Ultra-Moist Coffee Cake Muffins with Oil
These delicious bakery-style coffee cake muffins are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a snack! Made with buttermilk and oil, the muffins are moist and so tender. Topped with a cinnamon crumb topping with the right amount of sweetness! Plus, these quick muffins are ready in only 30 minutes!

What’s better than coffee cake? Coffee cake in muffin form! These coffee cake muffins with crumb topping are easy to make and will sweeten up your morning routine. This recipe makes 12 perfect muffins and are perfect for when you need new and different muffin ideas!
These muffins have a super crunchy topping, almost like a streusel, and can be glazed with this quick vanilla glaze– it takes just 2 minutes to make!
As a trained professional baker, I usually bake my coffee cakes like my apple coffee cake, banana coffee cake, and cherry coffee cake in a pan, but these convenient muffins are perfect for on the go! You can also make a big batch for a brunch or potluck.
The crumb topping
For a crispy crumb topping you’ll need basic pantry ingredients like all purpose flour, white sugar, brown sugar, and butter.
What makes a streusel successful is three things:
- Using COLD butter- this keeps the butter in its shape, which when baked, will release steam creating a crunchy texture. If the butter is warm, it can melt into a paste and not create chunks
- Making sure your flour to sugar to butter ratio is right. You need the right about of flour and sugar to offset the butter to make sure it stays clumpy and doesnt melt.
- The way you mix. Use your fingers to pinch the butter into the dry ingredients and into small pieces around the size of a pea. The clumps will bake and stay crisp. You dont want to mix to a paste.
It’s ok to have bigger and smaller pieces of streusel, don’t get too hung up on it!
This recipe also uses brown sugar which helps the butter stay clumpy and gives a deeper caramel flavor.
Make this first and keep it in the fridge to keep it chilled while you make the rest of the recipe- this will up the crunch factor even more!
Muffin Ingredients
The muffins have your typical baking ingredients here, but I do want to call a couple special ones out.
- Buttermilk– This muffin recipe is made with buttermilk because it helps to add a little extra fat and tenderness to the muffins.
- Vegetable Oil – Using oil instead of butter helps to keep a super tender crumb but also stay moist for longer.
Baking the muffins
To get that bakery style look, the muffins will be baked on two temperatures. First, bake the muffins on 425°F for the first 8 mins. Then without opening the oven door, lower the temperature to 350°F and continue baking for 12-14 mins.
The initial high heat helps to puff up the muffin batter in the middle which creates that bakery rounded top.
Filling the muffin tin
Fill it all the way up! This is not a cupcake recipe where you need to feel only 3/4 of the way full. Instead with muffins you want to fill the batter to the top so that it bakes over the rim. Yes the streusel will make a mess at first but then it will bake into the muffin- trust me and go for it!
Final recipe tips
- It’s important to properly measure the dry ingredients with a scale or by spooning the flour into the measuring cups.
- All ingredients should be room temperature EXCEPT for the butter used to make the crumb topping. This should be cold so that it mixes in properly and creates the crumbs.
- The batter will be thick, this is normal! Be sure not to over mix or the muffins will be tough.
- Only fill the muffin liners about ¾ of the way full. This allows the muffins to rise and not spill over the top.
- Let the muffins cool before adding the glaze. If you add it too soon, it will just melt right off.
Storing instructions
Storing: These muffins taste best on the day they are made but will stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to a week. You can also store them in the fridge for up to two weeks in an airtight container.
Freezing: Once the cinnamon coffee cake muffins have cooled, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then place them in an airtight container and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight on the counter or defrost in the microwave before serving.
Ultra-Moist Coffee Cake Muffins with Oil
Ingredients
For the crumb topping:
- 1 cup all purpose flour, 120g
- ½ cup brown sugar, 107g
- ¼ cup sugar, 50g
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ½ cup butter, unsalted, cold, diced small.
For the muffins:
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour, 300g
- 1 cup brown sugar, 218g
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the glaze:
- ½ cup confectioners sugar, 56g
- 1 tbsp cream
Instructions
- Make the crumb topping. In a small bowl combine the 1 cup flour, 1/2 brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 -1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp salt.
- Use a pastry cutter to cut in the ½ cup butter or pinch the butter into the mixture with your fingers gently until small clumps are formed no larger than the size of a pea. Place in the fridge while you make the muffins.
- Preheat the oven to 425° F and line a 12 cup muffin tip with muffin liners.
- In a large bowl combine the 2 ½ cups flour, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, and ½ tsp kosher salt and mix to combine.
- In a medium sized bowl combine the 4 eggs, and 1 cup oil and mix to combine. Add the ¼ cup buttermilk and 1 tsp vanilla and mix again.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix only until combined. Do not over mix. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
- Using a 3 tbsp ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the muffin tin ¾ of the way full. Top with crumb topping. It’s ok if the crumb topping is overflowing a bit.
- Bake for 8 minutes on 425 then lower the temperature to 350 and continue baking for 12 -14 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the muffins are rounded on top.
- When the muffins are cool, combine the ½ cup confectioners sugar and cream and drizzle all over the muffins.
I made these for a college girls getaway and everyone loved them! Personally, I felt like they were a little crumbly even in the bottom of muffin.
Hi Katie, so glad to hear that everyone loved them- its important not to over mix or over bake muffins because that can make them more crumbly. Thanks for your 5 star review!
So good! I put less than half the sugar and some maple syrup and it still turned out wonderfull! The crumb topping is really good too! Great for a quick breakfast!
YAY great! Thank you so much for letting me know, and for the 5 star rating!!
I was excited to bake these. I do a lot of baking. The flavor is good but for me the muffins were too dense. The batter seemed very oily before baking. I do like other recipes of yours.
Hiya! sorry these didnt work out for you, Im wondering if maybe they just needed to come out of the oven a few mins early 🙂