Brown Sugar Spice Swirl Muffins #MuffinMonday

These brown sugar spice swirl muffins require four bowls, two more than my normal muffin recipes because of the sweet spicy swirl and crumble topping, but I promise they are well worth the washing up!

Our younger daughter has been needing knee surgery so last week she came to Dubai for the procedure, where we could take care of her after. If there’s anything that makes a mom’s heart gladder than having one (or more) of her grown babies at home, I don’t know what it is. I don’t get that opportunity often enough anymore.

She’s been a great patient, resting when appropriate, taking the right pills when necessary and doing her recommended leg exercises. I’ve mostly been responsible for sustenance and helping her carry things while on crutches. Her motto is “everybody loves plain things” so fruit and nuts in muffins are not allowed. I decided to make a fancier muffin by adding a swirl. The crumble topping was her special request, as long as it didn't have oats.

Brown Sugar Spice Swirl Muffins

The muffins themselves are plain with only vanilla for flavoring. They’d be fine on their own if you chose to make just the batter. Adding a bit of a swirl and/or the crumble topping does make them special though.

Ingredients
For the muffin batter:
2 cups or 250g flour
1/2 cup or 113g golden caster sugar (or sub regular caster sugar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 240ml milk
1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla paste

For the ginger cinnamon swirl:
1/4 cup or 60g butter, melted
1/3 cup, firmly packed, or 66g brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger

For the crumble:
1/2 cup, firmly packed, or 100g dark brown sugar
1/4 cup or 60g butter
1/4 cup or 31g flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch salt

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or grease with extra butter or oil.

In a small bowl, whisk the ginger cinnamon swirl ingredients together until well combined.

Use a pastry blender or a few quick pulses of a food processor to make the crumble with those ingredients. Set the swirl and crumble aside until ready to use. If your kitchen is warm, put the crumble bowl in the refrigerator.

To make the muffin batter, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

In a another smaller bowl (or large measuring jug), whisk together milk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Fold the wet ingredient mixture into dry ingredient mixture until just combined.

Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter to each of the prepared muffin cups. Then add 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon swirl filling to the center of the batter. Swirl with a toothpick.

Top with an additional 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter then share the balance of the swirl between the cups.

Swirl again with the toothpick.

Divide the crumble between the 12 muffin cups. Press down very gently with your fingertips so the crumble adheres to the batter.

Bake at 350°F pr 180°C for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Leave the muffins to cool in the pan for a few minutes before carefully removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

The muffins rose nicely lifting the swirl up higher than anticipated but I'm still calling this a win because of the flavor the swirl adds.

Enjoy!

Check out the lovely Muffin Monday recipes my friends are sharing today. They all sound delicious!

• Brown Sugar Spice Swirl Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Caramel Banana Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Cinnamon Toast Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Irish Soda Bread Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Whole Wheat, Corn, Cheddar, and Green Chili Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

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