This pumpkin coffee cake is moist, tender, filled with pumpkin spices and topped with crunchy cinnamon streusel. It’s an easy crumb cake recipe that’s perfect for breakfast, brunch or afternoon tea. The perfect fall treat!
**This post was updated September 24, 2023 with new photos and step-by-step recipe tips and photos**
Pumpkin. Cinnamon. Streusel. Cake for breakfast. It’s time to invite your friends over for brunch – because this pumpkin coffee cake needs to be on your baking list. It combines my favorite coffee cake recipe with the best pumpkin cake. It’s filled with vanilla, brown sugar, and lots of cinnamon for the perfect pumpkin spice flavor. Then it’s topped with delicious brown sugar crumbles and a drizzle of sweet vanilla glaze.
The combination of moist pumpkin cake and crunchy crumb topping makes this cake irresistible.
Pumpkin Coffee Cake Recipe
First, we’ll make the crunchy brown sugar streusel topping. This recipe uses melted butter instead of cold butter (which is often used in a streusel or crumb topping). I find using melted butter leads to a slightly more moist crumble, which makes it easier to slice the cake and pairs with the texture of the pumpkin cake perfectly.
- Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt. Make sure that you no longer have clumps of brown sugar, as if you wait until the next step to try and get rid of brown sugar clumps, you won’t be able to tell what’s a clump of sugar and what’s a streusel crumble.
- Then stir in the melted butter. When you’re done, it should look like damp sand. Your crumbles will not necessarily be uniform in size. Set aside.
Then it’s time to get on with the cake. This recipe is very simple to make and can be done entirely by hand.
- Start by whisking together the dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisking together the dry ingredients first (instead of just dumping them into the wet ingredients and mixing) ensures that the spices and leavening agents are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Then in a separate, very large bowl whisk together the wet ingredients: oil, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, sour cream and pumpkin puree. I recommend whisking the eggs on their own first so that this mixture comes together more easily. When you’re done this step, you should no longer see lumps of sugar (granules are fine) or pieces of egg. The combination of oil, sour cream and pumpkin puree is what makes this cake so incredibly moist.
- Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. I typically do this in 2 additions, doing a few stirs by hand with a rubber spatula first and then whisking until there are no more lumps. Pro Tip: Because the batter is very thick, be careful not to over mix it or else the cake can get tough. If there’s lumps in the batter feel free to whisk it together with a few strokes – but be careful not to get overzealous. No need to be whisk happy here. Overmixing will lead to air tunnels in your cake.
Then the batter is poured into a 9×13 inch pan (you’ll be happy that this recipe makes A LOT of cake), the streusel is crumbled on top, and it’s baked in the oven for about 38-43 minutes. If you’re unsure if the cake is done yet, you can also give the pan a little nudge and see if the cake wobbles in the centre. If there’s a wobble then it’s still gooey in the center and it’s not done yet.
Then drizzle on the glaze, and get to work enjoying a delicious slice of cake.
Baking Tips and Tricks
- Use a metal pan instead of a glass pan for more uniform baking (baking the cake in a glass pan will also take longer).
- Measure the flour carefully – too much flour will lead to a dry cake.
- Room temperature eggs & sour cream make it easier to mix everything together.
- If you don’t have sour cream, you can use Greek yogurt instead
- Make sure to use pure pumpkin instead of pumpkin pie filling. Canned pumpkin pie filling has
- Be careful not to over mix the batter – otherwise, it can get tough
For more pumpkin recipes, try these other favorites:
- Pumpkin Spice Cookies
- Pumpkin Cranberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- ½ cup unsalted butter (112 grams) melted
- 1 and ⅓ cups all-purpose flour (167 grams) aka plain flour
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar (79 grams) ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (67 grams)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pumpkin Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375 grams) spooned & leveled (careful not to over measure)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup vegetable oil (180 ml) or canola oil
- 1 and ½ cups packed brown sugar (315 grams) I used light
- 3 large eggs, whisked together room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ cup sour cream (120 ml) room temperature
- 2 cups canned pumpkin or just use one 15oz can plus 1 extra tablespoon sour cream
For the Glaze
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream (30-45 ml) or milk
- 1 - 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (110 - 165 grams) sifted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) degrees.
- Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan and lightly flour. Make sure the sides of your baking pan are at least 2 inches tall. Otherwise, the cake may overflow.
Streusel Topping
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon until you no longer have lumps of brown sugar.
- Mix in the melted butter (I do this with a fork). The mixture should form crumbles and feel like damp sand. Set aside.
