn’t grow up making or really eating it because no one in my fam seemed to like it as much as I do.

Har har. I should call it tea cake because I rarely drink coffee, but that’s an entirely different thing.

I first really began to understand the wonder of this lovely snack (yes, it’s a snack. c’mon guys.) when I worked at the bakery downtown where we would make the Cake Bible recipe now and again. It has sour cream in it for that perfect little tang. So good.

These guys have got it all. Cinnamon. Dense, but wonderfully delicious cake. Sweet glaze drizzle. Streusel/crumbles.

Omg. Don’t even get me started on this streusel though.

It’s perfect. Big, tender cinnamon-y crumbles interspersed with the delicate little ones. Nom. I so would eat just the crumble on its own (and I maaay have had a small handful of crumbles while baking these guys…shh).

They just disappear before your eyes (crumbs and all).

Coffee Cake Muffins: (Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated)

For the Crumble Topping:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups AP flour

For the Cake:
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs

Glaze: 1 tbsp milk and 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Crumble: In a small mixing bowl, combine the sugars, cinnamon and salt and whisk together. Slowly pour in the melted butter and whisk until incorporated. Then add the flour, and mix with a rubber spatula until it just combines. Spread out on to a baking sheet and allow to dry out while you make the cake.

Cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin tin with papers. Whisk together the dry ingredients in the same bowl you used for the crumble. Add the wet ingredients to a separate bowl and whisk until combined. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and stir with a rubber spatula until it just comes together. Divide the batter into the muffin tin and top with a generous amount of the crumble (press into the muffin batter a little bit). Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before glazing.

There ya have it. I think I prefer to have my coffee cake in muffin form. You get so much more surface area and texture! And in a slab cake it’s more difficult to serve or grab ‘n go.

These little muffins are right up my alley with the cinnamon and streusel. This semester is crazy busy with my culinary classes, and with a muffin like this for breakfast (or an afternoon snack) my days are made much better. 🙂