Blackberry Muffins With Cinnamon Streusel
These easy blackberry muffins are super moist and fluffy. Dotted with juicy blackberries and topped with buttery cinnamon streusel.
Blackberries in muffins
They are bakery-style muffins, full of flavor and texture, and make an easy breakfast or snack. You can use fresh or frozen berries or switch the blackberries up for a different berry altogether! (Try these blueberry buttermilk muffins.)
Juicy blackberries make perfect surprises in muffins. Biting into sweet blackberries is the perfect complement to the fluffy muffin texture and brings extra moisture.
The fresh berries are folded through the batter right at the end to avoid the plump blackberries being broken up by being mixed too much.
Frozen blackberries are prone to breaking up in the batter and releasing a lot of their juices. This can color the batter too much. To avoid the frozen juicy berries from bleeding into the batter, add them to each individual muffin once the batter has been made and scooped into the muffin tin.
The streusel
The crispy streusel topping is one of the best parts of these homemade blackberry muffins. It’s like bites of cinnamon shortbread, giving another texture element to the soft muffins. There’s quite a bit of crumb, and it might look like there is too much.
Just pile it on top of the muffins really generously and as it bakes some of the crumbs sink into the batter and some of it becomes golden and crispy.
Ingredients
Find the ingredient amounts for these fluffy muffins listed in the printable full recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is a rundown of what you will need –
- Blackberries – Fresh blackberries or frozen. If using frozen, there is no need to thaw the berries.
- All-purpose flour – For gluten-free blackberry muffins, this can be swapped for an all-purpose 1-to-1 gluten-free flour
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
- Melted butter – This can be salted or unsalted butter.
- Granulated sugar – to bring the right amount of sweetness to contrast with the tart berries.
- Large eggs
- Vanilla extract or paste
- Buttermilk (or use a substitute)
Streusel
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Melted butter
- Ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
Equipment
You will need a standard 12-hole muffin pan
Method
Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Streusel
In a small bowl combine melted butter, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, and all-purpose flour. Use a fork to combine it into a coarse crumb, then set it aside.
The muffins
In a separate bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Set these dry ingredients aside.
Add melted butter, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla to a large bowl.
Use a whisk or a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula to mix it until combined.
Fold in the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk until nearly all is combined.
If using fresh blackberries, toss them in a tablespoon of flour, then carefully fold them into the batter in the bowl. This helps to stop them from sinking. If using frozen blackberries, wait to add them until the muffin batter has been scooped into the muffin cups.
Divide the batter evenly over the prepared muffin liners. An ice cream scoop is easy to use for this job.
Add the frozen blackberries evenly over each muffin and gently press them partway into the batter.
Don’t push them right down.
Generously pile the streusel on top of each muffin.
Baking
Bake the muffins in the preheated oven at 220°C/425°F for 5 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°F / 175°C and continue baking for another 15-18 minutes until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed in the center.
The baking time will depend on your oven.
Remove them from the oven and let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and placing them on a wire rack to cool to further.
The warm muffins can be enjoyed right away.
Storing
Store leftover muffins at room temperature, covered for up to 3 days. Freeze the baked muffins for up to 3 months (helpful if you make a double batch!) Let them cool completely, and place each muffin in a freezer-safe container or bag.
Thaw in the fridge or on the bench. Warm them in the microwave or oven for 5 minutes at around 300°F/150°C for a fresh-baked muffin texture.
Buttermilk substitute
Buttermilk is an excellent addition to baked goods and especially so in muffins. It’s an acidic product that helps to halt gluten development in wheat flour, resulting in a lovely and tender crumb.
You can buy buttermilk from the store, make your own buttermilk from scratch, or use a buttermilk substitute.
A buttermilk substitute won’t give the same tang and taste as real buttermilk, but it will still help to create tender muffins.
Mix whole milk along with an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar. (White vinegar or apple cider vinegar works well.)
More muffin recipes
For more homemade muffins, check out these recipes
Or try some blackberry crumble bars!
Blackberry Muffins with Streusel
This easy blackberry muffin recipe makes moist muffins dotted with juicy blackberries and topped with buttery cinnamon streusel.
Ingredients
Streusel
- 45g (3 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- 63g (½ cup) all-purpose flour
- 65g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
Muffins
- 250g (2 cups*) all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 150g (¾ cup) granulated sugar
- 113g (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 180g (¾ cup) buttermilk, room temperature**
- 160g (1 heaped cup) fresh or frozen blackberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Streusel
- In a small bowl combine melted butter, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, and all-purpose flour. Use a fork to combine it into a coarse crumb, then set it aside.
Muffins
- Mix the all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl.
- Set these dry ingredients aside.
- Add melted butter, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla to a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon, or a rubber spatula until combined.
- Fold in the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk until nearly all is combined.
- If using fresh blackberries, toss them in a tablespoon of flour, then carefully fold them into the batter in the bowl. This helps to stop them from sinking. If using frozen blackberries, wait to add them until the muffin batter has been scooped into the muffin liners.
- Divide the batter evenly over the prepared muffin liners. Add the frozen blackberries evenly over each muffin and gently press them partway into the batter.
- Generously pile the streusel on top of each muffin.
- Bake the muffins in the preheated oven at 220°C/425°F for 5 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°F / 175°C and continue baking for another 15-18 minutes until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed in the center.
- Remove them from the oven and let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and placing them on a wire rack to cool further.
Notes
*The cup sizes are US size which is smaller than metric. For best results, use scales.
**The buttermilk can be substituted with 168g of regular milk (¾ cup minus ¾ Tbsp) plus 12g (¾ Tbsp) white vinegar or lemon juice. Mix these two ingredients before beginning the recipe to let it sit and curdle for 5-10 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 271Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 244mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 5g
This is an informational estimate only. I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist
Measurements
This recipe is written using grams as the main measurement.
If you don’t have a scale US measuring cup equivalents are also included, however, using a kitchen scale to measure grams will give the best and most consistent results .*US cup sizes are smaller than metric cup sizes.
Absolutely delicious! I made these on Christmas Eve using wild blackberries that I picked myself and froze back in May. What a hit!
Also step 1 calls for baking soda and cinnamon but those are not included in the ingredients list. I added cinnamon but not the soda and it seemed fine.
So happy you loved them!! Thanks for pointing that out. There’s not meant to be baking soda but but I did miss the cinnamon off the ingredients list! All fixed now 😄