Pumpkin Coffee Cake

This pumpkin coffee cake is soft, tender, and full of warm spices. The perfect brunch recipe for the autumn season. Made with simple ingredients this coffee cake recipe is easy to make and a favorite by all!!

Earlier this year I created a recipe for Sour Cream Coffee Cake and my family fell in love. My nephew referred to the cake as "fire" and my sister's beg me to make the coffee cake all the time. I knew as soon as the weather changed I would be craving a pumpkin version. I took my original recipe and tweaked it a bit to get this Pumpkin Coffee Cake recipe.

This is the perfect fall breakfast treat, it's easy but full of flavor.

Make sure to check out my recipe for sour cream coffee cake muffins.

Ingredients

Mostly staple ingredients are needed for this pumpkin coffee cake.

• All-Purpose Flour. The flour is used in the streusel topping and the cake recipe. Make sure you measure your flour correctly. This is why I prefer to weigh my flour on a kitchen scale as opposed to using cups.
• Light Brown Sugar. I love the molasses in brown sugar and think it pairs perfectly with the warm spices of pumpkin treats. This will be used in the crumb topping.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice. I buy premade pumpkin pie spice, it's basically just a mix of warm spices. You can also make your own pumpkin pie spice.
• Ground Cinnamon. For the streusel topping, I wanted it heavy on the cinnamon, so I added some extra ground cinnamon.
• Salted Butter. You'll need butter that is melted for the streusel and at room temperature for the cake. To get my butter to room temperature quicker I will chop the butter into cubes and let it sit at room temperature while I prep the rest of the ingredients.
• Granulated Sugar. Also known as caster sugar this ingredient is used for the cake batter. You'll cream the butter and sugar together to create a really light and fluffy base.
• Large Egg. Pumpkin has so much moisture already that you don't need as many eggs as you normally would. Just make sure your egg is at room temperature so it evenly combines with the butter and sugar.
• Pure Vanilla Extract. Use the real stuff, trust me!!
• Pure Pumpkin Puree. Be careful you don't accidentally buy pumpkin pie filling, also make sure it is at room temperature. Obviously, if it is just coming from the can it will be but if you're like me and are constantly making pumpkin treats, aka Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes, you might have leftovers in the fridge!!
• Sour Cream. This also needs to be at room temperature.
• Chemical Leavening Agents. For this recipe, we will use both baking soda and baking powder to ensure the cake rises properly without tasting metallic.
• Salt. Salt balances everything out, don't skip it!

Instructions

One of the most imperative steps in any baking recipe is ensuring your oven is properly heated. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.

Then grease a 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick spray and set the pan aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Now for the ingredients we will start with the crumb topping first.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.

Pour in the melted butter and use a spatula to mix it all together to moisten everything, this will take a couple of minutes, you want a wet sand texture, thick clumps are good. Set the topping aside while you prepare the cake.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer beat the sugar and butter together for 2-3 minutes, make sure to scrape down the bowl after the first minute then continue mixing. You want to end up with a light, fluffy mixture.

Mix in the egg and vanilla scraping down the bowl and making sure the egg is fully combined, there should be no trace of egg yolk.

Next, you'll mix in the pumpkin and sour cream until fully combined. I promise the sour cream is there, it's just underneath the pumpkin in this photo!

The batter will look curdled that is fine. 

Place a sieve over the bowl and sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. (I ran out of pumpkin pie spice for the cake batter, so I just used a pumpkin pie spice recipe)

Gently fold in the dry ingredients until just almost combined. Be careful to not over mix. You don't want to over develop the gluten you'll end up with a tough cake.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, it will be thick so use a spoon or angled spatula to spread it into an even layer. Sprinkle all of the streusel on top into an even layer.

Bake the pumpkin coffee cake for 40-50 minutes, since the cake is covered in a crumble it is best to check by using a toothpick test, a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out with no wet batter, moist crumbs are okay but if there is any wet batter the cake will need to cook longer.

Let the cake cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Best served the day it is made but leftovers will last in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

How to freeze

Let the pumpkin coffee cake cool completely, I prefer to slice the cake into squares or pieces and wrap individually.

I like to tightly wrap each piece in plastic wrap, twice, then store the wrapped pieces in a freezer safe bag or air-tight container. Just to ensure no freezer bite happens.

When you want to enjoy a slice of the coffee cake just take it out of the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour or so, more time if the pieces are larger.

I also find when freezing most things that I like to keep them frozen for only about a month or so, after that the freezer taste comes through

Can you double

Just click on the 2X button on the recipe card to update the ingredient quantities and bake the cake in a 9" by 13" pan. The bake time won't be too much different, maybe a couple of minutes just keep an eye on it!

More pumpkin recipes

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread. This pumpkin bread is swirled with a thick layer of cream cheese, it's a reader fave!

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting. A classic fall treat, we've been making these for over 15 years!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars. A fairly new recipe to my website, but a true family favorite!!

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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