Strawberry Crumble Muffins
Soft, fluffy Strawberry Crumble Muffins are layered with a homemade strawberry jam and topped with a buttery, cinnamon sugar crumble topping. The muffins are baked until golden brown, then filled with a creamy mascarpone vanilla bean filling. These muffins use Greek yogurt in the muffin base which helps make the muffins ultra tender, and helps the muffins achieve taller, bakery style tops.
FAQ
Can I use gluten free flour?
Yes, you can use a gluten free all-purpose blend flour in this recipe in a one to one ratio. I recommend using Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur’s gluten free all-purpose blend.
Storage
Store leftover Strawberry Crumble Muffins in the refrigerator covered in an airtight container up to 1 week.
You can also freeze these muffins in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 2 months. If you choose to do this, I recommend not filling with the mascarpone center. I personally think the mascarpone center is better when it is freshly made.
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Strawberry Crumble Muffins
Description
Soft, fluffy Strawberry Crumble Muffins are layered with a homemade strawberry jam and topped with a buttery, cinnamon sugar crumble topping. The muffins are baked until golden brown, then filled with a creamy mascarpone vanilla bean filling. These muffins use Greek yogurt in the muffin base which helps make the muffins ultra tender, and helps the muffins achieve taller, bakery style tops.
Ingredients
Muffins
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Strawberry Filling
- 1 pound strawberries, cut into quarters (fresh or frozen)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1 drop red food gel (optional)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon cold water
Crumble Topping
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Mascarpone Center
- 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean)
Cream Cheese Filling
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 6 count jumbo muffin pan with liners, or a 12 count muffin pan with liners.
2. Make the strawberry filling. In a medium size saucepan, add strawberries, sugar and juice of lemon. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly JUST until sugar is dissolved and strawberries begin to release their natural juices. Add a drop of red food dye, if desired, and cornstarch mixture (whisk together the cornstarch with the cold water until dissolved). Cook an additional minute or so, until sauce is thickened. Pour strawberry filling into shallow heat proof bowl and place in refrigerator until ready to use.
3. Make the crumble topping. In a large bowl, add sugar, cinnamon and flour and stir to combine. Add softened butter and use a fork to claw/combine ingredients together, until pea sized morsels remain. Place bowl in refrigerator until ready to use.
4. Make the muffins. In a large bowl, add melted butter, sugar, Greek yogurt, eggs, whole milk and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. Add in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt. Mix just until combined.
5. Add half the muffin batter to the prepared muffin tin. Add half the cooled strawberry filling on top , then top with remaining muffin batter, then remaining strawberry filling on top. Sprinkle crumble topping on top.
6. Bake in preheated oven 20-30 minutes for jumbo muffins, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. For regular sized muffins, bake 18-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Make the mascarpone filling (OR you can make a cream cheese filling).
For the Mascarpone Filling: Bring a medium sized pot of water to a simmer. Add to a heat proof shallow bowl, the egg and sugar. Whisk to combine. Add the bowl on top of the simmering water. Stir constantly until mixture reaches 160F. The mixture will coat the back of a spoon. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, add the mascarpone and cooled egg mixture, as well as the vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add mixture to a piping bag, or zip-top bag with one corner snipped off.
For the cream cheese filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract together until smooth and creamy.
8. Scoop the center of the muffins out, then pipe the mascarpone OR cream cheese filling into the center. Place scooped out center back on top. Enjoy!
This recipe looks so delicious. I’m trying to reduce our family’s intake of sugar. We have a family history of diabetes. Have you tried alternatives sugar or less sugar in your trials of creating this muffin?
Hi Johanna! That is a great question. I have personally not tried reducing the sugar in these muffins. Generally a safe bet to not affect the texture or taste of the muffins, is to have your sugar, in weight, equal 50% of the flour weight. This would be roughly 2/3 cup of sugar (rather than the 3/4 cup). This is not a huge reduction, but at least would be a small amount. You can also try reducing the sugar in the strawberry filling from 1/4 cup to 3 tablespoons. I have not tried less than a 1/4 cup so I probably wouldn’t go much below 1/4 cup. The sugar also helps to draw the natural, sweet juices out of the strawberries, making the flavor more pronounced. I’m sorry I am not a huge help!
The only other thing I can think to do is just have smaller portions. If you make the jumbo sized muffins, just limit the portion to half?
I hope those suggestions can help and I hope you enjoy these!
-Jolene
Hello! Do you know what the amount of mascarpone would be in grams?
Hi Gracie!
Yes, it would be 180 grams. I hope you enjoy these!
-Jolene
Hi
Can I use cake flour?
Hi Zanet,
I have personally not tried cake flour in this recipe, but I believe it should work fine. Since cake flour is lighter than all-purpose flour, I would recommend using 2 1/4 cups of cake flour. I hope that helps and i hope you enjoy these!
-Jolene
More of a question than a comment…. I’m simply a novice baker or cook. I have worked with this recipe a couple of times and it certainly never turns out quite like your amazing photos and videos. I am having difficulty getting the mascarpone to thicken up. I used a thermometer for the egg and sugar mixture as well as it coated the back of the spoon beautifully. I allowed it to cool before mixing all the other ingredients together. Would you possibly have any advice?
Hi Maria!
I always appreciate trying to help out as best as I can, so feel free to ask any questions!
The mascarpone will thicken as it sits and cools. Once you mix the mascarpone with the egg and sugar mixture, you can place the mixture in the refrigerator, or in the freezer if you are shorter on time to help it thicken.
Further, I know you said you allowed the heated egg and sugar to cool (this usually takes around 20 minutes), but if the mixture was too warm, it can cause the fat in the mascarpone to separate and not fully combine, causing a runny filling.
One other thing that can cause the mascarpone to be runny is if it was overmixed. I usually just mix the mixture by hand, gently JUST until combined. Overmixing can also cause the fat to curdle/separate, resulting in a runny filling.
If the mixture is simply just runny, like I mentioned above, placing in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or freezer for 10-15 minutes, should help thicken it up. Sometimes it is tough baking with some ingredients on warmer days. I know, for instance, when I make bread dough, the dough rises much faster during the warm summer months than the winter months.
I hope this all helps!
-Jolene
Hi Jolene!
Is it possible to use heavy cream instead of whole milk in this recipe?
Hi! Yes, you can. Since heavy cream is richer in fat than milk, I would use 2 tablespoons heavy cream mixed with 2 tablespoons of water. I hope you enjoy this recipe!
-Jolene
Hi, Jolene. Super curious about something…I have never worked with mascarpone. After reading Ms Maria’s “comment/question” and as Murphy’s Law would have it, I’m almost certain I would have the same problem. 🤣🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Moving forward… have you ever tried a cream cheese filling (not frosting) in these? I’m really good at making that. 😑
Inquiring From Texas
Nikki
Hi Nikki!
I deeply apologize, I thought I had actually added a cream cheese filling option to the recipe, but I realized I hadn’t! I fixed that and now have a cream cheese filling recipe/option that you can use instead of the mascarpone filling. Both center fillings are delicious, and the muffins are even good without the filling, in my own opinion. I hope you enjoy these! 🙂
-Jolene
These muffins are easy to make and are incredibly delicious it’s a keeper
I am so glad to hear you loved these! They have quickly become one of my favorite muffins to make this time of year with fresh strawberries. Thanks so much for making my recipe 🙂
-Jolene