Amazing Lemon Cheesecake Muffins with Lemon Streusel Topping
My kids love lemon desserts…well all except one. But, that doesnt slow me down. With so many of us big fans of lemon desserts, I decided to experiment and make some lemon cheesecake muffins. These were inspired by my strawberry cream cheese muffins.
These lemon cheesecake muffins have the perfect amount of lemon flavor, with the use of the lemon zest its the perfect lemon flavor. It has a creamy cheesecake center and is topped with a lemony streusel topping.
These are the perfect breakfast or brunch item any time of year, but I really think these are great for the spring and summer.
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Get my lemon cheesecake muffin recipe below!
Lemon Cheesecake Muffins
Equipment
- Large bowl
- muffin pan
Ingredients
Muffin Batter
- 1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla exract
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- pinch of salt
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 tablespoons cream cheese softened 1 package
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon juice optional
Crumble Topping
- 6 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Instructions
Muffin Batter
- In a large bowl (you can also use a hand mixer or stand mixer)mix your wet ingredients, add your eggs, white sugar, vanilla, butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, pinch of salt and milk. Stir together using a wire whisk.
- Next, add your dry ingredients, the flour and baking powder. Mix this together until just combined. I like to fold it in until just combined. Make sure to scrape downs the sides of bowl to incorporate all ingredients.
- Set this aside the muffin mixture while you make your cream cheese filling.
Cream Cheese FIlling
- For the cream cheese filling add the cream cheese, lemon juice, sugar and vanilla to a bowl and mix until completely combined. Set aside.
Crumb Topping
- For the crumble topping, add the flour, sugar, lemon zest and melted butter in a small bowl and mix with a fork until combined. Set aside.
Muffin Assembly
- Prep your muffin tin by adding paper liners or spray the pan with nonstick spray.
- Add a small amount of batter to the bottoms of the tins. I would say about 2 tablespoons. Then spoon about 1-2 tablespoons of cream cheese filling on top. Last, add another 2-3 tablespoons of muffin batter to the top. You want the batter and cream cheese filling to fill about 2/3 to 3/4 of the tins.
- Next, sprinkle the crumble topping to the muffins. I would add about 1-2 teaspoons. If you add too much it will sink into the muffin.
- Last, bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for approximately 22 minutes..
- When they are golden brown on top remove them and let them cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack. The cooled muffins can be enjoyed!
- Store muffins in an. airtight container in the fridge.
These lemon cream cheese muffins are some of our favorites! By adding the lemon juice to the batter, it helps the milk to curdle which creates buttermilk. This helps to give a very moist and tender crumb.
If you like lemon, you will love these lemon cheesecake muffins! The cream cheese mixture balances well with the lemon flavor.
You could also create a lemon poppy seed muffin using this recipe by simply adding poppyseeds and removing the cream cheese center.
You can also add a lemon glaze to these muffins but I dont think its necessary. It sure does taste good with it though!
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