This strawberry rhubarb muffin recipe features a crunchy streusel topping and sour cream in the batter for extra-moist, tender muffins. If you prefer, double the rhubarb and omit the strawberries to make rhubarb crumble muffins.
Most muffin recipes use the two-bowl, or muffin, mixing method: wet ingredients in one bowl and dry ingredients in another, combined briefly to form a thick batter. That method works well when the fat is a liquid oil, but butter can solidify when mixed with cold wet ingredients and end up unevenly distributed.
For richer muffins made with butter, I prefer the reverse creaming method. The main difference is that you work softened butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse sand before adding the wet ingredients. This helps distribute the fat evenly and reduces gluten development, producing a more tender, cake-like crumb.
The streusel or crumble topping can be made with cold butter, softened butter, or melted butter; in this recipe melted butter is used for ease and it blends quickly into the dry streusel ingredients to form the crumbly topping. Important: chill the streusel before sprinkling it on the muffins so it keeps its shape and bakes into a crispy, crumbly topping rather than melting flat.
These muffins are moist and flavorful. Ground almonds (with the skin left on) add a golden color and a light nutty flavor; you can substitute ground, blanched almonds from the baking aisle for a paler cake color. Ground nuts also lighten the crumb and allow you to use slightly less flour while keeping the texture soft. A pinch of cinnamon complements the fruit and heightens the spring-summer flavors of strawberry and rhubarb.
If you don’t have sour cream on hand—an acidic full-fat dairy product—you can substitute the same volume of full-fat plain Greek yogurt. I don’t recommend low-fat yogurt as a direct swap because the reduced fat can produce drier or tougher muffins. Ground almonds may be swapped with other ground nuts such as hazelnuts or walnuts.
To make plain rhubarb muffins, replace the strawberries with more chopped rhubarb to bring the total fruit weight to about 275 grams. Blueberries also pair well with rhubarb if you prefer that flavor combination.
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins with Streusel Topping
Author: Janice Lawandi
Soft, light muffins with a cake-like crumb, fresh fruit folded in and a sweet streusel on top—perfect for spring and summer.
Prep Time: 25 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 43 mins
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American-style muffins
Servings: 8 big muffins (10 regular)
Calories: 431 kcal per muffin (approx.)
Equipment
- Muffin pan
- Balloon whisk or fork
- 3-¼ oz scoop or a spoon for portioning
- Cake tester or toothpick
Ingredients
For the streusel topping
- 20 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 20 grams ground almonds
- 20 grams granulated sugar (or brown sugar)
- 5 mL ground cinnamon (optional)
- 1 pinch fine kosher salt
- 20 grams unsalted butter, melted
For the muffin batter
- 200 grams granulated sugar
- 190 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 50 grams ground almonds
- 2.5 mL baking soda
- 2.5 mL baking powder
- 2.5 mL fine kosher salt
- 115 grams unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
- 125 mL sour cream (about 14% fat)
- 2 large eggs
- 5 mL pure vanilla extract
- 110 grams fresh rhubarb, washed, trimmed, and cut into ½-inch pieces (or frozen)
- 110 grams fresh strawberries, washed, trimmed, and cut into ½-inch pieces (or frozen) — or replace with more rhubarb
- 8 grams bleached all-purpose flour (for tossing the fruit)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line two muffin pans with 8 to 10 paper liners and space them between pans for better air circulation.
- Make the streusel topping:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, ground almonds, sugar, salt, and cinnamon (if using).
- Add the melted butter and mix with a fork until the mixture forms coarse crumbs.
- Cover and chill the streusel in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Make the muffin batter:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the softened butter and rub it into the dry mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse sand (reverse creaming method).
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (about 20 stirs).
- In a medium bowl, toss the rhubarb and strawberries with 8 grams (1 tbsp) of flour to coat the fruit; this helps prevent sinking.
- Fold the fruit gently into the batter with a spatula until evenly distributed.
- Divide the batter among 8 to 10 paper-lined wells (8 for large muffins, 10 for regular). Sprinkle each muffin with chilled streusel.
- Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes, then insert a cake tester or toothpick into a muffin center to check doneness. If muffins need more time, rotate the pans and lower the oven to 350°F for an additional 5–10 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Notes
- This recipe calls for fine kosher salt. If using table salt instead, reduce the amount by half to avoid over-salting.
- For a regular, even muffin top: bake at 350°F for 25–30 minutes.
- For a domed muffin top: bake at 425°F for 20 minutes, then rotate pans and reduce temperature to 350°F for the last 5–10 minutes.
- For make-ahead baking: you can refrigerate the batter overnight, then scoop into prepared muffin wells, top with streusel and bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes.
- If sour cream is unavailable, substitute an equal volume of full-fat plain Greek yogurt.
Nutrition (approximate per muffin)
- Calories: 431 kcal
- Carbohydrates: 52 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Fat: 22 g (Saturated fat: 11 g)
- Cholesterol: 85 mg
- Sodium: 244 mg
- Fiber: 2 g
- Sugar: 29 g
Nutrition information is an approximation and should be used as a guide only.
If you prefer other fruit muffins, try using currants, blueberries, or dried fruit with bran in place of the strawberry and rhubarb. For a savory option, consider jalapeño-cheddar corn muffins or muffins with cured meat and olives.