And we have a winner!

Sophisticated and slightly unusual, intriguing (even invigorating!) flavour? Check. Streusel topping cause we're not thaaaat sophisticated? Yep. Absolutely PERFECT muffin crumb? YES! And even the cookbook muffins I've made lately haven't had crumb this good!

Okay, so they're a little burnt. (my oven thermometre died, I think, *sob*)

But look at that crumb!

It's just what I was going for, and the flavour is spot on, too -- it finally hit me to make the batter taste like something I'd actually order in a cafe. I'll make a porn-worthy batch eventually, where I fill them up to the top of the tin and hopefully get some huge and awesome muffin tops out of them (I think this recipe's got the oomph for it, I really do -- it foamed up like magic when I stirred it together... and it tasted like a latte in batter form!)

Café Cardamom Streusel Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp instant coffee powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup strong-brewed fresh coffee
3/4 cup nondairy milk
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup pitted dates (finely chopped and tossed in 1-2 tsp of flour to keep the pieces from sticking together)

For the Streusel:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp margarine

Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tray.

To make the streusel, mix together the flour, cinnamon, sugar and margarine together with your fingers until it looks like wet crumbly sand. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients (flour through salt), and mix the wet ingredients together in a smaller bowl (coffee through canola oil). Make a well in the centre of the dry mix, pour in the wet and stir until just combined. Fold in the dates and spoon into the muffin cups - you can make 12 regular muffins, 10 large ones, or 8 giant muffins with actual cafe-style muffins tops. If you want. :) Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the tops and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (you might also want to rotate your pan halfway through the baking time, just in case your oven has a hotspot)

When they're done, pop them out of the pan with a spoon and leave them on a cooling rack until you're ready to enjoy! Sooooo good with EB. Even better with fresh fruit and a newspaper. :D