Blackberry Crumb Muffins Recipe (2024)

By Melissa Clark

Blackberry Crumb Muffins Recipe (1)

Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
5(347)
Notes
Read community notes

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

    • 255grams all-purpose flour (about 1½ cups)
    • 75grams granulated sugar (about ⅓ cup)
    • 105grams dark brown sugar, lightly packed (about ½ cup)
    • 6grams ground cinnamon (about 1½ teaspoons)
    • 1gram ground allspice (about ¼ teaspoon)
    • 1gram fine sea salt (about ¼ teaspoon)
    • 170grams unsalted butter, melted (12 tablespoons; 1½ sticks)

    For the Cake

    • 170grams unsalted butter, at room temperature (12 tablespoons; 1½ sticks)
    • 200grams granulated sugar (about 1 cup)
    • 3large eggs, at room temperature
    • 1cup sour cream
    • teaspoons vanilla extract
    • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
    • 325grams all-purpose flour (about 2½ cups)
    • 10grams baking powder (about 2 teaspoons)
    • 3grams baking soda (about ½ teaspoon)
    • 3grams fine sea salt (about ½ teaspoon)
    • ½pint fresh blackberries (or use raspberries, blueberries or diced strawberries)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)

624 calories; 54 grams fat; 34 grams saturated fat; 2 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 16 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 151 milligrams sodium

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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Blackberry Crumb Muffins Recipe (2)

Preparation

Make the recipe with us

  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.

Ratings

5

out of 5

347

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

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!!!

Tina

I agree that's sounds like a lot of butter . however the butter should be firm(cool) to crumb properly . use a fork

Noor

I made these with blueberries and YUM! I've been experimenting with different blueberry muffin recipes (why not in a pandemic!) and these are by far my favorite. I think this is a better recipe than than Jordan Marsh's (also delicious; also here in NYT cooking). The crumb topping perfectly complements the muffins, but the recipe as written will give you twice as much as you'll need for the muffins. I used the leftover crumbs to top a sour cream coffee cake and it worked beautifully.

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.

sarah

Beautiful, delicious recipe. I substituted raspberries for blackberries and made 12 large instead of 24 small muffins which increased cooking time by 5 minutes. They were perfect.

tel

Oh, and I use blueberries. Devine!!!

Jen

Followed the recipe (weighing ingredients), except I doubled the berries (had some to use up). Texture is great and it made exactly 12 muffins (made a half batch). However, I find these dramatically too sweet for my taste. Maybe it's because berries vary in sweetness? If I tried again think I would attempt to reduce the sugar by 25% and perhaps make more of a traditional oat-based crumble for the top in a lower quantity. Bet these will be a popular give-away to coworkers who like sweets more.

Valerie

If using blueberries add more than half a pint. I added a heavy half pint and it was not enough. Cake was delicious but could not taste much blueberry.

Mac

Delicious, done in 25. Halving the topping still leaves you with extra. I loved the lemon zest and blackberry combination. Might add some more cardamom or something next time to bump up the topping.

Brie G

I made no sugar added using purecane erythritol. I doubled the crumb using only brown "sugar" to make sure I had enough to put in a middle layer. I used fresh huckleberries, doubled the vanilla, used nonfat Greek yogurt and added extra butter to compensate. Made a glaze with powdered "sugar", sf maple syrup and a fresh huckleberry syrup I made from the leftover huckleberries. Delicious, moist and fluffy.

Liz

Delicious! I used local, freshly picked raspberries (picked them myself!), and Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Glad I ignored the suggestions to halve the crumb mixture - I had barely enough for the 2nd dozen. This recipe is a keeper!!

Melissa

I would double the blackberries next time. I made this in a bread pan and it turned out well. Also freezes well.

foodenthusiastK

The muffins turned out great! I wish I would have read other comments before making, because there was quite a bit of the crumb topping leftover. As others said, you can probably half this part of the recipe. Everything out turned out great and was really easy to throw together.

nebha

I felt guilty eating a muffin with so much butter and cream!! But delicious.

MeReBaker85

Tasty and simple!I used 1 cup frozen raspberries (coated in flour) for my first go because I didn’t have fresh. Felt like it could used more. So when I have fresh I may use a whole pint instead of half.Also I substituted pistachios for some of the flour (1 cup) in the crumb topping. I feel like you could half the crumb recipe because a lot ran off during the bake on to the pan, but maybe that is because I had less flour in mine. There is still enough crumb on the final product for me though.

JS3

Delicious! Made the recipe as is with exception of a few more blackberries tossed in. Like several others have noted, the amounts for the streusel result in a lot left over. Next time, I’ll cut it in half.

Jessi

Halved the recipe and used gluten free Cup4Cup mix, took exactly 25 mins for me, turned out so good!

Leah

With my first batch I had lots of leftover streusel, but as the muffins rose the streusel kind of got lost. For batch two I used up all the streusel and it was much better—both in taste and presentation.

DianeG

Made with diced fresh strawberries and they were delicious. A bit sweet, but we were able to “force” them down, no problem. Half recipe made 9 full sized muffins.

