Equipment
Ingredients
Hidden Crumb Layer
- 60 g unsalted butter, melted
- 50 g light brown sugar
- 30 g granulated sugar
- 5 g ground cinnamon
- 90 g all-purpose flour
- 1 g salt
Browned Butter Batter
- 115 g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 50 g light brown sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 120 g sour cream, room temperature
- 60 ml whole milk, room temperature
- 5 ml vanilla extract
- 210 g all-purpose flour
- 5 g baking powder
- 2 g baking soda
- 2 g salt
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 306 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- 39 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 20 g
- Sodium
- 209 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 9 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 4 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 69 mg
- Potassium
- 75 mg
- Calcium
- 63 mg
- Iron
- 0.6 mg
- Magnesium
- 9 mg
- Phosphorus
- 69 mg
- Zinc
- 0.4 mg
- Vitamin A
- 128 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.2 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.5 mg
- Vitamin K
- 1 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.0 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.1 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.04 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.08 mg
- Niacin
- 0.4 mg
- Folate
- 12 mcg
- Water
- 24 g
- Alcohol
- 0 g
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
Melt the 115g of butter in a saucepan over medium heat, cooking until the milk solids toast and smell nutty, then immediately transfer to a mixing bowl to cool to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 190C (375F) and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Mix the melted 60g of butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, flour, and salt in a mixing bowl until large crumbs form.
Press exactly one tablespoon of the crumb mixture firmly into the bottom of each prepared paper liner to form a solid base layer.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium mixing bowl to ensure the leavening agents are evenly distributed.
Whisk the cooled browned butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl until completely smooth.
Fold the dry flour mixture into the wet sour cream mixture using a rubber spatula just until combined, leaving a few small lumps.
Divide the muffin batter evenly among the muffin cups, scooping it directly over the pressed crumb layers until each cup is nearly full.
Bake in the preheated oven at 190C (375F) for 18 to 20 minutes.
Cool the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes before gently transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Chef's Notes
- Browning butter evaporates its water content, concentrating the fat and transforming the milk solids. Always let it cool completely before using to prevent scrambling your eggs and melting your sugars prematurely.
- Sour cream acts as a phenomenal tenderizer in this recipe. Its natural acidity reacts beautifully with the baking soda to create lift, while its high fat content delivers a moist crumb without excessively thinning the batter.
- Baking at a slightly higher initial temperature, then optionally dropping it, helps create high muffin domes. This recipe uses a steady 190C to ensure the heavy crumb bottom cooks through without burning the top.
- Placing the streusel crumb on the bottom rather than the top offers an unexpected textural contrast and protects the buttery crunch from ambient moisture, keeping them fresher for longer.
Storage
Refrigerator: 5 days — Store in an airtight container lined with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture.
Freezer: 3 months — Wrap individually in plastic wrap and place in a heavy-duty freezer bag.
Reheating: Thaw at room temperature, then warm in a 150C/300F oven for 5 minutes or microwave for 15 seconds.
Troubleshooting
Muffins are dense, flat, or chewy rather than tender.
Cause: The batter was overmixed during the folding step.
Fix: Cannot be fixed.
Prevention: Fold the wet and dry ingredients together with a light hand, stopping when a few dry streaks of flour still remain.
Eggs scrambled when added to the butter mixture.
Cause: The browned butter was too hot when the cold eggs were introduced.
Fix: Discard and start the wet ingredients over.
Prevention: Allow the browned butter to cool fully to room temperature before mixing, and ensure eggs are at room temperature.
Crumb layer is falling apart when removing the muffin wrapper.
Cause: The crumb mixture was not pressed firmly enough into the bottom of the liner.
Fix: Eat with a spoon or fork.
Prevention: Tamp the crumbs down with the back of a spoon or your fingers before adding the batter.
Cultural Context
Muffins have been a staple of North American breakfast tables since the 19th century, evolving from yeast-raised doughs to quick breads leavened with chemical leaveners like baking powder. The streusel or crumb element originally comes from German baking traditions, traditionally applied as a top layer. By hiding the crumb on the bottom, this recipe plays with expectations and creates a delightful upside-down eating experience.
