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Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Perfectly sweet with just the right amount of pumpkin spice complemented by the maple glaze.
Texture: The cake is super moist, fluffy, and light, while the streusel brings a heavenly subtle crunch.
Ease: Super easy and ready in only 1 hour!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Easy and crazy delicious fall recipe.
This Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake recipe is about to make all your pumpkin spice dreams come true.
This coffee cake has truly converted some pumpkin spice haters into total PSL lovers! In fact, it’s reigned supreme as my most popular fall recipe for years!
The cake is, of course, made with pumpkin puree and lots of warm spices. But then I also added in sour cream to get that moist tang we all want in coffee cake.
What’s better than streusel?! TWO LAYERS of the stuff. One in the middle and one on top.
This is the most delicious pumpkin dessert I have ever tasted! It’s the perfect combination of pumpkin and cake!
Then there’s the icing on top… literally. Just a simple powdered sugar and maple syrup icing does the trick. All of these flavors together are an autumn dream.
The cake itself can be covered and stored for up to 4 days and it somehow still stays moist while the pumpkin spice flavors intensify over time.
Though I highly doubt it will last that long…
The Star of the Show: The Pumpkin Puree!
- I used store-bought canned pumpkin puree (Libby’s)
- If you’d like, you could use homemade pumpkin puree in this recipe. Use a paper towel to blot off as much excess moisture as possible.
- Note: Don’t use canned pumpkin pie filling for this recipe – it is not the same thing as pumpkin puree.
- If you’re curious, here’s my Fresh vs. Canned Pumpkin article for the differences between using fresh pumpkin puree, regular canned pumpkin, and organic canned pumpkin – and to learn how to make your own!
What Baking Pan is Best for Coffee Cake?
This recipe was tested with an 8-inch square metal baking pan.
If you’re using a glass or ceramic pan, you may need to extend the baking time by 5 to 15 minutes as those materials cook more slowly than metal. Learn more about Glass vs. Metal Baking Pans in my article here.
My Coffee Cake Sank in the Middle. Why?
- This cake is very rich, so it may dip very slightly in the middle. It shouldn’t be dramatic.
- If you do have a dramatic caving in the center, you may not have baked the cake for long enough. Or, you used a glass or ceramic pan instead of metal (see above).
- Check your baking time and that your oven is properly heating with an oven thermometer.
- Learn more about ovens here.
Storage & Make ahead
Room Temperature: The cake can be covered and stored for up to 4 days. It stays very moist and the pumpkin spice flavor actually improves over time! Make this cake the night before serving it to save yourself time.
Freeze: Freeze the entire baked cake in an airtight container, defrost to room temperature, then drizzle with icing. Slices of this coffee cake also freeze well – just wrap each slice well in plastic wrap and place inside an airtight container or freezer bag, to prevent freezer burn. Allow slices to defrost at room temperature before icing and serving.
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Ingredients
For the streusel:
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (32 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (60 grams) pecans, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons (43 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the cake:
- 2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (244 grams) pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) neutral oil, such as vegetable, canola, or avocado oil
- 4 ounces (113 grams) sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, beaten
For the glaze:
- 1/2 cup (63 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray the bottom of a metal 8-inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Make the streusel:
- In a small bowl, combine all of the streusel ingredients with a fork until crumbly.
Make the cake:
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. In a small bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, oil, sour cream, and eggs. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then pour in the wet ingredients. Gently stir until just combined.
- Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spread the remaining batter over the streusel. Sprinkle with the remaining streusel.
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Glass and ceramic pans will take longer to bake than metal, plan to add anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes.
Make the topping:
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar and maple syrup until a thick, pourable icing forms. Drizzle over the warm cake. Cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers, covered, at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
Generally, coffee cake is meant to be served with coffee, so it doesn’t typically contain coffee as an ingredient! Especially in this recipe where we want the pumpkin spice flavor to shine.
Sour cream in coffee cake creates the most amazingly moist texture and flavor. If you don’t have sour cream, you can use plain full-fat yogurt instead.
Yes! Simply double all ingredients and bake in a metal 9 by 13-inch baking pan and add about 5 minutes to the baking time.
This recipe was published in 2017 and updated with additional recipe tips. Photos by Sarah Fennel.
Could you please post the nutrition information?
Very good recipe. The only change I tried was subbing nonfat yogurt for the sour cream. Definitely will try again!
I had made this recipe once before almost exactly as written (leaving out the nuts because I’m allergic) but my family had 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin this past weekend that we needed to use so I multiplied everything by 1.5, used a 9×13 pan, and cooked it for an extra 15-20 minutes. It turned out beautifully. Love your recipes!
Perfection!!
The cake was fluffy and moist, just perfect. I ended up baking it for 40 minute because even though i used a metal pan, my toothpick still came out with wet batter at the 35 minute mark. The glaze was too sweet for me, probably because my maple syrup is too sugary (i used pancake syrup because i don’t have pure maple syrup). I’ll probably skip the maple syrup next time and just use water to make a basic powdered sugar glaze
Hi Anika! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this coffee cake! I highly recommend trying real, pure maple syrup for the glaze next time – it adds so much flavor without being too sweet. Thanks for the comment 🙂
I just made it for the 2nd time, 1st time without the maple glaze, this time with. I prefer it without the maple glaze. I’m sorry I didn’t taste it before I put it on the cake. Other than that the coffee cake was great.
I’d really love to make this but pecans are difficult to find in my country. What would you suggest as a substitute? Is it okay to use walnuts instead?
Hi Al! We haven’t tried using walnuts instead, but feel free to give that a try!
I used walnuts the first time they work just fine!
This is the best coffee cake I have ever tasted! Thank you for the recipe. It is even good the next day…you don’t always get that with coffee cake. Yummmm!
Wonderful!
Can you bake the cake in 2 loaf pans?
Hi Marsha! We haven’t tried that, but I’d recommend calculating the volume of your loaf pans vs. the 8×8-inch pan we recommend, and if it’s the same, you should be good to go! Let us know how it goes 🙂
Super delicious!! Will definitely make it again!!
This is outstanding!
I’ve made it gluten-free… amazing
My daughter made it as written… delicious
A friend made it without eggs (used applesauce) … loved it
This is a triumph!
Thank you so much for sharing your gift with us!
This is a new Thanksgiving staple.
Loved this!!!!!! Found this recipe when looking for a way to use up the extra pumpkin we had from Thanksgiving. Easy and delicious!
Delicious!
Thank you so much for sharing tips and recepie.