Coffee cake and cupcakes are probably the best known desserts in the world. When you combine these two in one, you will wonder how could you eat them separately. With a delicious and moist base and crunchy topping, these truly do combine the best from both of the worlds.
These cupcakes are not difficult at all, and you can whip them in a glitch with ingredients you probably have in your pantry already. The delicious coffee cake cupcakes are an easy sell for the breakfast, during weekends, or a brunch.
These cupcakes are great on their own, but the magic is with the streusel topping. You can make this with plain flour or with addition of oats.
To make these cupcakes even more spectacular, you can drizzle them with some icing. The easiest icing is combining 1 cup of powdered sugar with 2 tbsp water or lemon juice.
Tips for the Perfect Coffee Cake Cupcakes:
- Have them raised all evenly; this may sound like not a big issue for some, but there are people who are perfectionist when it comes to baking. To have all your cupcakes raised evenly, you will have to carefully measure out the batter you are placing in the liners. For this you can use large ice cream scoop. Also, oven has a hot spot and that is the center of the oven. Position your baking tray there and rotate halfway through baking.
- Avoid liner crinkles; as soon as you get your cupcakes from the oven, remove them from the tin. You can wait for 3 minutes but that is it… the steam may ruin the paper liners and create excess moisture that may affect your cupcakes.
- Do not overmix the batter; this is so crucial step. If you overmix your cupcake batter, the cupcakes may be too firm, because the gluten has overdeveloped. Make sure to stop when the ingredients are just combined.
How to Make Streusel the Perfect Topping for Coffee Cake Cupcakes
Streusel is a perfect topping for the pies, muffins, and cupcakes, but sometimes when making one, things may go wrong. The streusel is made with simple ingredients; flour, sugar, and butter but even this simple recipe can turn out miserable. Too crumbly, too firm, or just not good enough – you have been there too.
So, what is the secret of a good streusel? The secret ingredient is the brown sugar. The main difference between brown and plain white sugar is not just in the color, but also properties they bring.
The white sugar is known in recipes just as sugar or granulated sugar. When baking with this type of sugar, the baked goods will have aa bit of crisp. This is a good key point for the streusel, but something else has to be added.
The white sugar counterpart is the brown sugar. Brown sugar may be a tricky for some. You have probably heard about Muscovado, demerara, or Turbinado, but do not mix these with the brown sugar. The brown sugar is actually a white sugar, made by adding molasses to the white sugar.
The muscovado, demerara and Turbinado are the types of specialty sugar, made from the minimally refined or unrefined sugar cane. These types of the sugar have different more complex taste, with a hints of caramel, and stronger flavor in general. You can use these as well, but you must know the streusel will have a stronger taste.
So, why is adding brown sugar important? The brown sugar adds a moisture to the baked goods and in this case the streusel. When the streusel is made with butter, white and brown sugar, you will have a perfect mix of crunchiness and moisture and that is the secret of a perfect streusel.
Melted vs. Cold Butter?
It really does not matter. It is just what you want to use. Using melted butter requires less time, while with the cold butter you will have to use a high-power blender or a food processor. If you do not have these, you can use a pastry cutter to work in the butter. I find that using melted butter gives the same results, and the streusel becomes a one-bowl thing.
How to Elevate the Toppings
If you are looking for extra taste or crunch, you can do it by simply adding few extra elements. Graham crackers, or chopped nuts are an excellent choice. Also, do not hesitate to add some desired spices, or a spice mix. A little sprinkle of Demerara sugar gives a nice caramelized finish.
Ingredients
- For the Cupcakes:
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- For the Toppings:
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Make the cupcakes; Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Line 6-hole muffin/cupcake tin with paper liners.
- In a mixing bowl, add milk, vanilla, vegetable oil and egg. With a whisk, whisk the ingredients until smooth.
- Once you have a smooth mixture, add brown sugar and cinnamon. Whisk until the sugar is gently dissolved.
- Fold in the flour and baking powder. To avoid any lumps, you can sift flour and baking powder together. Stir until just combined. Do not overmix the batter. It should be smooth, but not over whisked.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin/cupcake tin. You can use the spoon or an ice cream scoop, whatever you find easier or have on hand.
- Make the topping; in a bowl, combine white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour over the melted butter. Whisk until you have a kind of a paste.
- Add flour and stir until coarse crumbs form.
- Spoon the topping over batter, 1-2 tablespoons.
- Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes.
- Cool for 3-5 minutes in a tin before removing.
- Serve cupcakes and enjoy.
Another Terrific “Muffin” Dessert – Pistachio Muffins | These bakery-style pistachio muffins make a great grab-and-go breakfast or tasty afternoon snack. Covered with a delicious glaze and delicate crunch from chopped pistachios, the easy muffin recipe is ready in less than 30 minutes!