Sweet pumpkin and layers of crunchy cinnamon streusel fill this moist, crumbly pumpkin coffee cake with cozy fall flavor! It has a soft crumb packed with real pumpkin purée and spices that include cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Drizzled with a creamy maple icing, it’s the perfect fall breakfast!
This easy breakfast cake brings together a classic coffee cake with the incredible fall flavors of my pumpkin bundt cake. Also, try my apple coffee cake, next.
Pumpkin coffee cake is a cozy taste of fall wrapped up in a sweet, crumbly coffee cake recipe. This cake is brimming with real pumpkin flavor and seasonal spices, layered with the most incredibly buttery streusel and a silky maple glaze. Every slice is soft and moist, and tastes just like my pumpkin muffins. Simply baking this in the oven summoned the whole household to the breakfast table!
What to Expect From This Pumpkin Coffee Cake Recipe
- The most moist and tender crumb. Thanks to ingredients like sour cream, oil instead of butter, and real pumpkin purée, this coffee cake is soft, ultra-moist, and flavorful.
- Plenty of pumpkin spice. Whether you use your favorite store-bought pumpkin pie spice or make your own with basic pantry spices, every bite of this cake is filled with cozy, fragrant fall spice.
- Crunchy streusel layers. I’ll show you how to make a classic brown sugar streusel that gets layered into this pumpkin coffee cake for irresistible crunch.
Ingredient Notes
The ingredients are pantry staples, and I’ve covered them below. Scroll to the recipe card for the printable list, amounts, and recipe details.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – You can use a store-bought blend or make your own pumpkin pie spice by mixing 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon allspice.
- Oil – Canola oil or a similarly mild-flavored cooking oil. I often bake with oil in place of butter in my cake recipes, as it makes for a more tender crumb.
- Pumpkin Purée – It’s very important that you’re using 100% pure canned pumpkin purée and not pumpkin pie filling, which contains thickeners and additives. I always use Libby’s brand myself.
- Sour Cream – Brought to room temperature so that it mixes easily with the batter. You can replace sour cream with Greek yogurt if needed.
- Icing – All you need is powdered sugar, maple syrup, and milk to make the easy maple glaze. Make sure to use real maple syrup and not artificial pancake syrup.
Streusel Topping for Coffee Cake
This recipe uses the same crumble topping as my classic sour cream coffee cake. It’s an easy mix of pantry ingredients, including butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.
To make a basic streusel, you’ll melt the butter and cut it into the dry ingredients to create a crumbly mixture. Set this aside while you prepare your coffee cake batter (if you’re not using the crumble right away, I’d suggest keeping it in the fridge so that the butter doesn’t soften while you work).
How to Make Pumpkin Coffee Cake
With Thanksgiving and the holidays around the corner, I’m already picturing this easy coffee cake as the perfect festive treat. Pumpkin coffee cake in the morning, and pumpkin pie after dinner? Don’t mind if I do!
Double the Recipe
You can prepare this recipe as written in a 9×9-inch square baking pan, or there’s the option to double the recipe to bake in a 9×13-inch pan. You’ll need to increase the baking time accordingly.
- Prepare for baking. Grease and line your baking pan while the oven preheats to 350ºF.
- Mix the batter. Next, whisk flour, pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In a new bowl, cream the oil and sugar together until that’s light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin, sour cream, and vanilla, followed by the eggs, one at a time, until everything is incorporated. Lastly, gradually add the dry mixture to the wet batter. Be careful not to overmix
- Assemble the cake. Spread about ½ of the coffee cake batter evenly into the prepared pan. A small offset spatula works well here. Afterward, sprinkle ½ of your prepared streusel on top of the batter. Pour another layer of batter on top, smooth it out, and finish with a final layer of streusel.
- Bake. Bake your pumpkin coffee cake for 45-50 minutes at 350ºF, until a tester comes out clean.
