Remarkable - that's what my husband said when he tasted these. I was worried that my pear was too hard but it softened very nicely when baked. I was also concerned that they were going to bake over the pan as it seemed like there was a lot of batter for 12 muffins. But they turned out beautifully. I reduced the amount of cinnamon a bit to suit our tastes. Will definitely make these again.

Could you substitute the sour cream for Mascarpone? They seem to be the same thickness, so I gather the measurements would be the same? Or does the high fat content of Mascarpone call for an adjustment to the amount of oil too?

My guess is that mascarpone would just make the muffins a bit richer. I think it would be fine - just give it a try and see if you like the results - you might discover a real winner. Mascarpone can be quite expensive though. It's up to you but you may not notice a big difference in flavor, so they might turn out to be expensive muffins when they don't need to be. If you decide to go for it, let us know how they turn out. Happy baking!

The hardest part of this recipe is waiting the 10 minutes for the muffins to cool down before gobbling them up!

I used light sour cream (5% M.F.) and they still taste great. If my math is correct, they are about 220 calories each which is far better than similar store bought muffins.

I will definitely be using this recipe again!

It looks like I can't win them all :)
Last night I started to make these muffins and in the middle of mixing I realized the sour cream I wanted to use had expired and tasted funny, so I had to substitute it with what I could find in the fridge, and that was whipping cream. Another change that I had to make is using just backing powder, since there was no more baking soda in the kitchen (It on the grocery list now!). I'm not fan of changing recipe when trying them out for the first time, but I had no choice.

The end result were soft muffins which were somewhat hard to get out of the tin in one piece (I mostly managed, breaking two of them). Muffins have decent taste, however, I do miss fullness (richness) of the taste. I guess it's the whipping cream that's responsible for that? I think I had some cooking cream, not sure if that would have been better replacement?

I haven't make muffins for very long time, so I made another mistake to put too much batter into muffin tin, but that was just presentation problem since it had risen to much while in the oven and resulting muffins where not as good looking as the could have been. I guess when you're not a pro there is some part of luck involved :)

Good for you for trying to improvise; however changing ingredients such as baking powder for baking soda and adding a more liquidy ingredient instead will definitely impact the final result, especially when it comes to baking.

I would say try them again with the correct ingredients and see how you like them then. Cheers!

Thank you adding the suggestion of using other fruit at the bottom of this recipe. I had Rainier cherries, so decided to make cherry streusel muffins. I added some sliced almonds to the streusel topping and also dripped on some lemon flavored icing. So good!

I have a couple question regarding muffins. In this case, why is oil called instead of butter? Wouldn't butter give a better taste?
The other question was, why do many muffins recipes call for melted butter instead of butter that has been creamed with a mixer? Are the results different?
Thanks for you help.

Muffins often call for oil because it makes them moist and provides a denser texture. Yes, butter tastes better, but it's just the way some recipes are. With oil, you don't have to take that extra step of melting or creaming it. When it comes to melting or creaming butter, again, this has to do with texture. Creamed butter and sugar provides more air in the batter and can make the muffins lighter in texture. This will be covered in more detail in a lesson on basic mixing methods. Cheers!

Thanks so much for your input...in the meantime, while the next lesson is ready, is there any favorite muffin's recipe book you would recommend?
I am trying to reproduce a heavenly muffin that I had in New York from the Petrossian pastry shop that was light and absolutely delicious. Best pastries I have ever had in the United States.

This particular muffin book seems to have some pretty solid reviews. Cheers!

Hi guys,
I'd like to double this wonderful recipe for my rather large family, but I only have half the needed amount of sour cream. Could I substitute cream cheese? I usually use Greek yogurt but am short at the moment. I use whole wheat flour and half the amount of sugar and they come out lovely!

Cream cheese is rather thick, so you may need to mix the softened cream cheese with some of your Greek yogurt (or buttermilk) to obtain a similar consistency to the sour cream, but I think it should be fine. Keep in mind though that there is always a risk when making substitutions to baking formulas. Cheers!

I started Rouxbe a couple years ago around the same time I discovered Michael Ruhlman's book Ratio. Learning to cook (especially bake) by weight instead of volume and using ratios instead of recipes has been tremendously liberating and empowering.

Now, whenever I'm tempted to try a recipe, like these muffins, I always cross check it with the suggested ratio to see how it compares and figure out why and what made it turn out the way it did. According to the book, the suggested base ratio for muffins is 2 parts flour : 2 parts liquid : 1 part egg : 1 part butter and the suggested baking time is 30 minutes at 350F degrees.

I figured for this apple streusel muffin recipe the sour cream (I actually used yogurt) would be the "liquid" (apples add to the liquid too I assume), and the oil would be the "butter". Once I weighed everything out, this recipe ended up having a little larger proportion of flour and half the butter (oil) compared to the base ratio. I'm wondering since sour cream has more fat than a liquid like milk, is that why it calls for only half the butter? I'm also wondering why it called for higher baking temp and shorter bake time? I'm guessing it may have something to do with setting the streusel tops? My tops came out deliciously crispy compared to the moist inside. I'm curious what Rouxbe's take on this is, and using ratios in general.

It would be great if Rouxbe would give weight equivalents for their baking recipes in the future. These muffins turned out great. Thanks!

You hit the nail on the head when you said "suggested ratios". Most definitely there is a starting point with any baking formula, but until each ingredient and its functions are clearly understood can one start to make tweaks (additions/deletions/substitutions) to certain formulas. Each ingredient (yes, the sour cream adds more fat to the formula) impacts the other and will work in harmony if the formula is a good one. So, in baking, once you find a good formula, it is best to stick with it.

The baking temperature is leaning a bit towards the high side but some muffin formulas even call for higher temperatures (up to 425F). It just depends on the formula. If it has rich ingredients, it may need that good blast of heat in the oven to help it rise and also cook quickly. And you're right, it helps to crisp up the topping. Quick Breads is on our lesson radar and we'll be able to cover that subject in more detail at that time.

Yes, I agree that baking formulas should also display their weight counterparts because it is so much easier to prepare your mise en place. Cups and spoons are provided primarily for the beginner baker because many don't own a scale. However, as we move more towards pastry, you will see more and more measurements by weight. In the meantime, Happy baking! Cheers!

Hi..My oven has both bake and convection bake settings...I usually like to use tge convectiion bake setting...would it be ok for this recipie? Thx much.

Can I use any type of apple?

Golden delicious, Granny Smith, Crispin, Cortland, and Winesap apples will work. Cheers!

I used convection bake and followed recipie..Love this recipe...muffins were great!!!..was wondering if u have a recipie for a moist pound cake? (ENTENMMANS STYLE)