The thing we all dream about during the fall months. This Pumpkin Coffee Cake is extremely warm and moist on the inside and gets topped with a brown sugar-pecan streusel that is sure to impress your guests (and yourself).
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
This Pumpkin Coffee Cake may just take the cake for being my new favorite coffee cake. Wow, that was a lot of cakes! There’s nothing quite like a warm slice of coffee cake in the morning to enjoy with your cup of joe. I actually made this the other day and had a pumpkin spice latte to go along with it. Highly recommend the combination.
When fall rolls around there are few things I love more than coffee cake. And just let it be known that coffee cake in the Crawford family is highly contested. Noah’s grandmother is famed for her classic coffee cake recipe. The entire family adores it! Each time I try a new coffee cake recipe I always bring it over to his parents and siblings to try, and the response is usually “well it’s really really good, but it’s not grandma’s.” I used to take that as a bit of a challenge, but finally I realized that’s actually one of the most beautiful things about cooking and baking. Any time you eat something that you genuinely enjoy and love, it truly creates an emotional connection. My coffee cakes will never be as good as grandma’s coffee cake is to Noah and his family because her’s has a deeper meaning than just the flavors and textures.
This is one of the reasons I love baking and sharing my creations with family. It is truly the joy of my life. But let’s be honest here: I can tell you guys that this pumpkin coffee cake is actually the best I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot of coffee cakes.
What is Pumpkin Coffee Cake?
Spoiler alert: classic coffee cakes usually don’t actually have coffee baked into them. The reason they’re often called “coffee cakes” is simply because they’re meant to be enjoyed in the morning with a cup of coffee. So basically it just gives us all an excuse to have cake for breakfast. I am so here for that!
This pumpkin coffee cake is different than the classic coffee cakes because it has pumpkin baked into it (obviously). What I love about pumpkin is that it brings so much moisture to almost anything, which is one of the reasons this pumpkin coffee cake is supreme in my book.
This pumpkin coffee cake also has a delicious brown sugar-pecan streusel on top. There are few things better than the combination of pecans and brown sugar, especially when they’re on top of a delicious warm coffee cake. So needless to say, this pumpkin coffee cake really has it all. Have I convinced you that you absolutely NEED to bake this coffee cake, ASAP?!
Pumpkin Puree vs Pumpkin Pie Filling
If you’re planning on making this coffee cake, or any pumpkin recipe on the blog for that matter, you’ll want to be sure you’re picking up pumpkin puree. This is NOT the same as pumpkin pie filling.
Pumpkin puree is what you’d get if you took your own pumpkin, scraped out the flesh, removed the seeds, and blitzed it in the food processor for a few seconds.
Pumpkin pie filling is what you’d use if you wanted a super simple pie. It has lots of sugar and other things added to it – you’d essentially just pour the entire can in a pie crust and call it a day. It can be confusing because they’re both in a can, and they’re usually sitting right next to each other in the baking aisle, so just be sure you pay close attention when you’re reaching for pumpkin in the grocery store.
Some equipment you may need…
- Loaf pan: you’ll need a loaf pan that’s 9×5-inches. I love this one because it’s light in color and nonstick!
- Mixing bowls: I love these glass mixing bowls from Amazon. They’re especially perfect for food photography.
- Wooden spoon: I only use wooden spoons and rubber spatulas when I’m baking, and I love these!
- Measuring cups/spoons: I’ve been linking these in all of my posts because I love them SO much! They are beautiful and look just like some other expensive ones on the market (but wayyy cheaper).
Ingredients for Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- All-purpose flour – I almost always use King Arthur flours, because I think consistency is important when developing recipes. Protein content can vary between brands, so I’d recommend sticking with King Arthur as well!
- Baking powder – both the baking powder and baking soda will be our chemical leavening agents in this pumpkin coffee cake recipe
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground cloves
- Ground ginger
- Kosher salt – Diamond crystal kosher salt is the brand I always use in my recipes!
- Light brown sugar – if you don’t have light brown sugar on hand, feel free to use an equal amount of dark brown sugar
- Vegetable oil – I decided to use oil instead of butter as my fat because I truly wanted this to be an extremely moist pumpkin coffee cake. If you only have butter on hand, use an equal amount of melted butter, but be warned that it may not be as moist on the inside.
