Sourdough Coffee Cake Muffins
These Sourdough Coffee Cake Muffins take everything you love about classic coffee cake and bake it into a soft, fluffy muffin. Each one has warm cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar flavor, a cinnamon filling swirled through the center, and a sweet brown sugar crumble topping that adds just the right amount of crunch.
Quick Look: Sourdough Coffee Cake Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Recipe Type: Sourdough discard recipe
- Fermentation Time: None
- Bake Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Servings: 12
- Calories: 318 kcal
- Cook Method: Baked at 425°F for 5 minutes, then 350°F for 15 minutes
- Flavor & Texture: Cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar flavor in a soft, fluffy, and moist muffin with a crumb topping
- Skill Level: Easy
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Why you’ll love this recipe
Sourdough discard muffins are a quick and easy delicious breakfast recipe that feeds a crowd, and everyone loves them. If you love making discard muffins, you’ll love this recipe, plus my Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins and my Banana Nut Sourdough Discard Muffins.
Ingredients for Sourdough Coffee Cake Muffins
- Sourdough Discard – unfed or active. Sourdough discard is what is leftover from a starter when you feed it. If you don’t have a starter yet, use my Sourdough Starter Recipe to make your own!
- Eggs – act as a binding agent for these soft, moist muffins
- Whole milk – thins the batter, creates a golden crust
- Greek yogurt – makes a super moist, tender muffin
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg – warm cozy flavors, making these muffins taste just like coffee cake
- Granulated Sugar – adds sweetness to the muffins, making them more cake-like
- Brown Sugar – adds sweetness with a rich, warm flavor
*Find the full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Substitutions and Variations
- Milk – You can swap it out for a plant-based option if necessary.
- Greek yogurt – You can swap it out with regular plain or vanilla yogurt. Or, for a non-dairy version, use a plant based yogurt.
- Reduced sugar – Coffee cake is meant to be sweet. However, you can cut the granulate sugar by 50 grams (1/4 cup) without changing the recipe too drastically. To reduce the overall sugar content and make healthier muffins, leave the crumb topping off.
- Additions – Add in chopped apples, like in my Apple Crumble Muffins. You can also add chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts to the crumb topping for extra crunch and flavor.
- Icing – If you want it a bit sweeter, add a glaze like the maple flavored icing for my Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins.
Tips for Success
- Baking – Baking muffins at a high temperature of 425°F for the first 5 minutes, gives them an initial boost that helps them bake up nice and tall. Reduce the temperature to 350°F for the remainder of the bake until the centers are done.
- Discard – When keeping sourdough starter for an extended period of time, store it in the refrigerator to use for discard recipes. Use it within two weeks in your favorite easy sourdough discard recipes for best results.
- Swirl the filling – Use a wooden skewer to swirl the batter with the cinnamon filling to ensure cinnamon flavor in every bite.
How to make Sourdough Coffee Cake Muffins
Prepare the crumb topping and cinnamon filling
Step 1: In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugars and cinnamon for the crumb topping. Then mix in the melted butter. Initially it will be wet, but will dry after a few minutes.
Step 2: In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon for the filling. Set it aside until it’s time to assemble the muffins.
Step 3 – Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Step 4 – Mix the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs, sourdough discard, milk, Greek yogurt, and vanilla.
Can I make sourdough discard muffin batter ahead of time?
If you want a nice easy morning, preparing your batter ahead of time and refrigerating it can be a great option. Since you’re adding leavening agents like baking powder and soda, I suggest refrigerating it no more than 12 hours. An overnight chill can help aid in digestion and more moist muffins.
Step 5 – Mix them together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir them together with a spoon or spatula until smooth. The batter should be pretty thick, but add 1-2 tablespoons of milk if needed.
Step 6 – It’s time to layer the muffins. Scoop a spoonful of batter into the bottoms of each cup of a muffin tin. It should only fill it about 1/4-full. Using a cookie scoop makes this much easier and cleaner.
Assemble the muffins
Step 7 – Add the cinnamon filling. Use it all up! It seems like a lot, but it is going to get dristributed all throughout the muffin.
