Big crumb apple muffins

By: Sarah Coates
From: The Sugar Hit!
Makes: 12
Photographer: Chris Middleton

These mu ins are my homage to New York, baby! They’re big, they’re full of apple (geddit, Big Apple?) and they’re inspired by the institution that is the New York Crumb Cake, which makes them perfect for snacking on. They make me think of sassy, brassy, old New York women with names like Ethel and Rose, who wear way too much chunky jewellery and head down to the bakery every Saturday morning for a loud, shouty catch-up over cake.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
100g	butter
230g	caster sugar
1	egg
250ml	buttermilk
1 teaspoon	vanilla bean paste
300g	plain flour
1/2 teaspoon	baking powder
1 teaspoon	bicarbonate of soda, (baking soda)
pinch	salt
2	apples, peeled and cut into 1 cm dice, (choose a tart variety)

Crumb topping

Quantity	Ingredient
175g	butter
155g	brown sugar
45g	caster sugar
1 teaspoon	salt
2 teaspoons	ground cinnamon
300g	plain flour

Method

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Grease twelve 190 ml capacity ramekins, or line a large, 12-hole muffin tin with large muffin cases.
To make the crumb topping, melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave on High (100%) for 30 seconds. Add the butter to the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir together until combined. Set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until completely incorporated. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until everything is combined and homogenous, being careful not to over-mix.
Divide the batter evenly between the ramekins or muffin cases, then top them equally with the crumb mixture – squeeze together big pieces of the mix, then crumble them over each muffin to get nice big chunks.
Put the ramekins on a baking tray and bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Leave to cool slightly, before carefully removing from the ramekins or the tin and serving. These are particularly delicious when they’re still a bit warm.

Tip

You need BIG muffin cases for these babies – they are definitely larger than your average muffin. Most supermarkets sell large muffin cases (I like the ones that look like they’re made of brown paper). But if you can’t get them, you can use regular cases – you’ll just end up with more, smaller muffins. Alternatively, you can bake them in mini-panettone moulds or make your own cases using baking paper.

Tags:: sugar; hit; cake; cakes; baking; sweet; sweets; dessert; sarah; coates

Big crumb apple muffins

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