Monday is here yet again and here is your muffin fix for the week – Marble Streusel Muffins. I haven’t had good experience with marble cakes in the past, having only tried the store bought kind, but this homemade marble muffin was amazing. The recipe says to spoon equal parts of the vanilla and chocolate batters side by side, which I did but I think by adding each batter on top of each other rather than side by side you will get a muffin that has prettier layers when cut open. Now I have an excuse to bake up another batch to test out this layering method!
The contrasting batters perform a lovely dance creating a tender muffin that is perfectly pleated with light and creamy folds of vanilla between deep rich chocolatey layers. Each bite is a heap of two perfectly sweet worlds together as one. The chocolate is bitter-sweet while the vanilla has a subtle cheesecake-like flavor from the smooth cream cheese incorporated into the dough. The muffins are covered with a buttery brown sugar streusel studded with toasted pecans. Vivid molasses notes resonate from the streusel topping, taking this muffin over the top. These marble streusel muffins are layered with a sweet confluence of flavors that will have you wanting more.
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Recipe from Recipe Digest:
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
110 gms creamcheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
For The Streusel:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup pecans
For the Muffins:
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Line a 12 pan muffin tin
- Combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a bowl
- Remove half a cup of the flour mixture and set aside
- Add cocoa powder in the remaining mixture.
- Beat cream cheese, 1 egg and the reserved 1/2 cup of flour
- In a separate bowl combine the egg, water, vanilla essence and oil
- Add it to the cocoa mixture. Gently mix it till incorporated
- Spoon the batters side by side equally in the muffin cups
- Sprinkle the streusel and bake for 20 – 25 mins
For the Streusel:
Combine the sugar, cinnamon and flour. Add the butter and work it with your finger tips till the mixture is crumbly and stir in the chocolate.
streusel makes anything just that much beter! yum!
toasted pecans would add a great nutty flavor! glad you could bake with us this week!
I like your variation using pecans in the streusel, definitely a welcome addition to chocolate and cream cheese.
I do have an unnatural love of streusel…might be trying these…
The first thing I thought was, wow that muffin looks so light. Then I read on & the light looking muffin went very well with your almost lyrical “dance” analogy. I too layered my muffins instead. Good to see I wasn’t the only one!
This looks so delish! Glad to bake along with you on this Muffin Mon.! Happy Halloween !
JENN & Christina – i too am a sucker streusel!
A – happy to be a part of muffin mondays
Caroline – i like chocolate but don’t love chocolate so nuts are always a better option for me
You and my husband had the same idea of layering the batters one on top of the other – he came up with it AFTER they were baked, so yes, I guess that warrants another batch at some point:)
I feel like these coulda used some orange…
Elena – another batch is in order
Love the way you describe these, Nastassia! Perfectly and beautifully. I also loved the contrasting colours and flavours in these muffins, and great idea to layer the batters next time. Gorgeous take on the muffins; I bet they were fabulous with pecans!
I’m all about cream cheese-laced muffins.
Weren’t these muffins incredible?! I am going to make them again soon…had a little too much help from my kids in the stirring department and so didn’t get a real marble effect. Still tasted great
Your prose is pure poetry
Now, gimme a muffin!
I love the marble action going on here… and good to know about layering the batter. I got to whip up a batch of these – my man loves marble cakes.
Weren’t these muffins incredible?! I am going to make them again soon…had a little too much help from my kids in the stirring department and so didn’t get a real marble effect. Still tasted great
+1
I think, though I haven’t tried it yet on these muffins, you can put the chocolate and vanilla layer side by side, then use a scewer to create a swirl!