- Pumpkin puree – the big thing here is to make extra sure you’re using pure pumpkin puree. It’s easy to grab pumpkin pie filling off the shelf on accident, and that will not result in the yummiest pumpkin coffee cake recipe
- Sour cream – this will add lots of moisture to our bread, happily.
- Large eggs
- Whole milk
- Pure vanilla extract
- Chopped pecans – these will be used for our pecan streusel
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar
Why Pumpkin?
Ok, pumpkin coffee cake obviously makes the most sense in the fall because that’s when pumpkins are in season. But did you know that pumpkin is actually an incredible ingredient in baking in general? Ask my Secret Ingredient Triple Chocolate Muffins, which are spiked with pumpkin as a secret ingredient!
Pumpkin is an ingredient that packs tons of moisture. It might be a simple vegetable, but when you add it to any baked good, it becomes a moisture superhero. That’s why I added it to my chocolate muffins, and that’s why I love adding it to anything and everything when fall rolls around.
Can I use pumpkin pie spice?
If you don’t want to measure out all of those individual fall spices, pumpkin pie spice is perfectly fine to use in their place. I’d recommend substituting 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice for the nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Then just reduce the cinnamon in the pumpkin coffee cake recipe to 1 tsp.
My Kitchen Tips
- Make the streusel first. The flour in the streusel recipe will begin to absorb moisture from the butter as it sits – which results in a “crumbly” texture. I like to make my streusel first, then bake the cake so that I get the crumble consistency I’m looking for.
- Use pumpkin pie spice if you’d like. If you don’t want to measure out all of those individual fall spices, pumpkin pie spice is perfectly fine to use in their place. I’d recommend substituting 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice for the nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Then just reduce the cinnamon in the pumpkin coffee cake recipe to 1 tsp.
- Trader Joe’s always seems to have plenty of canned pumpkin. Another thing that can be hard to find is pumpkin puree. It disappears so quickly when fall rolls around! I’ve found that Trader Joes almost always carries an abundance of pumpkin puree, so if you don’t have luck at any other stores, check there.
How to Store?
This cake stores great. You can either keep the slices at room temperature for 1 to 2 days, or refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 5 days. I just warm a slice up for about 15 seconds in the microwave when I’m ready to enjoy some pumpkin coffee cake.
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I hope you all love this recipe and I hope I’ve inspired you to bake with pumpkin this fall! Like anyone ever needed any convincing to bake with pumpkin in the fall… lol.
If you make this pumpkin coffee cake be sure to tag me on socials @sarahsdayoff so I can see it!!! If you have any questions about this recipe or any others on my site, you can reach out to me at sarah@sarahsdayoff.com and I’d be happy to chat with you!
Happy Baking 🙂
Love,
Sarah
“But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” -1 John 1:7-
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the Brown Sugar-Pecan Streusel
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter melted
For the Coffee Cake
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
For the Maple Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 to 2 Tbsp whole milk
Instructions
For the Brown Sugar-Pecan Streusel
- Combine the flour, sugar, pecans, and salt in a bowl. Pour the melted butter over the flour mixture and stir to combine. You shouldn't see any streaks of flour remaining.
- Let the mixture sit at room temperature while you make the cake batter. It should firm up into crumbles as the butter cools.
For the Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13-inch cake pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a bowl, whisking to combine.
- In a separate large bowl whisk the brown sugar, oil, pumpkin, sour cream, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or wooden spatula to combine.
- Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan. Smooth the batter out into an even layer so it takes up the whole pan, if necessary. Crumble your streusel over top of the batter in an even layer.
- Bake the entire cake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let it cool completely in the pan before drizzling with the maple glaze.
For the Maple Glaze
- Whisk powdered sugar, maple syrup, and 1 Tbsp of milk in a bowl, adding more milk, 1 Tbsp at a time, to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over warm cake.
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This looks so moist and amazing must try it
Hey Dorothy! I tried really hard to keep it as moist as I could 🙂 Let me know what you think!
We made this last weekend and will probs make it again this weekend. Amazing pumpkin cake
I am going to try this recipe with bobs red mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour!
I haven’t tried that! Please let me know how it goes!