Pumpkin Coffee Cake

This pumpkin beauty is what fall tastes like. If you didn't know you wanted an irresistibly warmly spiced snack cake, you do now. As far as pumpkin recipes go, this is one of the best on this blog, a great recipe I make as soon as pumpkin season hits.

I used to make it with walnuts in the streusel, and you can certainly add them if you want to!

I love both pumpkin and coffee cakes. Throw a streusel into the mix and you have my undivided attention. And as much as I love a more traditional cinnamon coffee cake or an apple crumb coffee cake, I can pretty much declare that pumpkin trumps all others. Yup.

Why this recipe works

• Easy to make and quick to disappear.
• It's very moist and tender but with a good crumb.
• Keeps well and freezes wonderfully.
• And the icing. Never underestimate the power of a simple powdered sugar icing on a coffee cake.

About the ingredients

This is a simple recipe and, though it might seem like a long list of ingredients, they're mostly staples you probably have at home.

For the pumpkin cake:

• Pumpkin: both canned pumpkin puree and homemade work well. I use the latter and follow this post on homemade pumpkin puree. Don't use pumpkin pie filling which is a different thing.
• Spices: both homemade or store-bought pumpkin spice mix work. Adjust to your palate.
• Flour: all purpose flour is the best choice, but I do use pastry flour sometimes when that's all I have.
• Salt: I use kosher salt.
• Unsalted butter
• Eggs: fresh, large.
• Baking powder and baking soda: they work together as leaveners and help the cake rise as it bakes. Make sure they are fresh and active.
• Sour cream: use full fat, the regular type. It adds a lot of moisture and a very slight tanginess that is very welcome as the cake is so rich.
• Sugar: brown sugar gives the best flavor and adds moisture.

For the crumble topping and icing

These two components are essential to the overall amazingness of this cake. So don't skip them!

• Flour: all purpose flour or even cake flour can be used.
• Salt: I always use kosher salt.
• Butter: unsalted butter is what we use for this part.
• Cinnamon: I add extra cinnamon to the crumble to deepen the flavor even more.
• Sugar: again, brown sugar is my first choice, but you can use white. It will be a tad sweeter.
• Powdered sugar: it's the main component of the icing and can't be substituted.
• Milk: I keep it simple because I want the flavor of the pumpkin and spices to shine, but you can use another liquid, such as orange juice.

Easy steps

This pumpkin coffee cake has 3 steps: the cake itself, the crumble or streusel topping, and the glaze. All three are easy to make, so don't be intimidated by a long list of ingredients.

• Pumpkin mixture. First the soft butter is beaten with the sugar in a large bowl and the eggs are added. It's a simple cake batter that has pumpkin puree, spices and vanilla added to it (images 1 and 2).
• Sour cream and dry ingredients. These two components are added alternating, meaning that you begin and end with the flour mixture and add the sour cream in the middle. We do this in baking to make sure the temperatures and textures are leveled, which allow the ingredients to mix together better (images 3 and 4).
• The topping. The pumpkin batter is spread on the prepared pan and the cinnamon crumble is sprinkled on top of the cake. It might look like it's too much, but it's not. The cake will rise and the amount of crunchy streusel will be perfect (images 5 and 6).

Simple glaze or icing

Here we resort to the popular and amazing powdered sugar glaze (also called icing depending on the consistency) which consists of mixing the powdery sugar with a liquid.

What type of liquid should we use? I use milk for this recipe because I want the pumpkin flavor of the cake to shine together with the cinnamon streusel. But you can use orange juice, cream, or even a licor that you feel goes well with pumpkin.

My top tips

• Organization: always read the recipe first and make sure you have all the ingredients, at the right temperatures, and also the rest of the equipment and space to make it. This will make the process so much easier!
• Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes are as accurate as I they can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer that is placed inside the oven (like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust. 
• Sugar: brown sugar is the first choice, but you can use white granulated sugar (it doesn't add as much moisture to the cake) or even muscovado (it doesn't sweeten as much) if that's all you have.
• Yogurt: if needed, you can substitute Greek yogurt (the thick, tangy one) for the sour cream.
• Pan sizes: I used to make it as a tube cake (similar to a bundt cake) with two layers of batter and two of streusel. It was way more laborious, but this recipe is enough for 1 tube cake. It's a very nice idea if you plan to serve it at a brunch table. You can also make a 9-inch round or square cake.
• Make ahead: you can freeze the cake, well wrapped for a month. I recommend icing it after you thaw it so it stays fresh. But you can freeze iced leftovers. Defrost at room temperature.
• Variation: this cake can be easily made with sweet potatoes or yams instead of pumpkin. Delicious alternative!