Step 8 – Top with the remaining muffin batter. Use a wooden skewer or toothpick to swirl the layers together, ensuring there will be cinnamon swirled throughout the muffin.
Bake
Step 9 – Add the crumb topping and bake. For the first 5 minutes, bake it at 425°F, then reduce the temperature to 350°F for another 15 minutes until golden. Insert a toothpick into the center to make sure it’s done.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire cooling rack. They should be golden, crunchy on top, and soft and moist inside!
Health benefits of sourdough
Recipes made with sourdough can be easier to digest, due to the fact that the long fermentation process breaks down the gluten, supporting better gut health, nutrient absorption, and better blood sugar control. While I don’t claim to be a health expert, many readers have expressed to me my Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe and other Sourdough Recipes are easier on their tummies than regular, yeasted breads.
How to store
If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container, on the counter for up to 4 days. You can also put them in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This recipe will make 6 jumbo muffins. You may need to bake them a couple minutes longer, but check them after baking at 350°F for 15 minutes and see if they need additional time.
If you’re using a 100% hydration starter (you’re feeding with equal parts flour and water), use as much discard as you can for the recipe, then make up for the rest by adding equal parts water and flour. For example, if the recipe calls for 120g sourdough discard, and you only have 100g, you’ll add 10g milk and 10g flour to the recipe, giving you the total 120g you need.
More Easy Sourdough Discard Recipes
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 60 g all-purpose flour (½ cup)
- 32 g dark brown sugar (2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, packed)
- 15 g granulated sugar (1 tablespoon)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 56 g unsalted butter (¼ cup) melted
Cinnamon Filling
- 55 g dark brown sugar (¼ cup, packed)
- 8 g all-purpose flour (1 tablespoon)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Muffin batter
- 240 g all-purpose flour (2 cups)
- 9 g baking powder (2 teaspoons)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 114 g unsalted butter (½ cup) melted
- 200 g granulated sugar (1 cup)
- 2 large eggs (100 g) room temperature
- 120 g sourdough discard (½ cup)
- 30 g whole milk (2 tablespoons) plus more if needed
- 60 g plain Greek yogurt (¼ cup) room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F/215°C. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray or line with 12 muffin liners. Set aside.
Prepare the crumb topping
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, brown and granulated sugars, and cinnamon for the crumb topping. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. Break the mixture up with a fork to create a crumbly texture. Set aside. (The mixture will be wet initially, but will dry a bit as you prepare the muffin batter.)60 g all-purpose flour32 g dark brown sugar15 g granulated sugar½ teaspoon ground cinnamon56 g unsalted butter
Prepare the cinnamon filling
- In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Set aside.55 g dark brown sugar8 g all-purpose flour1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Prepare the muffin batter
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.240 g all-purpose flour9 g baking powder½ teaspoon baking soda½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, and eggs. Then whisk in the sourdough discard, milk, yogurt, and vanilla and mix until all combined.114 g unsalted butter 200 g granulated sugar2 large eggs120 g sourdough discard30 g whole milk60 g plain Greek yogurt1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until completely combined. The batter will be thick. If needed, add an additional 1-2 tablespoons.
- Spoon half the batter into the prepared muffin tin, dividing between all 12 cups. Sprinkle the cinnamon filling evenly over each cup of batter, using up all the filling. Add the remaining half of the batter, filling each muffin cup. Use a toothpick or wooden skewer and swirl the muffin batter and cinnamon filling together. Add the crumb topping evenly to the top of each muffin.
- Bake at 425°F/215°C for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F/175°C and bake an additional 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown. Insert a toothpick to the center to check if it's done – it should come out clean.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing. Use a knife to loosen the tops from the pan, if necessary. Transfer the muffins to the wire cooling rack to cool an additional 10 minutes before serving. Best served warm!
Notes
- Jumbo muffins: This recipe makes 6 jumbo muffins. Bake as directed and check the center to see if it needs additional baking time.
- If you don’t have enough sourdough discard, add equal parts flour and milk to make up for the difference (see details in recipe post).