Cinnamon Crumb Cake Muffins Recipe (2024)

The mixing method here is really known as two stage mixing: Dry first including any fats, then liquid which in this case is also sour cream. As a former baker/pastry chef/ kitchen chef, this is a great way to make stuff.

I added about 1/4 cup chopped pecans to the topping, and they only needed 21 minutes in my oven. Delicate crumb and not too sweet -- very yummy!

Dear Melissa Clark, Everything I make of your recipes is amazing. These were a big hit this cold winter Monday back to work day. Problem- the extra 5 - 10 lbs we need to work off because the food is amazing! Thank you for making this year better!

Definitely need paper muffin tin liners; the batter overflows and they're pretty impossible to remove from the tin without. Seems to me the crumb topping would be better in the middle than on the bottom (so layer in tin: batter, crumb, batter, crumb). Also, this recipe is pretty complicated for a muffin and ended up not sweet enough to satisfy a coffee-cake yen.

We followed the recipe directly. The results were very disappointing, in fact three out the entire batch. There were several issues. The muffins were tasteless, very surprising because there were so many flavours in the batter mix. The crumble did not stick to either the top nor the bottom of the muffin. It all fell off. Again, very little taste in the crumble. As I mentioned, we followed the recipe ingredients and process as written. It was a lot of work and ingredients to finish as a waste.

Instead of allspice or cardamom, I used nutmeg in the topping. And I subbed the sour cream for plain whole milk Greek yogurt. I thought these were delicious and lighter and fluffier than the usual muffin!

anyone make this as a loaf bread or in a bundt pan?

These were fantastic! Wonderful, fluffy texture and subtle flavors, not too sweet, not bland at all.After reading many of the comments, I adjusted the crumb topping; approx. half the flour, 5 Tbls of butter, 1 tsp of cinnamon and about half the salt and cardamom. It wasn't too crumbly and I had the perfect amount. Since the batter was so thick, I didn't think I needed to bake before sprinkling the crumbs on top. The crumbs didn't fall off and they came out perfect after baking for 20 mins.

I added chopped pecans to the topping...fantastic.

Nuts and chocolate chips would be good. Even white chocolate and some dried fruit like cherries or figs

This is a very very good recipe. However, I used standard muffin tins and paper liners, and after the first 5 minutes in the oven, putting the crumb topping on was quite cumbersome. The tops were already domed, and I could only sprinkle a little bit of the crumb mixture on each top. Next time I make these, I will reduce the topping ingredients by at least half. The batter is just delicious, and I will also experiment with some kind of nut in the topping. Yum yum yum....

Melissa, you have been a steady beacon of light and comfort in a gloomy year. Thank you.

Based on other’s experiences I adjusted the topping by increasing sugar to 150g and decreasing flour to 150g and adding pinches of ginger and clove. Then I put the majority in the middle and only a sprinkling on top with a bit of turbinado sugar and swirled it into the batter a bit. I also ended up using only 2/3 of topping! Wasn’t bland and balanced the cake well. Didn’t touch the batter. Made mini loaves. Delicious!!

Disappointing. Crumble was not sweet enough - tasted like crunchy flour with a hint of cinnamon.

Just made these this morning. They are delicate with an absolutely perfect crumb-however, I hate to say it but I agree that the topping needs to have more flavor. The browned butter was lovely but I personally wanted more texture and depth . And it does fall off the top if baked as written-which was a bummer. I will make again-but will tweak crumb topping a bit.

Put the crumb at the bottom middle and topping!

I found this recipe very disappointing. Crumble was very dense and had too much flour. Should have followed my instinct and added nuts to break up the crumble which is very heavy. Butter has to be very soft- mine wasn’t and the muffin is tough. Probably won’t make them again.

As other reviewers suggested, some chopped toasted pecan and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon/sugar makes the crumble topping stellar. The subtle taste of the lemon and almond in the cakes is lovely. I messed up the first time I made them & didn’t bake for 5 minutes before adding the topping - I think it actually works better this way because there is plenty of topping and it stays on better if a little bit of it sinks into the muffins. 20 min at 350 was plenty of time in my oven, so check early.

I made four batches of this recipe for an event and followed Clark’s instructions exactly, and the muffins came out perfect. I know some experienced issues with the topping not adhering properly, which surprised me. It wasn’t a problem with any of the batches I baked. The flavor is outstanding. Rich and not overly sweet, which I appreciate. Wonderful muffins!

Crumble first, early. Put it in the fridge for easier crumbling.

Is sour cream the only liquid? The batter came out super thick for me. Had to add 1/3 c milk to thin it.

Didn't use liners. Greased tin with butter and it worked fine! Baked in about 20 mins .Make sure to use tbsp at least in the bottom. I had lots of extra for the top.

I followed the recipe exactly but was very disappointed. They baked fine, nothing overflowed, made about 15 muffins. But the crumble on the top and bottom made them really hard. Inside the texture was fine. I won't be making this again. A lot of time and complication for something so-so.

Loved these! After reading comments, I added a couple of tablespoons extra sugar to the topping. Not sure browning the butter is necessary--couldn't taste it in the final product. The muffins are delicious--can taste the lemon and almond, but they are subtle. I ended up making 14 muffins--had plenty of crumb topping and enough batter. Cooked for 20 mins after sprinkling on the crumbs.

Crumb topping is WAY off somewhere. Even after significantly amping up the amount of cinnamon for the topping, the taste took me back to elementary school flour paste. Liked the muffin but the topping as written doesn’t quick work. Agree with another user who suggested using Ina Gs crumble topping.

Muffins were good but had the same crumb topping disaster as others have noted. After they had cooled for a few minutes, I brushed all the dry crumb topping into a bowl, drizzled in some maple syrup, and reapplied it to the muffins. Much better.

Has anyone tried doing these gluten free. I'm thinking of trying by simply substituting the regular flour for 1:1 G-F flour mix from Bob's Red Mill or Trader Joe's.

I followed the directions exactly. I like that the muffin is not a sugar bomb. I found the topping did not stay on top very well. Next time I will swirl the topping into the muffin and skip adding the topping at 5 minutes into the baking. I might also add some chopped pecans

Compared to other muffin recipes, the steps seemed awkward and a little out of order to me. The muffins were dry, which I could probably fix by cooking a little less; but for the amount of effort and the just so-so flavor, there are much better recipes. Doubt I will make this again.

Muffin is okay, but crumble is bland and doesn’t stick to muffin. I think the recipe is just wrong. The crumble has too much flour and too little brown sugar, and it should be applied before baking instead of after 5 minutes. But the taste isn’t special enough to warrant experimentation to correct the recipe.