Coffee Cake Muffins with Espresso Oat Crumble

Do you know why they call it coffee cake? Because it’s truly the perfect sweet treat to enjoy with a freshly brewed cup of coffee. This moist cake paired with a sweet, crumbly topping tastes best paired with your favorite blend. Coffee cake doesn’t have to have coffee in the cake itself but it’s an even better pairing when it does! With Charleston Coffee Roasters coffee in both the cinnamon sugar swirl and the crumbly oat topping, these coffee cake muffins are the perfect way to start your day.

A crumble topping is a key part of any coffee cake. At its most basic, it needs to be made with butter, brown sugar and a little bit of flour. To really increase the crunch and flavor, we’ve added some Charleston Coffee Roasters ground coffee and quick cooking oats. They oats give the crumble a nice texture and added fiber. But if you don’t have oats at home though, you can skip them or substitute chopped nuts.

To give the muffins even more flavor, we sprinkled in a cinnamon sugar swirl. A little added cocoa powder gives the swirl a deep brown color. And more coffee grounds in this layer really boost the coffee flavor throughout the muffin.

We love making this coffee cake recipe as muffins. The single serve portions are easy to store and quick to grab in the morning. When you’re making the recipe, get all the components ready before you start filling the muffin tin. Then you simply fill each muffin half way with cake batter. Top with a sprinkle of the cinnamon sugar mixture, add more cake batter and then top each muffin with a generous helping of the Espresso Oat Crumble. A cookie scoop makes quick work of the process and helps keep the portions evenly distributed.

Any of our Charleston Coffee Roasters roasts would be delicious in this recipe. We decided to use our Espresso Dark roast, though, since it is has a bold flavor that would really shine through the rich flavors of these muffins. It also produces a beautiful thick crema when brewed in the French Press – it’s the perfect accompaniment to our Coffee Cake Muffins.

COFFEE CAKE MUFFINS WITH ESPRESSO OAT CRUMBLE

Muffins:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon un-brewed Charleston Coffee Roasters Espresso Dark coffee grounds
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
Espresso Oat Crumble (recipe below)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with liners.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of stand mixer until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined.
3. Mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda.  Add ½ of the flour mixture, then the sour cream, ending with the rest of the flour mixture.  Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Set the batter aside.
4. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, coffee ground and cocoa powder in a separate bowl.
5. Use a small spoon or cookie scoop to fill the muffins liners halfway with the cake batter.
6. Sprinkle the batter with the brown sugar mixture.
7. Fill the liners with the remaining batter.
8. Divide the Espresso Oat Crumble topping between the muffins.
9. Bake the muffins for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffin.

 

Espresso Oat Crumble:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon un-brewed Charleston Coffee Roasters Espresso Dark coffee grounds

1. Place all the ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Use a fork to combine until the mixture is in small clumps.