Coffee Cake Muffins

fresh-baked, gluten-free, coffee cake muffin broken open revealing a sweet cinnamon swirl center.

5 from 2 votes

These Coffee Cake Muffins are soft and fluffy gluten free muffins with a ribbon of cinnamon sugar and a buttery streusel crumb topping! Thanks to the sour cream and homemade buttermilk, the muffins are light and moist! They're so simple to make (no mixer is needed); you'll have 6 jumbo muffins in under an hour! If that wasn't enough, they're gluten free, nut free, eggless and can easily be vegan with a few tweaks!

Prep Time20

Cook Time32

Cool Time20

Total Time1 12

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Servings: jumbo muffins

Calories: 437kcal

Author: Lee

Ingredients

For the Coffee Cake Muffins

⅔ cup milk
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons multipurpose gluten free flour (I use a gluten free multipurpose flour with xanthan gum already in it)
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 rounded tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water
⅔ cup sour cream , full fat
⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the Cinnamon Sugar Swirl

1 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Crumb Topping

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons multipurpose gluten free flour (I use a gluten free multipurpose flour with xanthan gum already in it)
¼ cup dark brown sugar , packed
⅜ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup unsalted butter or vegan baking stick, melted
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar (for dusting)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Muffins

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a jumbo 6 cup muffin tin with vegetable oil, in the wells and on the top.
Measure out ⅔ cup milk. Add in 2 teaspoons white vinegar. Mix with a spoon and let sit for 5-10 min. Stir again.
The milk should appear chunky and that’s normal. This is our homemade buttermilk. Set aside.
In a large bowl, with a whisk, mix together the 1 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons gluten free flour, the ¾ cup sugar, 1.5 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda and the ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix the 2 rounded tablespoons of cornstarch (26 grams) with 3 tablespoons water until it is thin and watery. It will be thick and tacky at first.
Then pour in the ⅔ cup milk, ⅔ cup sour cream, the ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and the 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
It takes a few minutes until fully emulsified and combined. The mixture will be white and frothy once combined.
Using a spatula, slowly mix the liquid ingredients into the dry until just combined. It will be super thick, almost dough-like.
If you're having trouble combining the ingredients, use clean hands to almost knead it together.
In a small bowl, whisk together the 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and the ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon until combined.
Using an ice cream scoop or a large cookie scoop, fill the muffin tins ½ way. Smooth the batter.
Sprinkle on some of cinnamon sugar in the center of the batter and the add more batter to fill the cups ¾ of the way to top.
Smooth the batter with the back of the spoon or a small knife.
I use clean hands to press and smooth the batter. If the batter is getting stuck, simply wet your hands, shake them off and then continue.

Make the Crumb Topping

In a large bowl, whisk together the ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons gluten free flour, the ¼ cup dark brown sugar and ⅜ teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Place the ¼ cup unsalted butter in a heat safe bowl. Place a paper towel on top of the bowl so the butter doesn't splatter. Microwave in 11 second increments until halfway melted.
Whisk the butter until the residual heat melts the rest of the butter.
It should be smooth and creamy.
Pour in the butter into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until combined.
Then use clean hands to form the crumbs.
Sprinkle the crumbs all over the top of the batter. Gently use clean hands to press the crumbs into the batter so they stick.
Bake in the center rack of the 375 degree oven for 32 minutes until the muffins are risen and springy when carefully touched.
When the muffins are out of the oven, let them cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Lastly, remove them from the pan using a small spatula and let cool on a wire cooling rack.
Dust with confectioners' sugar once completely cool. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Regular Muffins: Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 minutes or until muffins are risen and springy. Makes 12 regular muffins.

Vegan: Use a dairy free gluten free flour, vegan sugar, vegan baking sticks, a non-dairy milk and vegan sour cream.

If you cannot find vegan sour cream, eliminate the sour cream and use 1 ⅓ cups milk with 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon white vinegar total in the recipe.

All Purpose Flour: I cannot test this due to celiac disease, but use 1 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons packed cups of AP flour (294 grams plus 2 tablespoons), only ⅓ cup of milk, 1 teaspoon white vinegar and use ⅓ cup plus 2 teaspoons (not tablespoons) vegetable oil.

Storing: Wrap each muffin in foil. Try to create a teepee with the top of the foil so it isn't touching the crumbs as much. You can keep at room temperature for one day. If you desire, microwave (not in the foil) for 5-10 seconds to warm up. Be careful not to burn your mouth.

Freezing: If you won't be eating all the slices the next day, take the wrapped muffins and pop them in the freezer for up to 14 days.

Defrosting: Take out of the freezer and leave at room temperature until soft; about 2 hours. Also, you can microwave each slice (not in foil) for 10-20 seconds to make the cake nice and warm again. Be careful not to burn your mouth.

Nutrition: The info below is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.

Nutrition