Pumpkin Cake
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl whisk together the oil, brown sugar, whisked eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream and pumpkin puree until it's an even consistency and you no longer see lumps of sugar or pieces of egg.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients about ½ at a time. I typically do a few strokes using a rubber spatula first, then whisk until no lumps remain. Do not use an electric mixer.
Assembling and Baking the Cake
- Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan and smooth out the top.
- Crumble/sprinkle the streusel topping over the top until all of the cake batter is covered with an even layer of streusel.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 38-42 minutes, or until the cake no longer wobbles in the middle and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. If you're unsure, I recommend baking for a few extra minutes as this cake is unlikely to dry out.
- Place the pan on a wire rack. Cool the cake in the pan.
Make the Glaze & Serve
- In a small bowl whisk together 2 tablespoons of cream (or milk) with 1 cup powdered sugar. Add a little more cream or powdered sugar as needed. The glaze should be white in color, but thin enough to drizzle.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and slice into pieces. I typically reserve a little extra glaze to top on each piece for anyone who wants extra.
Notes
- Pan Sizes: Recipe can be halved and made in an 8x8 inch pan. The bake time will be about 30-35 minutes.
- Flour: Whisk the flour first, then spoon into dry measuring cups and level off the top. Or measure using a scale for the most accurate results. Do not scoop the flour directly into a measuring cup when measuring - this can lead to too much flour and the cake becoming dry.
- Spices: The cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves can be substituted with 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice (1 tablespoon in total).
- Pumpkin Puree: Be sure to use pumpkin puree (labeled 100% pure pumpkin) and not canned pumpkin pie filling. One 15 ounce can is slightly less then 2 cups. Feel free to use a 15 ounce can and add 1 extra tablespoon of sour cream.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 slice, assuming the pan is sliced into 18 equal pieces and all of the streusel and glaze is used.
- Storage: Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Cake is always best fresh.
Nutrition
Dianna
OMG…I made this cake several times and it is so delicious. All my family and friends absolutely loved it. They all now request that I make it again. This is my favorite cake and such a party pleaser. I will be making it again for the holidays. Thank you Fiona!!!
Dianna
This is the most delicious cake I have ever made. I have made it several times and all my family and friends absolutely love it. It has been requested that I make this several times and if I don’t then I might as well stay home because I won’t be invited. It is such a party pleaser. The cake is super moist and the crumb topping is so fantastic, they compliment each other. I will be making it again and more than once over this holiday season. Thank you Fiona!!! 😋
Debbie
Just found and made this cake.
The smell is amazing and my husband and I had a hard time waiting to dig in.
The cake is very good! I WILL be making this again and again and again!
Christina
I just made this cake this weekend and it was a huge hit and I plan on making it again it is delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Amy
This recipe is amazing. I’ve made it 3 times in the past month and everyone gobbles it up. I used an applesauce cup as a sub for a 1/2 cup of the oil, and I used half whole wheat flour and half all purpose. It was still decadent and delicious. Thank you!
Fiona
Thank you so much Amy, I’m so glad it’s been such a hit!
Tamie
This cake is delicious!!! Light and bursting with flavor. I have made it twice in the last month and it goes as fast as I can make it:). If you have someone who doesn’t like pie, this is the perfect Thanksgiving replacement…no one will turn it down.
Fiona
Thank you so much Tamie! I totally agree, it’s a great alternative to pie and I love having the leftovers the next morning too (I have a terrible sweet tooth!)
Lucia
Could I bake this cake in 10inch tube pan and put some of the crumb topping in the middle.
Fiona
I think that would work, but I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure of the bake time. Make sure the pan is very well greased and floured so that it doesn’t stick
Magdalena
Hello, but where is coffee in this receipt?
Fiona
Hi Magdalena,
A coffee cake is a recipe for a dense, moist cake that it’s intended to be eaten with coffee as opposed to a coffee-flavored cake. They typically have a cinnamon sugar streusel topping.
Tamie
I forgot to rate it:)
Rachel
I made this coffee and everyone loves it . Making it a tradition to have on Thanksgiving morning. I have made it with regular flour and I was wondering if it will turn out with gluten free flour.
Fiona
I’m so glad it is such a favorite! I find that different brands of gluten free flour can behave pretty differently, so it’s hard for me to say with certainty. If there’s one that you regularly use and find works well – then it would likely be fine.
Bob
I add a cup of whole pecans into the streusel to give it a twist and my family rave about it!
Fiona
What a great idea!
Jennifer
Can i use 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice blend instead of the individual spices?
Fiona
Yes – you can definitely do that