Looking for an excuse to eat cake for breakfast? Look no further! My Coffee Cake Cupcakes are here to make sure you wake up on the right side of the bed. How could you possibly have a bad morning knowing that your own miniature coffee cake is waiting in the kitchen, a perfect compliment to your morning cup of joe? These cupcakes will start your day off right!
If the word “cupcakes” sound too indulgent for breakfast, I suppose you could call these “muffins”… but where’s the fun in that? Cake for breakfast is the ultimate!
This recipe is a mish-mosh of several vintage coffee cake recipes I’ve made over the years. I have lots of cookbooks from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, and nearly all of them contain at least one version of coffee cake. The idea to take a coffee cake and turn it into a cupcake came from a little volume called “The Best from Midwest Kitchens.” I picked up the cookbook at a secondhand bookstore; it was published in 1946. The book’s cheerful, fire engine red hardcover drew me in. When I read the names of its three lady authors, I was hooked. Ada, Breta, and Ethel. Great names. Strong names. I knew there had to be some seriously awesome recipes inside. On page 141, I saw a recipe for “Individual Coffee Cakes,” which were basically mini coffeecakes made in a cupcake tin. Brilliant! But the recipe itself was lacking “oomph.” I knew I could do better, so I took the inspiration and ran with it!
I love streusel toppings and fillings, so I use a pecan one here. If you’re not into pecans, you could substitute walnuts. Sour cream adds terrific moisture to coffee cake, and I’ve found that lowfat Greek yogurt makes an almost perfect low calorie substitute. You can use either in this recipe. Oh, and I like adding some almond extract, a flavor trick I learned from a German coffee cake recipe. You can substitute vanilla if you prefer.
Other than that, I think these Coffee Cake Cupcakes are pretty self explanatory. They are awesome. Soft, moist, with a crunchy streusel topping and a beautiful glaze. Serve them for breakfast with a side of scrambled eggs for an irresistible sweet and savory combination. You’ll love them, promise!
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Coffee Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
Streusel Ingredients
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch salt
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
Cupcake Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
Glaze Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon melted butter
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a small mixing bowl, use a fork to mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add the chopped pecans and melted butter. Continue mixing with the fork until the sugar and pecans are fully mixed and evenly moistened by the butter. Reserve; this is your streusel topping.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Cut the butter into cubes and place them in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer on low speed, then medium, to cream the butter for a minute till it becomes light and airy.
- Slowly add sugar to the bowl and beat for 2-3 minutes more, increasing the speed gradually and scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula periodically, until the color becomes lighter and the sugar is fully integrated into the butter.
- Beat in the eggs, then the sour cream, then the almond or vanilla extract.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet and stir till evenly moistened. Do not over-mix.
- Line a cupcake tin with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Fill each tin halfway with batter. I've found the easiest way to do this is with a small ice cream scoop-- use one small (not heaping) scoop per tin.
- Sprinkle 1 1/2 tsp of streusel onto the top of the batter in each tin.
- Fill the tins the rest of the way with batter, all the way to the top of the tin (another small ice cream scoop of batter in each tin).
- Sprinkle 1-2 tsp of streusel on the top of each cupcake.
- Bake the cupcakes for 30-35 minutes till they test clean with a toothpick or skewer. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- When ready to frost, make your vanilla glaze. In a small mixing bowl, sift the powdered sugar.
- Add the rest of the glaze ingredients. Use a whisk to mix the ingredients till a creamy frosting forms. You want the consistency of thick honey; if you need a little more moisture, add milk a few drops at a time. Just a drop can take it from a thick honey to a runny texture, so add with care.
- Line a glass with a plastic bag, wrapping the edge of the bag around the outer rim of the glass. This will help you fill it with frosting. Use a spatula to scoop the frosting into the bag.
- Place cupcakes on top of a piece of parchment paper or paper towels to catch drips.
- Work the frosting into the corner of the bag and snip off a small corner with scissors. Gently squeeze and drizzle the frosting in a zig-zag pattern across the top of the cupcakes.
