Blueberry muffin tops with a crumble topping are fantastic! For breakfast or a fun dessert, it’s the best part of the muffin anyway right?
Ever wondered how to make blueberry muffin tops? I did when that is what I would order every time I visited my favorite coffee spot. Now we can make them at home ourselves! One of the best muffin recipes around. (originally published 8/21, affiliate links present)
How to Make Muffin Tops
If you’ve never tried these they are way easier than you might have thought. Let’s be honest, the top is the first thing you eat and the BEST part of this baked good anyway right?? You know it is.
So why not cut out the whole bottom piece and just make the best of the best already??? You can add your favorite berries or even chocolate chips to this basic recipe below, there are tons of variations.
Let’s talk a bit about my favorite things when it comes to muffins though shall we?
- You really should get a 24 cup muffin pan, or opt for a quicker baking time with mini muffins.
- I ALWAYS use muffin liners and you should too. They make cleanup easier and grab and go breakfasts a thang. 😉
- No pan, no problem! Use these self standing muffin cups instead!
- This is the best way to store leftovers so they don’t get smushed!
Muffin Top Recipe
The biggest, and really only difference in making these is the pan. It’s pretty flat really. With small ridges to help the batter from spilling over you don’t need any papers, just a light non stick spray in the middle of each one.
- Muffin top pan
- All purpose + cake flour, the latter will make them lighter and fluffier. You can use this flour substitution chart if you only have one.
- Butter
- Half and half
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Milk
- Honey
- Lemon juice
- Salt
- Baking powder and soda
- Fresh blueberries
Mixing the milk + lemon juice will create buttermilk. You could just eliminate the lemon if you already have some in a container in your fridge already made instead. That is what I do if I know I am going to be baking jumbo blueberry muffins and these at the same time.
Then you can add a crumb muffin topping if you want too. There is a link to that recipe in the printable recipe card at the bottom.
Why are muffin tops better?
I think because the crumb topping is on it, and it stays a bit more moist than the underside. That part is hugged by a muffin paper which tends to dry it out just a bit, it gets more heat too touching the pan itself.
It’s pretty hard. The only real alternative is to roll up some tinfoil into a long strand.
Curve them so it forms into a circle and lay on top of a cookie sheet. Pour about 1/4 c. full of batter inside and bake.
Get out a bowl and mix your dry ingredients well. Then in another incorporate your wet ingredients. Set your fruit aside for later. You always just want to fold those in gently at the end or they’ll disintegrate.
Lemon Blueberry Muffin Tops
This is no different than making any other sort of easy muffin recipe you’ve done before, just the pan is not the same. We started doing this years ago after I made a batch and found a few bottoms in the trash can. Of course this didn’t make me happy but asked why. “The tops are the best part” was the answer….so we focused on those.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Prep buttermilk by mixing milk and lemon juice. Set aside. Soften butter in a small dish. In a small bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer or use your hand to mix together sugar, egg and vanilla. Whisk in half and half. Alternate stirring in flour mixture and buttermilk until batter is smooth. Then stir in honey.
- Whisk in room temperature or slightly melted butter. In a small bowl, gently toss reserved 1 tablespoon flour (cake flour) with 1 cup of your fresh blueberries. Gently fold the cake flour/blueberry combination into the muffin batter.
- if you wanted some lemon flavor add some zest into the mix + 1 tbsp juice
- Grease muffin pan. Spoon batter into muffin pan, filling to top. Press reserved 1/4 cup blueberries into top of muffins. Gather ingredients for crumble topping if you want to add this. Top muffins with crumble topping.
- Place muffin top pan on a baking sheet to help the bottom cook evenly with the top. Bake for 20 minutes and check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or cake tester in the center of a muffin.
Remove from oven when done and allow muffins to cool for 5 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a covered container once completely cooled.
Blueberry Muffin Tops with Frozen Blueberries
In the winter months if you have this as a craving you may only have frozen fruit to use, that is okay. The only real difference is the texture, they won’t be as plump and juicy but still pretty darn yummy.
If you want to make multiple batches and you only have one of these pans then gently remove each one when fully baked to sit and cool on a cooling rack or some parchment paper. You can add crumble to the top of all of them, none, or use half. You can alternatively use different toppings like we have used in the following:
- Our donut muffins use a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar on top.
- This is how to make blueberry muffins and pumpkin streusel muffins use a different type of streusel.
- Zucchini blueberry muffins opt for a bit of frosting instead, and some are left plain as well.
Any way you top ’em they are a great start to the morning or end for dessert time!
Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with?? Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!
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Blueberry Muffin Tops
Ingredients
- 3/4 c butter
- 1 c all purpose flour
- 1 c cake flour + 1 tbsp for tossing fruit
- 1 1/4 c blueberries fresh
- 3/4 c half and half
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 c sugar
- 1/4 c milk
- 1/4 c honey
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- crumb topping for muffins click on the link if you want to add this
Instructions
- Set oven to 350° F. Prep buttermilk by mixing milk and lemon juice. Set aside. Melt butter. In a small bowl, sift together both flours (reserving 1 Tbsp of cake flour), salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In a medium size bowl, mix together sugar and eggs. Whisk in half and half. Alternate stirring in flour mixture and buttermilk until batter is smooth. Stir in honey.
- Whisk in softened / slightly melted butter. In a small bowl, gently toss reserved 1 Tbsp cake flour with 1 cup of your fresh blueberries. Gently fold the cake flour/blueberry combination into the muffin batter.
- Grease muffin pan. Spoon batter into muffin pan, filling to top. Press reserved blueberries into top of muffins. Gather ingredients for crumble topping if you want to add this. Top muffins with crumble topping.
- Place muffin top pan on a baking sheet to help the bottom cook evenly with the top. Bake for 20 minutes and check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or cake tester in the center of a muffin.
- When done, allow muffins to cool for 5 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a covered container once completely cooled.
Candice
Tuesday 31st of January 2023
Is there a substitute for the honey? Thank you.
The Typical Mom
Tuesday 31st of January 2023
You could just leave it out or use agave nectar