Cappuccino Muffins

These cappuccino muffins perfectly bridge your morning coffee and sweet treat. They’ve got a soft and fluffy texture, with smooth coffee flavor and rich dark chocolate. 

close up of streusel coffee muffin.

The muffin batter is nice and simple, flavored with instant espresso powder and dark chocolate. The muffins are super fluffy, thanks to the addition of yogurt in the batter. They are topped with a crispy streusel topping with a hint of cinnamon.

Cappuccino coffees are usually topped with either chocolate or cinnamon, but sometimes both! I used both flavors in the muffin as they perfectly complement the coffee taste. 

The muffin batter is based on my blueberry muffins, except I used natural yogurt instead of buttermilk this time. It’s versatile like that. You could use buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, or make your own acidic liquid using milk and lemon juice. The acid creates a lovely and tender muffin.

baked muffins with streusel.

Ingredients

Here’s what you need for these cappuccino chocolate chip muffins. You can find the specific measurements in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

  • Sugar: There’s a mixture of granulated and brown sugar for sweetness and moisture. 
  • Salt: Enhances the flavors of all the other ingredients.
  • Large eggs: Eggs act as a binding agent, providing structure and stability. They also add moisture and fat, contributing to a more tender texture.
  • Natural yogurt – This provides acidity to create a tender muffin base. You could substitute this with sour cream or buttermilk too.
  • Cinnamon: This is added to the streusel topping for just a hint of warm spice.
  • All-Purpose Flour: The base for these coffee flavored muffins.
  • Baking Powder: The leavening agent to make the muffins rise nice and tall. 
  • Instant coffee powder: This infuses the muffin with that beautiful coffee flavor. The more robust the coffee, the richer the flavor. If you have larger instant coffee granules, powderise them in a mortar and pestle first. Make sure to use instant coffee, not coffee grounds. 
  • Butter: The fat from butter provides richness, moisture, and flavor.
  • Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Chocolate pairs wonderfully with coffee. Semi-sweet chocolate strikes a good balance, preventing the muffins from becoming overly sweet.
bitten muffin.

Method

Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners.

Combine melted butter, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and all-purpose flour for the streusel in a small bowl. Use a fork to combine it into a coarse crumb, then set it aside.

Muffins

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and whisk. Set the flour mixture aside.

muffin mix in a bowl with a whisk.

Add the melted butter, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, instant coffee powder, and yogurt in a large bowl. Use a whisk or a fork to whisk until combined.

spatula stirring batter.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture with a rubber spatula until almost combined.

muffin batter.

Add the chocolate chips and continue folding until it’s all combined. 

streusel topped muffin batter.

Divide the batter evenly over the 12 muffin cups. 

Generously pile the streusel on top of the muffins. 

Bake the muffins at 425°F/220°C for 5 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°F/180°C and continue baking for another 17-20 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed in the center.

baked cappuccino muffins.

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 room temperature.

Serving and storing

Store leftover muffins at room temperature, covered for up to 3 days. Alternatively, freeze for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely, and place each muffin in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag.

Thaw in the fridge or on the bench. The muffins can be rewarmed in the microwave or the oven for 5 minutes at around 300°F/150°C for a fresh-baked muffin texture.

More muffin recipes

opened muffin with chocolate chunks.
cappucino muffins

Cappuccino Muffins

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

These cappuccino muffins perfectly bridge your morning coffee and sweet treat. They've got a soft and fluffy texture, with smooth coffee flavor and rich dark chocolate. 

Ingredients

Streusel

  • 45g (3 Tablespoons) butter, melted
  • 63g (½ cup) all-purpose flour
  • 65g (⅓ cup) soft brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt

Muffins

  • 250g (2 cups*) all-purpose flour
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 150g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
  • 50g (1/4 cup) soft brown sugar
  • 113g (½ cup) butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons instant coffee powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
  • 180g (¾ cup) natural yogurt, room temperature (or buttermilk)
  • 160g (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners.
  2. Combine melted butter, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and all-purpose flour for the streusel in a small bowl. Use a fork to combine it into a coarse crumb, then set it aside.

Muffins

  1. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and whisk. Set the flour mixture aside.
  2. Add the melted butter, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, instant coffee powder, and yogurt in a large bowl. Whisk until combined.
  3. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture with a rubber spatula until almost combined. Add the chocolate chips and continue folding until it's all combined. 
  4. Divide the batter evenly over the 12 muffin cups. Generously pile the streusel on top of the muffins. 
  5. Bake the muffins at 425°F/220°C for 5 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°F/180°C and continue baking for another 17-20 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed in the center.
  6. 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 room temperature.

Notes

Notes

*The cup sizes are US size which is smaller than metric. For best results, use scales. 

**The yogurt or 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 together before beginning the recipe to let it sit and curdle for 5-10 minutes.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 326Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 215mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 1gSugar: 29gProtein: 5g

This is an informational estimate only. I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist

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8 Comments

  1. Can espresso powder be used instead of instant coffee? Can sour cream be used instead of yogurt/buttermilk? Ty <3

    1. Hey only instant espresso powder should be used or it’ll leave a grainy texture. You can use sour cream 🙂

  2. What is meant by “soft” brown sugar? Usually when a recipe calls for brown sugar it is packed. Do you mean not to pack it into the measurin cup?

    1. It means brown sugar made from really fine and small grains of refined sugar so it’s soft as opposed to larger grained brown sugar. Where I live that’s the most common name for it 🙂

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