- Let the frosting dry for at least 30 minutes to set (it may take longer depending on the weather).
- Serve for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or "brinner." Goes great with a hot cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa.
Nutrition
will they turn out fine if i dont use pecans? or should i put soemthing else in
Hi Shelby, you can replace the pecans with another nut like walnuts, or you can use any nut-free streusel recipe to top the cupcakes. You’ll need about 1 1/4 cups streusel to top them properly. Enjoy!
I’ve made these several times now and they’re awesome. I now make a double batch and then freeze a bunch of them- even with the frosting on.
I just made this! It turned out so good! I am now fixing to make another batch because everything was eaten in seconds! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
You’re welcome!
I made these this morning for my wife and 15 month old little girl. She (my daughter) spent the morning dancing to white Christmas and eating these amazing muffins. My wife liked the too and I’m a hero this Saturday morning. Thank you!
Fabulous Joe!
Simply de-li-cious!! I’ve just made them and the taste is incredible. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Made these today and they were amazing. Didn’t have as much butter as I thought I did, so I had to use oil in the batter instead, but still absolutely delish!
I made these and took them to work as my birthday cakes, they were loved! I am instructed to make ’em again 🙂
Great Frankie! Happy birthday 🙂
Hi, have just found the site and am definately going to try these..and the sweet and sour eggplant and the roasted asparagus salad….and….and …. you have amazing soun ding recipes and can’t wait to explore more 🙂
Thanks Frankie, enjoy!
Omg I’m such a spaz! I was so excited for these (the dough tasted delicious! I used strawberry Greek yogurt with little slivers of strawberries) and then they seriously overflowed in my oven. And then I realized I used baking SODA instead of POWDER and yeah….spaz. Can’t wait to try again though!
Whoops! 😉
I make parve version with subbing either Tofutti sour cream OR by using coconut milk with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar added.
Great tip Rochelle, thanks!
They look delish and I see you’ve been wonderful at giving suggestions on substitutions so I will ask-What can I use in place of the sour cream-could I use soy yogurt instead of greek? I’m lactose free and would love to eat these 🙂
Just made these and they came out divine! I rarely bake. Perfect instructions. This is the first recipe of your’s that I have tried. Thanks for sharing!
What would be the temp and time conversion if I use a mini muffin tin?
Same temp, not sure how long… Test with a toothpick till it tests clean in the center of the cupcake.
Shalom from Jerusalem!
I tried this recipe for blueberry muffins, leaving out the streusel filling. I also subbed 1/4 cup of the sugar with Splenda. They came out so delicious, heavenly! Next I will try the batter with cranberries & chopped pecans. I plan to increase the Splenda or sugar by an additional 1/4 since cranberries are so tart. Toda rabba! Thank you! A sheynem dank!
I just made these, they look and smell amazing! Can’t wait to try them and I can’t believe the smells I’m smelling!!
Hi there!
I tried these cupcakes and they were wonderful. However, next time I think I will use vanilla extract rather than almond. I found it to be more of a dominant flavor than I wanted. Thank you for the recipe!
http://www.tastespotting.com/features/coffee-cake-cupcakes-recipe
(she should have at least given you the credit!)
Oh they turned out delish!! (Think I should have waited a bit to drizzle the tops, the glaze sort of all ran together….)
Have you ever made these ahead and frozen them? I’ve put them on the Christmas brunch menu but it would be awesome to be able to make them ahead of time! 🙂 Either way, they’ll be on the table!
Hi Cary, I’ve never frozen them, but I think that it would probably work. Don’t frost them before freezing, though– defrost completely, then frost. I can’t make any promises, though, since I’ve never actually frozen them myself. Enjoy!
I want to make these for a cupcake challenge, the theme is Halloween, if I added food coloring to the batter or the glaze do you think it would alter the taste
I made these this morning, and they are absolutely delicious!!!
Thank you for sharing this recipe!! 🙂