Sourdough Discard Coffee Cake Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel

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These sourdough discard coffee cake muffins pack a thick swirl of cinnamon streusel right through the center of every muffin, then get topped with even more streusel before they bake. They come together in one bowl, use up sourdough discard you would otherwise toss, and skip the extra dishes a full coffee cake demands. Every one of these muffins is dairy-free, so you can swap in whatever dairy products you keep on hand in the same amounts, and they stay soft and moist days after baking instead of drying out like a sliced cake.

Ingredients

Streusel Topping

• 80g (6 Tbsp) brown sugar, packed
• 20g (4 tsp) granulated sugar
• 6g (2 tsp) ground cinnamon
• 60g (4 Tbsp) dairy-free butter, room temperature
• 100g (¾ cup plus 1 Tbsp) all-purpose flour

Muffin Batter

• 1½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 2 tsp (10g) baking powder
• ½ tsp (3g) baking soda
• ½ tsp (3g) salt
• 1 tsp (3g) ground cinnamon
• ½ cup (120g) sourdough starter, discard or active
• ½ cup (120g) dairy-free milk, such as oat, almond, or cashew milk
• 1 tsp (5g) apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• ¼ cup (55g) vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
• 1 large egg, or a flax egg: 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal plus 3 Tbsp warm water, mixed and rested 5 minutes
• 1 tsp (4g) pure vanilla extract

Equipment You Will Need

• 12-Cup Muffin Tin – holds the full batch of muffins.
• Tulip Parchment Muffin Liners – keeps the muffins from sticking and gives them that bakery-style shape.
• OXO Good Grips Scale – for measuring ingredients in grams, the most accurate way to bake this recipe.
• Danish Dough Whisk – makes quick work of whisking the wet ingredients together.
• Junadael Cookie Scoop, 1.5 Tbsp – portions the batter evenly for both layers, under the streusel and on top.
• OXO Good Grips Silicone Small Spatula – for folding the batter together without overmixing.
• Wire Cooling Rack – lets the muffins cool evenly once they come out of the tin.
• Mixing bowls – one large bowl for dry ingredients, one medium bowl for wet ingredients, and a small bowl for the streusel.

How to Make Sourdough Discard Coffee Cake Muffins

Step 1: Preheat the oven and prep the pan

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with tulip parchment liners.

Step 2: Make the streusel

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. Add the room-temperature dairy-free butter and rub it in with your fingers, or cut it in with a fork, until the mixture is crumbly and pea-sized. Set aside.

Step 3: Make the dairy-free buttermilk

In a small cup, combine the dairy-free milk and apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice). Let it sit for 5 minutes to curdle slightly.

Step 4: Mix the dry ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Step 5: Mix the wet ingredients

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter, curdled milk mixture, oil, egg (or flax egg), and vanilla until smooth.

Step 6: Combine the wet and dry ingredients

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold gently with a spatula just until combined. Do not overmix, or the muffins will turn dense.

Step 7: Add the first layer of batter

Using a tablespoon scoop, add a small amount of batter to the bottom of each lined muffin cup.

Step 8: Add the first streusel layer

Sprinkle a layer of streusel over the batter in each cup.

Step 9: Top with more batter

Use the tablespoon scoop again to add another small amount of batter directly on top of the streusel layer, covering it completely. This is what creates the streusel swirl through the center of each muffin.

Step 10: Finish with streusel and bake

Sprinkle the remaining streusel generously over the top of each muffin, pressing down lightly into the batter. Bake at 375°F for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Step 11: Cool

Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips for Sourdough Discard Coffee Cake Muffins

• Use a tablespoon-sized scoop for both batter layers. It keeps every muffin portioned evenly and makes layering the streusel so much easier.
• I make my own cashew milk and use that for the dairy-free milk in this recipe. Any store-bought dairy-free milk works the same way.
• The apple cider vinegar does double duty. It curdles the milk into a quick dairy-free buttermilk, and it reacts with the baking soda to give the batter extra lift, which matters with all that streusel weight sitting inside.
• Do not skip pressing the top streusel layer down lightly. It helps the streusel bake into the muffin instead of sitting loose on top.
• Keep the butter for the streusel at room temperature, not melted. Rubbing it into the dry ingredients by hand or with a fork is what gives you that pea-sized, crumbly texture instead of a sandy one.
• Swap the dairy-free ingredients for regular dairy in the same amounts if that is what you keep on hand.

FAQ

Won’t all that streusel make the muffins sink or turn out heavy?

No. Batter goes both above and below the middle streusel layer, so it holds everything in place. The moisture from the batter also softens the streusel into the crumb instead of weighing the muffin down.

Why do I need to curdle the dairy-free milk first?

The vinegar-curdled milk works like buttermilk. It adds a little tang and reacts with the baking soda for extra lift in the batter.

Can I use active sourdough starter instead of discard?

Yes. Either discard or active starter works fine in this recipe.

Can I substitute a different dairy-free milk?

Yes, swap it cup for cup. Oat, almond, and cashew milk all work well. I use homemade cashew milk.

Do I have to use a scoop for the batter?

No, but a tablespoon scoop keeps the two batter layers even, especially the top layer that covers the streusel.

Can I make these with regular dairy instead of dairy-free?

Yes. Swap the dairy-free butter and milk for your regular versions in the same amounts.

Why did my streusel turn out sandy instead of crumbly?

The butter needs to stay at room temperature, not melted. Rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingers or a fork until you get pea-sized clumps.

Can I freeze these muffins?

Yes. See the freezer instructions below for the best way to store and reheat them.

How to Store

Room Temperature

These muffins keep for 2 to 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container. Keep them covered so the streusel top stays intact.

Refrigerator

Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, these muffins keep for up to a week. They will firm up slightly, so warm one for 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave before eating for that fresh-baked texture.

Freezer

These muffins freeze well. Let them cool completely, then wrap each one individually or layer them with parchment paper in an airtight container. They will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or microwave straight from frozen in 30 second intervals.

Closing

If you love a good streusel, my Sourdough Discard Peach Muffins with Brown Sugar Streusel use that same swirl-and-top technique with fresh peaches folded in. My Sourdough Discard Zucchini Muffins with a Cinnamon Sugar Crust are another one-bowl discard bake worth trying. And if you are just craving muffins, no streusel required, my Sourdough Cherry Muffins with White Chocolate Chips are just as easy to pull together. Give these muffins a try, and let the smell of cinnamon do the rest of the convincing for you.