Coffee cake muffins, stuffed...

I saw a recipe for coffee cake muffins on the Williams-Sonoma blog recently and thought I'd give them a try.  I'm always on the lookout for good muffin recipes.  I love to make them because they're usually quick & easy and versatile enough to have for breakfast, as a midday snack, or even as dessert.  I love a muffin for dessert, actually.

I don't know if it's a seasonal craving or what, but again, I'm talking about coffee cake muffins today while I posted about an old-fashioned coffee crumb cake this time last year.  Amazingly enough, I looked back and I'm posting this on the same day that I posted that coffee cake last year.  The timing wasn't intentional at all (same with the marble cupcakes previously), which makes me scratch my head a little but however coincidental it is, I'm just happy I made these little guys.  

Coffee cake can be really good, don't you think?  I love the streusel or crumb topping on them.  It adds a layer of sweetness, sometimes a little spice or nuttiness, and a nice coating of crunch that I adore.  There's a key element to this recipe that rounds out the whole thing and that's a little surprise stuffing inside...  

Having fun with the stuffing, using strawberry preserve, apricot preserve, Nutella, and chestnut cream

These muffins are quite moist, thanks in large part to the sour cream in them.  On their own, they don't actually have a ton of flavor or sweetness to them but that's okay because they're not meant to be plain.  The filling is a key component that adds another layer of flavor and sweetness.  The recipe suggests your preferred fruit preserve.  For my half-dozen muffins, I stuffed them with a variety of fillings.  Having some fun with it, I not only used apricot and strawberry preserves but I also went with Nutella and even tried a dollop of chestnut cream in one.

Aside from the filling, I played around with the recipe a bit more by substituting some of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour.  I also added a touch of cinnamon to the streusel topping.  Surprisingly, it wasn't in the original recipe and though I'm not a big fan of too-much cinnamon, I seem to be craving it lately - at least in moderation.  I'm glad I used it because it added a warm flavor and scent to the muffins, and made the kitchen smell like cinnamon rolls while they were baking. 

It was fun digging into these muffins and taste-testing the different fillings.  The little guy called dibs on the Nutella ones and my husband really liked the one with apricot preserve.  I think they all came out great, and the filling of choice is simply a matter of preference so have fun with it.  I like the whole package but I have to admit I'm really partial to that sweet crumb topping!  These muffins go down easy with a cup of coffee or tea.


I divided the recipe below in half and made 6 muffins.  I do that all the time and it works well for us. In this case, I find that these muffins are best eaten as fresh as possible so a small batch makes sense for us.  These muffins are nice while they're still slightly warm but I like it cooled enough so that the crumb topping has hardened and you get that nice crunchy crust on top.

This muffin is filled with apricot preserve

I wanted to mention that the batter is almost like biscuit dough - thick, fluffy, and sticky.  I did the scooping and handling of the batter using 2 spoons.  I happened to have fruit preserves around but I suspect using jam would be perfectly alright since these muffins housed the chestnut cream and Nutella quite well.  Whenever I'm going to put a filling like these into a cupcake or muffin, I like to chill the filling.  I don't think it's necessary (particularly since this batter is thick) but I feel like the fillings are easier to work with and might stay a bit better suspended in the middle of the batter even after baking.  And since most of my fillings (except for the Nutella) are in the fridge anyway, maybe it's also a matter of convenience.  


Recipe:

Coffee Cake Muffins with Filling
Adapted from Home Baked Comfort by Kim Laidlaw via the Williams-Sonoma blog, Taste

- For 12 muffins - 

For the streusel topping:
1/4 cup (45 g.) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (60 g.) firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional; I added this and liked it)
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks

For the batter:
2 cups (315 g.) all-purpose flour (if you like, substitute up to half of the total with whole wheat pastry flour, like I did)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick (1/2 cup or 125 g.) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup (125 g.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup (250 g.) sour cream
For the filling: 1/4 cup of your preferred fruit preserves (apricot, strawberry, peach, etc.).  I also used Nutella and chestnut cream so have fun with it!  I like to use cold filling.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Position a rack in the center of the oven.  Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners, or grease with butter.

Make streusel: In a bowl, stir the flour and brown sugar together.  Add butter and, using your fingers, work it into the mixture until small chunks form.  Place streusel in the freezer while you make the batter next.

Make muffin batter: Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.  Beat in vanilla.  Add sour cream and beat on low-speed until combined.  Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, add dry ingredients, and stir together with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter is moistened.  The batter will be thick and sticky, much like biscuit dough.

Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter into each prepared muffin cup (I use two spoons to ease the batter out).  Spoon a teaspoon of preserves, or other filling you're using, into the center of each. Top with another spoonful of batter, covering the filling.  The cup should be full.  Load the top of each muffin with a generous portion of the streusel.

Bake until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean (save for the filling), about 13-15 minutes.  Let muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 5 minutes before unmolding onto the rack. You can enjoy these muffins while they're still a bit warm.  I like to let them cool long enough so that the crumb topping is nice and crisp.