Preheat your oven to 375°F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. While the oven heats, hull and dice the strawberries into 1/2-inch pieces, and cut the cold butter into 1/2-inch cubes for the crumb topping. Let the cream cheese and eggs come to room temperature if needed—room temperature eggs will incorporate better into the batter, creating a more tender crumb.

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Add the cold butter cubes and use your fingertips to rub the mixture together until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining. Set this mixture aside—the cold butter chunks will create pockets of texture in the topping as they melt during baking.

In another bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest. Mix until smooth and well combined. This filling will provide a creamy, tangy contrast to the strawberry cake. Set aside until needed.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour and 3 teaspoons baking powder until evenly distributed. Set aside. I prefer whisking rather than sifting for muffins since they benefit from some structure—sifting removes too much air and can make them dense.

In a large bowl, whisk together the 2 room temperature eggs and 3/4 cup granulated sugar for about 20 seconds until pale and slightly thickened. Add the cooled melted butter, 1/2 cup milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and whisk until completely combined. The melted butter must be cooled so it doesn't scramble the eggs.

Pour the wet ingredient mixture from Step 5 into the dry ingredient mixture from Step 4. Fold gently with a spatula until just combined—some lumps are okay, as overmixing develops gluten and creates tough muffins. Fold in the diced strawberries from Step 1 until evenly distributed. Reserve 6 tablespoons of this batter in a small bowl for topping, then divide the remaining batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling each about halfway.

Using a small spoon or piping bag, make a small indentation in the center of each muffin and fill with about 2 teaspoons of the cream cheese filling from Step 3. Divide the reserved 6 tablespoons of batter among the muffins, placing 1/2 tablespoon on top of each filling to seal it in. Finally, sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the crumb mixture from Step 2 over each muffin, pressing gently so it adheres. Bake for 22 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake portion (avoiding the cream cheese) comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely for about 25 minutes before serving.