Double berries

Double cinnamon

SaraH

Great recipe! A few tweaks for next time to suit our tastes and eating habits -- e.g., 2x the lemon zest, 1.5x the cinnamon, different flours (spelt, almond, hazelnut), yogurt, and I like the idea of some oats & chopped nuts in the crumble. Tried blackberries this time -- needed 5 mins more cooking. Next time, blueberries. Made 12 larger muffins. A muffin & coffee delish for breakfast! So many variations on a theme. Melissa Clarke -- I'm such a fan!

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Blackberry Crumb Muffins Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to moist muffins? ›

How to Make Homemade Muffins Moist: Our Top Tips
  1. Tips to Make Homemade Muffins Moist.
  2. Keep Wet and Dry Ingredients Separately.
  3. Add All Flavorings Last.
  4. Consider Paper Liners.
  5. Don't Overfill the Muffin Cups.
  6. Check the Temperature of Your Oven.
  7. Test if Muffins Are Fully Cooked.
  8. Top Your Muffins with Flavor.
Aug 9, 2021

What is the secret to high muffins? ›

Chilling your muffin batter overnight in the fridge is the BEST thing you can do for amazing muffins. It makes them more moist, tender, and TALLER! It's very similar to chilling cookie dough, which if you know me you know I'm obsessed with chilling cookie dough. Think of it like marinating.

What is the most important rule to follow when baking muffins? ›

The most important rule of muffin making is to not over stir the mix. Instead, what you really want is to just moisten the ingredients. Resist the temptation to stir or beat the batter until it is smooth and lump free.

What causes the muffins to be tough heavy or rubbery? ›

What causes the muffins to be tough, heavy or rubbery? A. Two things: too much egg and using a dark, nonstick pan.

Are muffins better with oil or butter? ›

The muffins made with oil had a very light and soft texture, they were perfect! The texture of the oil muffins was superior to the texture of the butter muffins. I will also say using butter is probably best in a recipe that doesn't have a lot of flavor add-ins, like a basic muffin recipe.

What not to do when making muffins? ›

Overmixing the batter.

When you overmix the batter, it crushes the air bubbles and ruins the fluffy texture. → Follow this tip: To ensure a batch of light, fluffy muffins, mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just barely combined, and no more dry flour is visible.

What does adding an extra egg do to muffins? ›

If there isn't enough egg, your batter or dough may not be able to hold its structure or could end up overly dry or dense. On the other hand, if there is too much egg, your baked goods could lose their shape due to excess liquid, or have a rubbery (or even overly cakey) texture depending on the recipe.

Should muffin batter rest before baking? ›

Rest the Muffin Batter

The first, most hands-off way to make your muffins pop (literally) is to let the batter rest. Make the batter, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the batter rest at room temperature for about 1 hour. If you're short on time, just 30 minutes can make a difference.

What is the most common flaw when baking muffins? ›

Overmixing is a common problem with muffins. First combine dry ingredients, mixing well. Then combine liquid ingredients, mixing well. Finally combine dry and wet ingredients, by hand, using only 15 to 20 light strokes.

Should I bake muffins at 350 or 375? ›

Ideal Muffin Cooking Temperature

As stated above, different flours, swaps and add-ins can impact muffin cooking time and should be taken into account when making your baked treat. That being said, the standard oven temperature for baking desserts like quick breads and muffins is commonly set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

How to get domed muffin tops? ›

Giving your muffins a boost of extra hot heat (220C/420F) when they first go in the oven helps the outside of the muffin to set quickly whilst the inside of the muffin continues to rise, resulting in the muffin top/domed look.

Is it better to make muffins with milk or water? ›

Can I use milk instead of water to make muffins? We recommend using water; however we know that some Makers prefer to use milk to make muffins. Using milk can change the texture of the muffin to be more like a cupcake.

What rack should you bake muffins on? ›

Bake muffins on the center rack in a preheated oven. Muffins require a hot oven, between 375°F and 425°F. Follow recipe directions. When baking more than one pan of muffins, allow enough room around each pan and between the pans and the sides of the oven for the heat to circulate.

What is the best oven setting for muffins? ›

Some cupcakes and muffins are cooked at higher temperatures - 190c (375F/Gas Mk 5) or 200c (400F/Gas Mk 6) - this tends to make them slightly more peaked. They can take the higher temperature as they are small and cook through quickly, reducing the risk of the outside burning before the inside is cooked.

How to keep muffins moist? ›

If muffins are left exposed, the moisture starts to leak from them and they dry out. To store muffins up to 4 days, line an airtight container or zip-lock bag with paper towel and store the muffins in a single layer. Place another layer of paper towel on top of the muffins as well.

What can I add to muffin mix to make it moist? ›

Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt: Sour cream helps keep the muffins extra moist. If needed, you can use plain yogurt instead. Sugar: Use granulated sugar to sweeten these muffins. I used to use some brown sugar and some white granulated sugar, but brown sugar weighed the muffins down.

How to make muffins more moist after baking? ›

Use a steamer. Steaming is a great way to add moisture to past-their-prime muffins. And according to a TikTok user, you should also be steaming your muffins when you bake them since the hot air and steam allow more time for the centers to rise, resulting in tender and airy muffins.

How to get domed muffins? ›

I suggest baking your muffins at 400 F. I know most muffin recipes (including the ones I have used previously) all tell us to preheat our ovens to between 325-375 F. That heat range is just not enough. While it will surely cook your muffins, it will not give you the full rise that you want.

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