Bakery-Style Almond Rhubarb Sour Cream Muffins

These bakery-style rhubarb almond sour cream muffins have been two years in the making thanks to rhubarb's annoyingly short season. That's two springs of recipe testing to bring you a tender, moist muffins studded with tart rhubarb pieces, flavored with almond extract, and topped with the most irresistible almond-oat crumble.

I'll let you in on the secret right away: Sour cream in the batter for a plush, bakery-quality texture, plus a high-heat start that drops to a lower temperature to get those gorgeous domed tops.

Instead of vanilla (which is fine, don't get me wrong), this rhubarb sour cream muffin uses almond extract which complements the tart rhubarb beautifully. The generous almond-oat streusel topping add a necessary textural crunch. The result is a muffin that tastes like it came straight from your favorite neighborhood bakery or that fancy farmer's market stand you always walk past but never buy from because everything's $8. 💀

Speaking of expensive--I can't find rhubarb in NYC for less than $5 a pound 💀😩 and that's the cheapest I've found. 😬 What can I say? I'm a gluten for financial domination at the hands of short-season fruits and veggies. But not everyone is so trust me when I say I won't steer you wrong with this recipe and as long as you take the tips into accounts, you should get some bakery-quality results too!

I guess that's the price of living in a world where cucumbers are legally fruit but rhubarb is botanically a vegetable. Consider me confuzzled.

Whether you're looking for a delicious way to use up your precious rhubarb haul or want to treat yourself (and/or friends and family!) to something special with your morning coffee or tea, these almond rhubarb sour cream muffins deliver on every level. They're sturdy enough for meal prep, impressive enough for baby showers, wedding showers, Mother's Day brunch and other brunch event guests, and absolutely delicious warm from the oven--with or without a smear of softened salted butter.

Not feeling muffins for breakfast? Try my sweet cream pancakes for the fluffiest griddle cakes you've ever had, no buttermilk needed, or prep my banana milk chia overnight oats for tomorrow morning.

❤️ You'll love these rhubarb muffins because...

• The texture is incredible - The sour cream gives them tenderness and moisture. They're substantial without being heavy.
• Perfect balance of flavors - The tart rhubarb provides a bright, fruity punch balanced by the subtle sweetness of almond extract. It's tangy but not puckering and definitely not too sweet. This is my kinda of muffin.
• The crumble topping is amazing - The almond-oat streusel adds textural contrast and a sweet, nutty crunch that makes every bite interesting. Not a fan of oats, see variations below to customize it for YOUR tastes.
• Great for any time of day - Sturdy enough to grab on your way out the door for breakfast and refined enough for taking along side a coffee or tea and an unannounced (but very welcomed!) guest at your kitchen table.
• Seasonal but not limiting - Celebrates spring rhubarb beautifully, but the flavors work year round if you have frozen rhubarb (the juries still out on whether or not frozen would make these muffins too wet though) or even tart berries like raspberries and blackberries.
• Familiar but special - The almond and sour cream elevate it beyond what someone might expect in a muffin.

🥘 Ingredients

For the almond rhubarb sour cream muffins:

• Canola or vegetable oil - Stays liquid at room temperature, which helps keep these muffins moist even when they're not fresh from the oven
• Butter - Melted, salted or unsalted works fine
• Brown sugar - More interesting flavor-wise than white sugar.
• Egg - Provides structure, binding, and richness!
• Sour cream - The MVP ingredient! The acidity serves two purposes: it reacts with baking soda for lift and also breaks down gluten strands for extra tenderness. Also that 18% milkfat adds richness and moisture.
• Almond extract - Strong, sweet, rich flavor that will complement the rhubarb perfectly. Tastes similar to cherries to me.
• AP flour: I ALWAYS use King Arthur unbleached AP flour because they actually tell you the gluten content (11.7%), and consistency matters when you're recipe testing. Higher gluten = chewier texture (and generally more solid structure), lower gluten = more tender (but generally weaker structure). Pastry flour would work great here too for even more tender muffins, but that's not an ingredient everyone has in their pantry.
• Baking powder - Primary leavening agent for fluffy, risen muffins
• Baking soda - Reacts with the sour cream's acidity to create extra lift
• Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt - The preferred salt for most chefs and home cooks (myself included)
• Rhubarb - Distinctly tart with bright, acidic notes that's almost always paired with sugar (although I did once have it raw in a savory dish once at Cleveland, Ohio restaurant Cordelia). Season runs roughly April through June, so grab it while you can

For the almond crumble:

• Butter - Melted, salted or unsalted
• AP flour: Same King Arthur preference as above
• Rolled or old-fashion oats: I recently got a giant bag of One Degree Gluten Free Sprouted Rolled Oats from Costco and they're honestly the best oats I've ever eaten. They have this wonderful slightly milky, fresh grassy smell that's chef's kiss
• Brown sugar - For a caramel-y sweetness that's more interesting than white sugar
• Sliced almonds - Adds crunch and reinforces the almond flavor
• Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt - Just a pinch for balance
• Almond extract - Just a touch to reinforces the almond flavor

See recipe card for quantities.