Add the Icing
Once your coffee cake has fully cooled to room temperature, whisk powdered sugar with pure maple syrup and milk until smooth, and then drizzle the icing over the cake.
- For a thicker icing, add powdered sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the right consistency.
- For a thinner icing, do the same with milk.
If you’d like, you can use a cream cheese glaze instead of the maple icing in this recipe. Just like in my pumpkin cream cheese bread, the tangy icing complements this pumpkin coffee cake, too. You can also skip the glaze altogether and enjoy a crumbly streusel top!
Julianne’s Coffee Cake Tips
- Measure the flour correctly. Be sure to measure the flour using a kitchen scale or the spoon and level method. Scooping directly from the bag packs in the flour and can lead to overmeasuring, which makes the cake dry. Instead, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level the cup off afterward.
- Get even layers. For the perfect cake to streusel ratio, divide and weigh out the batter and cinnamon streusel using a digital kitchen scale.
- How can I tell when my coffee cake is done? Insert a toothpick or a knife into the center of the baked coffee cake. If the tester comes out mostly clean, or with a few most crumbs attached, your coffee cake is done. If the tester comes out streaked with batter, you’ll need to return the cake to the oven.
- Add chocolate chips. Layer dark chocolate chips on top of the streusel for a chocolate chip coffee cake flavored like pumpkin.
Storage Instructions
- Without the icing, this pumpkin coffee cake can be stored airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- After icing, this coffee cake should be kept refrigerated due to the dairy in the icing. Bring the cake to room temperature before serving.
More Pumpkin Recipes
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 (9×9) coffee cake, 9 slices
- Category: Cake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This pumpkin coffee cake is moist and crumbly, packed with real pumpkin purée, cozy spices, and a buttery cinnamon streusel. Drizzled with maple icing, it’s the perfect treat to tuck into this fall.
Ingredients
Streusel:
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (15 g) ground cinnamon
Coffee Cake:
- 2 cups (210g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon allspice)
- 1 ½ teaspoons (5.6g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (118ml) vegetable oil
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (95 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240 grams) pure pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup (80 grams) sour cream, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
Maple Icing:
- ¾ cup (98 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) milk, any type
Instructions
For the Streusel:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×9 square baking pan with cooking spray, and line it with two small pieces of parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir the melted butter, flour, light brown sugar, and cinnamon until combined. Crumble the mixture into small pieces. Set the streusel aside.
For the Coffee Cake:
- Whisk the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl until well mixed.
- In a separate large bowl, add the oil, brown sugar, and sugar and use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Mix in the pumpkin puree, sour cream and vanilla extract, then mix in the eggs one at a time until they are just incorporated.
- Gradually mix in the dry ingredients at low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally to make sure all of the flour gets mixed in. Continue until everything is just combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter or the gluten will build up too much, and the crumb will be too tight.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Sprinkle half of the streusel over the bottom layer of batter evenly. Spoon the remaining batter over the streusel and carefully spread it out evenly. Top with the rest of the streusel. For more even layers, use a digital kitchen scale to weigh and divide the batter and streusel.
- Bake the coffee cake for 45-50 minutes, or until a thin knife poked in the middle of the cake comes out clean or with a few small crumbs. Place the cake on a cooling rack to cool completely.
Maple Icing:
- Stir the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and milk in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle it over the cake. For a thicker icing, add 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time until the desired consistency is reached. For a thinner icing, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time.
Notes
- A small offset spatula works great for smoothing out the batter.
- You want to aim for a crumbly, moist crumb, so do your best not to overmix the batter after the dry ingredients are added.
- Use a cream cheese glaze instead of the maple icing. Both will complement the pumpkin and cinnamon flavors!
- Storage: If you do not add the icing on top, you can store this cake at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Because the icing has milk, if you add it on top, you’ll want to keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Bring it to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 615
- Sugar: 55.9 g
- Sodium: 237.1 mg
- Fat: 25.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 92.7 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 6.9 g
- Cholesterol: 71.5 mg
