Cinnamon Crumb Surprise for special favours
A few reasons motivated me to bake today. I promised muffins in
return for favours, Zorra's Apple Day food blog event, Muffin Monday (MM06) hosted by Pernille and of
course this great recipe I found in Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Bread Bible. This was
meant to be baked in a loaf but decided to make muffin versions.
This is not like any apple muffin I've had before. This is
wonderfully light and fine in texture. The slice of apple in the
center is a sweet surprise and the cinnamon crumble is a
winner!
I think what makes this more special and unlike any other cake or
muffin recipe I've come across is sour cream. I also used Top Flour
instead of All-purpose and this does give it a softer texture. It
is also important to have the oven hot enough to set the structure
quickly to support the crumb topping and prevent it from
sinking.
This is a great accompaniment with a lazy afternoon beverage.
Makes 6 large muffins
Crumb Topping and Filling
¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar
1½ Tbspn Granulated Sugar
¾ Cup Walnuts
1 Tspn Cinnamon
¼ Cup + 2 Tbspn Cake flour (unsifted)
3 Tbspn Unsalted Butter, melted
¼ Tspn Pure Vanilla Extract
Apple Filling and Batter
1 Small Tart Apple, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch thick slices
2 Tspn Lemon Juice
1 Large Egg
2 Large Egg Yolks
½ Cup Sour Cream
1 Tspn Pure Vanilla Extract
1½ Cups Cake Flour, sifted
¾ Cup Sugar
¼ Tspn Baking Powder
⅜ Tspn Baking Soda
¼ Tspn Salt
130g Butter, softened
Preheat oven to 180C
To make crumb mixture:
In a food processor, pulse sugars, nuts and cinnamon until coarsely
chopped. Reserve ½ Cup for the filling. Add in flour, butter and
vanilla to the remainder and pulse until the butter is absorbed and
resembling coarse bread crumbs. Empty into a bowl and refrigerate
for about 20 minutes until needed.
Batter:
In a medium bowl, lightly combine egg, egg yolks, ¼ of the sour
cream and vanilla.
In a mixer bowl, blend together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking
soda and salt. Add in butter and remaining sour cream and mix until
the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape down sides, add in egg
mixture in 2 batches. Mix well until all the ingredients are well
incorporated and stretchy.
Fill muffin cups till ½ fill, sprinkle a layer of reserved crumb
mixture, top with apple slice, drop reserved batter over apple and
spread evenly. Sprinkle with refrigerated crumb topping.
Bake for 55 minutes or after a toothpick inserted in the center
comes out clean. Tent loosely with baking paper after 45 minutes to
prevent over over-browning. Cool for 10 minutes before eating and
cool completely before packing in an air-tight container.