Sourdough Pumpkin Coffee Cake Muffins

These bakery-style sourdough pumpkin coffee cake muffins are everything you want in a cozy fall bake. Tall domes, a spiced cinnamon-sugar ripple running through the middle, buttery brown sugar crumble topping, and a maple glaze drizzle to finish. They’re tender and moist thanks to sourdough discard and pumpkin purée, with layers of warm spice in every bite. These muffins will transport you to crisp fall morning no matter when you choose to make them!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe:

These muffins seriously deliver on pumpkin spice flavor and by using a quick blast of high heat, you’ll get those perfect bakery-style high muffin tops. Mix up a simple cinnamon sugar filling and crumble, to add layers of spice to these muffins. Perfect for fall baking and with an optional overnight fermentation step, these muffins aren’t just delicious- they’ll fit your busy schedule and be easy on the stomach with the extra fermentation.

Why Use Sourdough Starter in Muffins?

Using sourdough discard in muffins adds a slight tang, enhances moisture retention, and makes the crumb softer and more tender. The fermentation process also helps break down gluten, making these muffins easier to digest.

Do I have to long-ferment these Muffins?

No! You can mix up this batter if you want muffins quickly. Directions will be listed below.

As an amazon affiliate, this post may contain affiliate links. Which means I may receive a commission for qualifying purchases. I will only recommend products that I personally love and use.

Tools You’ll Need:

• Standard 12-cup muffin tin- for baking muffins. I love these pans from USA Bakeware linked here.

• Muffin liners– to avoid burned edges. I love these bakery style parchment muffin liners linked here.

• Kitchen scale (optional)– for accurate measuring, especially helpful with sourdough baking.

• 2 T cookie scoop– for scooping batter. I love this scoop for muffins linked here.

• Whisk + spatula- for combining ingredients.

•  Mixing bowls- for mixing batter, ripple, crumble, and glaze.

• Hand mixer or sturdy whisk- for mixing batter and glaze.

• Cooling rack– to cool muffins.

Gather Your Ingredients:

Pumpkin Puree– Brings natural sweetness, moisture, and tenderness to the bread, while giving the bread that classic flavor we want!

Avocado Oil- Adds moisture and keeps the loaf soft and tender. You can substitute for any neutral cooking oil.

Sour Cream– Adds moisture and tang to balance sweetness and enhance tenderness of the crumb. You can also substitute for full-fat Greek yogurt.

Brown sugar– Helps to sweeten the muffins and gives that fall flavor from the molasses.

White sugar– Boosts sweetness and supports the rise and golden color.

Vanilla extract- Enhances the flavor and brings warmth.

Salted butter– Binds the crumble to give it crisp buttery texture.

Sourdough starter- (flat or past peak, can be cold or room temperature). Adds depth of flavor, moisture, and just a whisper of tang—without making these muffins “sour”. Key for fermentation.

Eggs (room temperature)– provide structure and lift with moisture, works as a binder for ingredients.

All-purpose flour- Gives the bread structure while keeping it soft and cakey. You’ll also use flour in your ripple and crumble.

Baking powder + Baking soda– Ensures the right rise and bakery-style domes for the muffins.

Salt- Balances sweetness and enhances all the other flavors.

Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, and Cardamom- Rounds out the pumpkin flavor and brings that classic pumpkin spice warmth. You can substitute these spices for a pumpkin spice blend of you prefer, but I like to mix my own to guarantee the flavor is the same each time.

Maple Syrup– adds maple flavor to the glaze.

Powdered Sugar- sweetens and stabilizes the maple glaze.

Milk– thins out glaze to help achieve correct consistency.

Now, let’s bake!

