Apple Cinnamon Muffin - with Crumble Topping [Egg-less]

Okay so I am sensing a 'Muffin' fever heading in our direction as it seems to raining muffins in Nans Yum-yums lately!! Be warned! :D

Well, well... I was super duper delighted with the way my Carrot Muffins turned out that I built up the courage to put into action another muffin experiement. An equally healthy, simple and an eggless muffin creation. 

And this time, am even more pleased with the results, as this was an experiment that took shape in my head! I just wanted apples in my muffins with a cinnamony flavour to it. And yes, I wanted a crunch in the muffins. 

I like a combination of softness and crunch in my muffins... either nuts, choco chips, butterscotch chips. It feels good to bite into softness and get a crunch inbetween. 

So yeah, this time around, I didnt want any of the tried and tested 'crunch' givers. I wanted something else! And I knew exactly what I wanted... a crumble topping! :)

I have read about crumble topping on various sites, but never gave it a try. I believe that there is a right time in life for everything... and the time for me to try crumble topping had come! :D 

The way my crumble topping turned out was better than I expected!! And I am proud to say it was a success at home... as even the Mr, who isn't a muffin/cup-cake/cake fan at all, gobbled up two gleefully!! :)  

Makes: 6 muffins
Time (approx):

• Prep - 15 mins
• Baking - 12 mins

Ingredients:

For the Muffins:

All Purpose Flour / Maida - 3/4 cup
Wheat flour - 1/4 cup
Apple - 1/2 cup, peeled, cubed
Curd - 3/4 cups
Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
Milk - 2.5 tbsp
Granulated Sugar -1/2 cup
Cinnamon Powder - 1/4 tsp

Vanilla Essence - 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt -1/4 tsp

For the Crumble Topping:

All Purpose Flour / Maida - 1/4 cup

Granulated Sugar - 1/4 cup

Butter - 2 tbsp, at room temperature

Method:

Lets first make the muffin batter.

• Preheat oven at 170 deg C.
• In a mixing bowl, sieve maida, wheat flour, salt, cinnamon powder, baking soda and baking powder. Keep aside this mixture. 
• In another mixing bowl add curd, sugar, milk and olive oil. Mix well until sugar dissolves completely.
• Add vanilla essence and give a quick stir. 
• Fold in the cubed apples and then the dry mixture.
• Mix the batter well to form a smooth creamy batter. 

Now lets make our crumble topping!

• Toss in the maida, sugar and butter into a mixing bowl.
• Using your fingers, combine them together into a crumbly mixture that feels something like crushed cookies! 
• If you want you could add in some cinnamon powder in here too for some additional flavour.

Finally lets assemble our muffins :)

• Line the cup cake tray with liners. Pour the batter into the liners to fill up to three-fourths.
• Add on a little bit of the crumble topping mixture over the muffin batter.
• Bake the muffins at 170 deg for 10-15mins or until the toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. Mine were done in 12 mins.
• Take the tray out of the oven and allow the muffins to cool for 10 mins before serving.

Note: These muffins are great the day they are baked. The crumble topping gets soggy, if stored for later.

Enjoy the crunch at every munch!! :)