🍽 Equipment

• Large bowl - For combining wet ingredients
• Medium bowls - One for combining dry ingredients, another for mixing the almond crumble
• Whisk or electric hand mixer - To combine the wet ingredients properly
• Spatula - For gently folding dry ingredients AND rhubarb into wet ingredients (no overmixing!)
• Muffin pan - This recipe makes 6 muffins, but here's a tip I learned from Food52: use a 12-cup muffin pan and fill every other cup with batter. Why? Better airflow = better rise. If you only have a 6-cup pan or don't want to buy a 12-cup, that's totally fine too - your muffins will still be delicious and you should have some doming if you follow the tips below.
• Muffin liners - Optional, but they make cleanup infinitely easier
• Baking sheet - For catching crumbles that might fall off the muffins and into your oven
• Large cookie scoop - Optional, but makes scooping perfect portions easier

🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions

For the Almond Crumble

Step 1: Combine all ingredients together

Step 2: Break into crumbles of varying sizes, from pea to almond size then refrigerate until ready to use

For the Almond Rhubarb Sour Cream Muffins

Step 1: Add rhubarb chunks to a separate medium bowl

Step 2: Sift dry ingredients directly over the rhubarb

Step 3: Mix

Step 4: Into a large bowl mix wet ingredients until well combined and aerated

Step 5: Add dry ingredients and rhubarb to wet ingredients

Step 6: Fold everything until just combined - don't overmix!

Note: There SHOULD be flour on the rhubarb pieces

Step 6: Overfill each muffin cup

Step 7: Top with crumble

Step 8: Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then 375°F for 15-20 minutes

💡 Tips and Tricks

For Domed, Bakery-Style Muffins...

Don't Overmix the Batter

According to one of my favorite recipe development books, Michael Ruhlman's Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, muffins belong in the same quick cakes family as pancakes - and just like pancake batter, muffin batter should not be overmixed.

Fold just until the ingredients are barely combined, aka half-ass it. Lumpy batter = tender muffins. Your rhubarb chunks SHOULD still have some flour clinging to them after folding. Fight the urge to mix until every speck of flour disappears and embrace the half-assed approach for maximum tenderness.

Fill Every Other Muffin Cup

Here's a little tip I learned from Food52: If you're using a 12-cup muffin pan, fill every other cup with batter and be generous with it. The improved heat circulation helps you get those gorgeous bakery-style domed tops.

Fill Muffin Cups Generously

In order to get a bakery-style almond rhubarb sour cream muffin top, make sure you're filling the muffin cups generously. This batter is particularly thick so no need to worry too much about spillover. For this recipe, you'll get 5 muffins.

Start Hot, Then Drop The Temperture

Bake the almond rhubarb sour cream muffins at 425°F for the first 5 minutes then drop the temperature to 375°F. The initial blast of heat forces them to rise quickly before the structure can set - that's how you get bakery-style domes. The steam created by that high heat = instant lift.

General Tips

Put a Baking Sheet Under the Muffin Pan

Some crumble will inevitably fall off during baking (unless you press it in so hard you make tough muffins, which defeats the purpose). During my recipe testing, fallen crumbles kept burning on my oven floor. Save yourself the cleanup and put an empty baking sheet underneath to catch the little crumblies.

Don't Skip the Streusel

Every muffin needs textural interest, and this almond crumble is the perfect complement to these almond rhubarb sour cream muffins muffins. Don't skip it. Press it gently into the batter so it adheres without sinking in.

👯 Substitutions

• Sour cream
  • Plain, full-fat Greek yogurt - Use an equal amount
  • Crème fraîche - Use an equal amount
• Rhubarb
  • Raspberries or blackberries - equal amount, though you'll lose some of that signature tartness
  • Frozen rhubarb - equal amount (no need to thaw)
• Almond extract
  • Vanilla extract - 1:1 substitution if you're not into the almond flavor (though you're missing out!)
  • *Almond paste - I have NOT tested this variation, but I believe you could potentially replace or supplement the almond extract with almond paste. Because cooking and baking are creative sciences, I felt the need to include this note for adventurous, or more advanced bakers looking to experiment
• Canola or vegetable oil
  • Any neutral, high smoke point oil works - avocado oil, grapeseed oil, etc.
• Sliced almonds
  • Hazelnuts, pecans, or walnuts - equal amount (hazelnuts are particularly good here, in my opinion)

Dietary Modifications

• Gluten-free - Use 1:1 gluten-free flour

📖 Variations

Streusel Variations

• Mostly oats - Replace almonds with more oats for an oat-heavy crumble
• All flour - Replace oats and almonds with more flour for a classic flour-butter-sugar streusel topping
• Nuts - Use chopped pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts instead of almonds. I personally am a big fan of hazelnuts in this recipe

Flavor Variations

• Vanilla - Use vanilla extract instead of almond for a more traditional flavor profile
• Orange - Add about ½ teaspoon of culinary orange oil (one of my favorite specialty ingredients!) or the zest of one orange instead of the almond extract
• Strawberries - Try a classic combo of rhubarb and strawberries by replacing some of the rhubarb with strawberries

🍐 Serving Suggestions

Occasions

• Weekend brunch and lazy Sunday mornings
• Spring entertaining
• Mother's Day
• Afternoon tea or coffee dates
• Potluck breakfast and office meetings
• Meal prep for busy weekday mornings

Pairings

• Softened, salted butter - I like spreading softened salted butter all over my muffins of all kinds of flavors
• Fresh fruit - A simple fruit salad would be nice to balance the richness

🫙 Storage and Shelf Life

Room Temperature

Store the almond rhubarb sour cream muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Past that and they'll start getting mushy due to the rhubarb's high water content and the muffins' general richness - not exactly appetizing imo.

Refrigerator

Store the almond rhubarb sour cream muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Freezing

Wrap each almond rhubarb sour cream muffin individually in plastic wrap (or store individually in a sandwich bag with the air pressed out), then place in an airtight container OR freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 weeks.

Reheating

• From room temperature - Place the almond rhubarb sour cream muffins in an oven at 350°F for 5-7 minutes or microwave for 15-20 seconds, depending on the wattage of your microwave.
• From frozen - Thaw overnight at room temperature (or in the refrigerator), then follow reheating directions above

🙋 FAQ

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