Sourdough Pumpkin Coffee Cake Muffins

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 large egg (50g)

• 1 egg yolk (18g)

• 2 tbsp (30g) plain Greek yogurt

• ⅓ cup (80g) sourdough discard

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• ¾ cup (180g) pumpkin purée

• ⅓ cup (75g) avocado or neutral oil

• ½ cup (100g) white sugar

• ¼ cup (50g) light brown sugar

Dry Ingredients:

• 1¾ cups (220g) all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp ground ginger

• ½ tsp ground nutmeg

• ⅛ tsp ground cardamom

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1½ tsp baking powder

• ¾ tsp fine sea salt

Cinnamon Sugar Ripple:

• 2 tbsp (25g) white sugar

• 2 tbsp (38g) packed light brown sugar

• 1 1/2 tbsp (12g) all-purpose flour

• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp ground ginger

• ½ tsp ground nutmeg

• ¼ tsp fine sea salt

Brown Sugar Crumble Topping:

• ½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup (50g) white sugar

• ¼ cup (55g) packed brown sugar

• 4 tbsp (57g) salted butter, melted

• 1½ tsp (4g) ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp ground ginger

• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Maple Icing Drizzle:

• 1¼ cups (150g) powdered sugar, sifted

• 2 tbsp (30g) pure maple syrup

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• 1–2 tbsp milk or cream, if needed

Instructions

Step 1: Mix the Batter

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolk, Greek yogurt, sourdough discard, white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, pumpkin purée, and oil until smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add dry ingredients to wet. Beat wet ingredients with a whisk or a hand mixer until everything is well combined. Do not overmix.

Overnight Fermentation: Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8–12 hours for added fermentation benefits. If baking same day, skip this step.

Step 2: Make Ripple and Crumble

If you fermented batter overnight, remove from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature for an hour to soften the batter.

Make the cinnamon sugar ripple. Add the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Combine together well and set aside for later.

In another small bowl, melt butter needed for the crumble. Add the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger. and nutmeg to the melted butter. Using a spoon or your fingers, combine ingredients until butter has been incorporated and you have a crumbly mixture. Set aside for later.

Step 3: Assemble and Bake

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with parchment liners, and gently spray with cooking spray to avoid sticking.

If batter was fermented overnight, gently mix with a spatula to combine ingredients.

In each muffin cup, spoon 1 1/2- 2 Tablespoons of batter into the bottom until all 12 have batter at the bottom. Use a toothpick of you need to make sure batter covers the bottom of the muffin cups.

Sprinkle a spoonful of the cinnamon sugar ripple over the tops of all of the muffins.

Scoop roughly 2 Tablespoons more of the batter on top of the cinnamon ripple. Use a toothpick or skewer if needed to spread the batter to the edge of the muffin pan.

Top each muffin with 1 Tablespoon of crumble, and gently press down with your fingers to help crumble stick to the muffin tops.

Place the muffins in the oven and bake at 400°F for 6 minutes, then without opening the oven, reduce the temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for another 18-20 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Step 4: Make Drizzle and Glaze

Sift powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. Add maple syrup and 1 Tablespoon of milk. Using a whisk, combine ingredients. If glaze is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until glaze is thick but pourable.

Drizzle fresh glaze over the tops of cooled muffins. Allow the glaze to rest 15 minutes to set before serving.

Enjoy your Sourdough Pumpkin Coffee Cake Muffins!

Yields 12 muffins

How to Store:

Room Temperature- Store muffins in an airtight container on counter for up to 3 days.

Refrigerator- store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Gently warm before serving.

Freezer- individually wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. Allow to thaw at room temperature and gently reheat before serving.

FAQ’S:

Can I make these without the overnight fermentation?

Absolutely. They’ll still be moist and flavorful baked right away, but fermentation deepens the flavor and improves rise.

Can I make jumbo muffins?

Yes! bake 6 muffins instead of 12, adding 3–5 minutes to the bake time after reducing the temperature.

Can I use canned pumpkin pie mix?

No, it already contains sugar and spices, which will throw off the balance of the recipe. Use pure pumpkin purée.

Drop a comment and leave a review if you loved this recipe! Happy baking!