Sweet Potato Crumb Muffins

 Bake #17 for 2025: Sweet Potato Crumb Muffins by Samantha Seneviratne

As a person who does not enjoy sweet potatoes, this recipe intrigued me. It comes from Seneviratne’s cookbook Bake Smart (published Nov 2023 & available here). I was hoping that maybe it would be good enough to tempt me into liking sweet potato a bit more. Happily, I can report that they’re a success! Are they the healthiest way to consume sweet potato? Not so much, but they are delicious!

I have made a few adjustments to the recipe below so this isn’t exactly her version. The cookbook is pretty great though, so it’s well worth your time for a library hold or a browse at your local bookstore.

Ingredients: (makes 15 muffins)

For the crumb topping:

• 6 Tbsp (51g) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (100g) packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (29g) chopped pecans
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 2 Tbsp (1/4 stick; 29g) unsalted butter, melted

For the muffins:

• 1-1/2 cup (368g) roasted, peeled, and mashed sweet potato (from 2 large or 3 medium potatoes)
• 2 cups (272g) all-purpose flour
• 2-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground giner
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 8 Tbsp (1 stick; 113g) unsalted butter, room temp.
• 1 cup (200g) packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temp.

Instructions:

1. If not already done, roast the sweet potatoes. (I did this by cutting them in half, rubbing the cut sides with olive oil, then cooking for ~40 min at 400F.) Remove peels then mash. Allow to cool to room temp.
2. Preheat oven to 375F and line 15-16 muffin cups with liners, dividing between two 12-cup muffin trays.
3. Prepare the topping by combining all the ingredients except for the butter in a small bowl. Drizzle with butter and stir until moistened; set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices, salt, and baking soda.
5. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 min. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the mashed sweet potatoes. Add in the flour mixture, but be careful not to overmix. Batter will be thick.
6. Divide evenly between the lined muffin cups. Sprinkle with the crumb topping. Bake 25-30 min or until they are puffed and set and a toothpick comes out clean from the center of a muffin. Cool in the pans for 5 min then move the muffins onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
7. They can be stored at room temp in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

My notes:

• The measurements for the crumb mixture above are half the original recipe as I found there was a terrible amount of waste. However, I kept the pecans the same as I wanted more of that in my batch.
• While it may be more efficient to roast the potatoes then come back and make the muffins while the oven is still warm, the recipe time is much longer that way. I preferred to roast them the night before, cool to room temp, mash, then store in the fridge overnight. That way the muffins are quick to come together the next day.