Blackberry Crumb Muffins

By Melissa Clark

Updated March 17, 2016

  • Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
5(438)
Comments
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There are muffins that aspire to be healthful, filled with the likes of whole grains, wheat germ and fruit purée. Then there are rich, chocolate-chip laden muffins that are more like cupcakes in disguise. These muffins fall squarely into that last camp. But they are as tender and buttery as any crumb cake. And like a crumb cake, their nubby, cinnamon-scented crumb topping makes them feel more appropriate for brunch than dessert. This is breakfast food at its most elegant and delicious.

Featured in: Muffins With Blackberries and a Buttery Crumb Topping

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Ingredients

Yield:24 muffins

FOR THE CRUMB TOPPING

  • 255 grams all-purpose flour (about 1 ½ cups)

  • 75 grams granulated sugar (about ⅓ cup)

  • 105 grams dark brown sugar, lightly packed (about ½ cup)

  • 6 grams ground cinnamon (about 1 ½ teaspoons)

  • 1 gram ground allspice (about ¼ teaspoon)

  • 1 gram fine sea salt (about ¼ teaspoon)

  • 170 grams unsalted butter, melted (12 tablespoons; 1 ½ sticks)

FOR THE CAKE

  • 170 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature (12 tablespoons; 1 ½ sticks)

  • 200 grams granulated sugar (about 1 cup)

  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature

  • 1 cup sour cream

  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

  • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

  • 325 grams all-purpose flour (about 2 ½ cups)

  • 10 grams baking powder (about 2 teaspoons)

  • 3 grams baking soda (about ½ teaspoon)

  • 3 grams fine sea salt (about ½ teaspoon)

  • ½ pint fresh blackberries (or use raspberries, blueberries or diced strawberries)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

33 grams carbs; 166 milligrams cholesterol; 625 calories; 16 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 33 grams saturated fat; 54 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 150 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein; 16 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350. Grease or line 24 muffin cups.

  2. Step 2

    Make the crumb topping: whisk together flour, sugars, spices and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Pour in melted butter and stir until crumbs form.

  3. Step 3

    Prepare the cake: using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, then scrape down sides of mixer. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and zest.

  4. Step 4

    In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in berries with a spatula and make sure batter is completely mixed.

  5. Step 5

    Spoon batter into prepared muffin pans, filling each cup only halfway. Pinch large crumbs from topping mixture and scatter evenly on top of the batter.

  6. Step 6

    Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until muffins are golden and their centers spring back when very gently pressed with a finger. (A cake tester will come out with crumbs attached, but it shouldn’t be wet.) Transfer muffins to a wire rack. Serve warm or let cool completely and freeze.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
438 user ratings
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Comments

Amanda Gibney

Wonderful as muffins, but hard to get the crumb thick enough. Only modification I made to the ingredients was to double the cinnamon. Second time I made it decided sure why not crumb cake. Spread 2/3 of the batter in a 9x12 pan, covered it in local wild blackberries. Dotted on the rest of the batter and covered the whole thin with the full amount of crumb. Had to about double the baking time. Turned out moist and incredible

tel

Delicious and the streusel topping is the key factor! Instead of melting the butter, use one stick of softened butter instead, a bit less gran sugar and flour, 1/4 cup of uncooked oats, & a bit of finely chopped pecans. To make the topping: roll dough to make small clusters and place on top of each muffin before baking. Use all leftover bits - you can’t have too much streusel! Before putting into the oven, add a few more sprinkles of turbinado sugar. And, you must double the berries!!!

Michelle

These muffins are amazing! They freeze and reheat wonderfully!I had way too much crumb mixture left over. On my second go I made half as much crumb mixture and still had some left over.

Campbell

I didn’t have any dark brown sugar so I added molasses and espresso powder to my light brown sugar it and worked really well, very nutty! Also, only make half as much crumbs, maybe even a third, there was so much of it leftover.

Christina

Agree with many others that the streusel topping was about double what was needed. To cut down on total butter intake I subbed in canola oil instead of butter in the batter so to get the aeration back in since I omitted the butter creaming, I whipped the eggs with the sugar until it was pale and then beat in the rest of the ingredients before folding in the dry ingredients. I had to nearly double the baking time but it turned out moist and delicious. Didn’t miss the butter flavor at all (since the topping still had butter). Keep in mind butter is 80% fat and 20% water so subbing in oil means you need a little less volume wise and might need a tbsp or two of water.

Mrs Reynolds

Skipped the topping - sprinkled turbinado sugar on top. Used frozen berries, thawed, drained, and tossed with 1 T flour. Made 12 Jumbo muffins - done in 25 minutes. Lovely, fluffy muffins.

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