Pumpkin Coffee Cake

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Moist, dense, and rich Pumpkin Coffee Cake with a brown sugar streusel and a vanilla glaze. The perfect fall treat!

Make the most of pumpkin season by baking this regular Pumpkin Cake, making these Pumpkin Cookies, and trying these “famous” Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars. Check off baking from your Fall Bucket List!

 

Image of Pumpkin Coffee Cake slice with a fork in it-- ready to be eaten.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

And just like that, we’re back to my most-favorite and most-anticipated time of the year: back-to-school, all the pumpkin, and FALL. It’s no secret that fall is my favorite season, and every year I work hard to bring you the best-possible pumpkin recipes. This Pumpkin Coffee Cake has been in the works for a couple months and yes, I was having people test it this past June! So without further ado, let’s get started.

You may have wondered, why is it called coffee cake? As a fun bit of historical background…In the 17th century, Europeans were thought to have come up with idea of eating sweet cakes while having their coffee. From that beginning, coffee cakes made their way into American cookbooks in the late 1800s, evolving from several sweet dishes from Vienna. 

Which bring us to the next commonly asked question: does coffee cake have coffee in it? Coffee cakes today rarely include coffee in the ingredient list. Today they are simple, one-flavor cakes featuring spices, nuts, or fruit, and generally feature a streusel and/or simple glaze topping. 

So, no, Pumpkin Coffee Cake doesn’t actually have any coffee in it, and we’re making it the best possible by combining a streusel topping AND a glaze. Below I’ve got a quick break down of how to make this recipe.

Process shots-- making Pumpkin Coffee Cake: prepping and mixing the dry and the wet ingredients; pouring the mixture in the prepared baking pan; the crumble topping being made and sprinkled over the unbaked cake.

How to make Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Above, I’ve broken up the steps for making this coffee cake in picture form, and below is a description of what’s happening in each photo, along with a few tips.

  1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl
  2. Combine all the wet ingredients in another large bowl
  3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
  4. Mixing wet and dry ingredients. Mix as little as possible — until *just* combined; this ensures you don’t get a dense and chewy cake.
  5. Some lumps are okay.
  6. Spread the cake into the prepared (greased) 9×13-inch pan. Use a spatula to smooth the cake and get it in one even layer.
  7. Combine all the ingredients for the streuselCube the butter into small pieces and use a pastry blender (or your fingers) to combine. You don’t want to melt or soften the butter, or the streusel topping will end up burning.
  8. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the cake; there’s a lot of streusel (so you know it’s going to be good).

QUICK TIP

Use high-quality (not watery) canned pumpkin for this recipe; I recommend Libby’s® (not sponsored). Using watery pumpkin will leave you with a too-moist and bland cake.

Up-close images of Pumpkin Coffee Cake with a bite out of it.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake variations

  • Add fresh whipped cream on top (how to make whipped cream tutorial).
  • Spread on Cream Cheese Frosting instead of the glaze.
  • Stir chocolate chips into the batter (I’d add 1 and 1/2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips).
  • Mix in chopped pecans to the cake or the streusel (I’d add in 1 and 1/2 cups chopped pecans to the cake).

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Pumpkin Coffee Cake

5 from 2 votes
Moist and rich Pumpkin Coffee Cake with a brown sugar streusel and a vanilla glaze is the perfect fall treat!
Print Recipe

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

5 from 2 votes
Moist and rich Pumpkin Coffee Cake with a brown sugar streusel and a vanilla glaze is the perfect fall treat!
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack, Vegetarian
Cuisine American
Keyword coffee cake, pumpkin coffee cake
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 24 pieces
Calories 277kcal
Author Chelsea Lords
Cost $4.61

Ingredients

  • 3 cups white all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon EACH: fine sea salt and baking powder
  • ¾ cup vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)
  • ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar (light brown works, dark makes for richer flavor)
  • ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • ¼ cup +2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups good-quality canned pumpkin (NOT the entire can)

Streusel

  • 1 cup white all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold

Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons whole milk
  • tiny pinch fine sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  • PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray (or you can line with parchment or foil and then grease for easy cleanup).
  • DRY INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, baking soda, fine sea salt, and baking powder; set aside.
  • WET INGREDIENTS: In a medium bowl, add the oil (if using coconut oil, make sure it's melted and 100% cooled to room temperature), packed dark brown sugar, maple syrup, and heavy cream. Whisk until smooth. Add the vanilla and pumpkin. If the pumpkin is too wet, dab a few times with paper towel. I know 1 ½ cups is ALMOST the whole can, but refrain from adding in more as it makes the cake too moist. Whisk until smooth.
  • COMBINE: Pour wet ingredients into dry. Mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix the batter. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
  • STREUSEL: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your fingers until the streusel is evenly combined and forms small clumps. Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the cake batter.
  • BAKE: Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs attached) about 35 to 40 minutes (mine is always done at 35 minutes). Cool completely in the pan before icing.
  • GLAZE: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl (start with 2 tablespoons milk and add more as needed). Whisk with a fork until smooth. Drizzle over the individual pieces and enjoy!

Video

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 24pieces | Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 100mg | Potassium: 93mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 2560IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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6 Comments

  1. Just put these in the oven! Hope I did it right. There aren’t any eggs(hope that wasn’t a typo)and it was super thick. We’ll see. They smell good:)

    1. Batter is super thick and yes no eggs 🙂 Pumpkin takes the property of eggs for this recipe. It’s a dense and moist cake too. Hope you love it!

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