Want to make someone happy this weekend? How about baking up a batch of these lovely Raspberry-Vanilla Crumble Muffins. They’re guaranteed to usher in that weekend joy!

Do you love raspberries? They’re such a pretty fruit and when they’re good, they’re so good so use the best fresh ones you can find cause these muffins are loaded with them and it really makes a difference. Here they add just the right amount of sweet tartness to balance out the overload of cinnamon-sugar streusel topping.

Yup, that’s right folks, the tops of these muffins are entirely covered with that irresistible crumble and we all know that everything is better with a crumbly topping!

We haven’t yet talked about the vanilla part which tends to get overlooked in the wake of all that topping and the ripe berries but it really gives the cake-y, not-streusel-part of these muffins so much flavor. You have to scrape the seeds of not one but two vanilla beans into the batter and I urge you not to skip this part or sub in vanilla extract. The cake part (aka the bottom part of the muffin that nobody ever seems to care about but you will with these) gets a very appealing, almost floral note from all those little seeds.

And while we’re on the subject of cake, let’s share an honest moment too. I’m calling these beauties, muffins but let’s be real—it’s just semantics. These are really mini-cakes, much closer to dessert than breakfast. Not that you should feel guilty to start the day with them, at least not as a once in a while indulgent treat—I mean, we gotta live—but just so we know what’s what.

That being said, I promise you that every cakey. berryish bite is absolutely worth it!

Have a great and safe weekend my friends that hopefully includes these “muffins” and I’ll be see you next week with more delicious summer fun!

Raspberry-Vanilla Crumble Muffins

Makes one dozen

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Bake Time: 27-30 minutes

Ingredients

For the topping

• ¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

For the muffins

• 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 large egg

• ½ cup heavy cream

• 2 vanilla beans

• 2 cups fresh raspberries, rinsed and dried well

The Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a muffin tin with paper liners.

2. To make the topping: Place the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks sandy. Set aside. If you don’t have a food processor you can do this by hand. Just whisk the dry ingredients together and use a pastry blender to cut in the butter.

3. To make the muffins: Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

4. Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

5. In a small bowl add the heavy cream and egg. Cut the vanilla beans down the middle and scrape the seeds into the bowl. Discard the pods or add to sugar to make vanilla sugar. Now use a fork to whisk it all together. Add the mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Don’t worry that the mixture looks a little curdled. In 2 additions, add the flour mixture, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom to make sure all of the flour has been incorporated and then gently fold in the raspberries.

6. Use an ice cream scooper or large spoon to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Pick up the tray and bang it gently against the counter to get rid of any air bubbles and to help level the batter. Now cover the muffins with the crumbly topping. Don’t pack it down—just spoon it over the tops of the muffins as best you can. It will seem like there’s too much but it’s not—you’ll wind up with very streusel-y muffins!

7. Bake for 13 minutes, then rotate the pan 180º and bake for another 14 minutes or so, until tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for about 20-25 minutes before removing them.

8. These are best on the day they’re baked but mighty good a few days later too, reheated in the oven. Store them wrapped well in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Note: Recipe adapted from Sweet by Valerie Gordon. I subbed in vanilla beans for the vanilla bean paste.