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.
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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.
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What’s better than streusel?! TWO LAYERS of the stuff. One in the middle and one on top.
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.
You can have a batch of this coffee cake cooling on your counter in about one hour. It’s extra cozy served warm.
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…
Sprinkle of Science
The Best Pumpkin Coffee Cake
The Star of the Show: The Pumpkin Puree!
- I used store-bought canned pumpkin puree for this Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake recipe.
- 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!
Why is There No Coffee in This Coffee Cake?
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.
Why is There Sour Cream in This Coffee Cake Recipe?
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.
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.
Can You Double This Coffee Cake Recipe?
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.
How Long Can You Store Coffee Cake?
The Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake itself can be covered and stored for up to 4 days. This cake stays very moist and the pumpkin spice flavor actually improves over time! Make this cake the night before serving it to save yourself time.
Can You Freeze Coffee Cake?
Slices of this coffee cake 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.
I’ve had surprisingly good results from freezing the entire baked Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake in an airtight container, then allowing it to defrost at room temperature before icing and serving.
Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake
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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) vegetable 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. 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.
Recipe Notes
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This recipe was published in 2017 and recently updated with additional recipe tips. Photos by Sarah Fennel.
This is incredible!! Wow!! Thank you for such a great recipe!
This is one of the best cakes I have ever had! It is insanely moist, and the streusel adds a delicious crunch. The maple glaze is the perfect thing to top it off. It has a wonderful pumpkin spice flavor that feels like fall without it being too overpowering I will definitely be making this again.
I bake a LOT – although certainly not a pro – just a good recipe-follower! I found out we had some contractors (we didn’t expect) coming today. I always like to have a “little somthin’ ” for those who come to serve us, and remembered I had some leftover canned pumpkin in the frig from an earlier cookie recipe and decided this coffeecake sounded excellent (which was confirmed by the reviews!!). I made it exactly as stated EXCEPT – I substituted vanilla Greek yogurt for the sour cream; and used a combination of walnuts and pecans.
Tess… I cannot thank you enough. I think this is my absolute new favorite coffeecake recipe – and at 73, I’ve made a LOT of coffeecakes!!
This was such a hit!! Everyone loved it! It was great warm and even the next day!!
can I use gluten free flour instead?
We haven’t tried that, but I don’t see why a 1:1 ratio wouldn’t work. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
I made Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake today using homemade pumpkin puree.
Sooo good!
Thank you.
I made these into diabetic cupcakes, just replacing the sugar with a half a cup of xylitol and a half a cup of splendid brown sugar. They are delicious
Glad that worked so well for you, Susan! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment 🙂
The flavor of this was really good. My dad loved it. I did bake it successfully in a glass pan without it being undercooked or dried out but it did take substantially longer. I dont think that was all the glass pan but the thickness. I found it to be super thick, 4+ inches tall so I’m considering muffins next time or a 9″ pan if I can find one.
Thought this was absolutely delicious and plenty easy. Baked in a glass pan so it needed an extra 15 minutes. Didn’t use the icing as it was plenty sweet. I think it’s best served warm. I stored it in the fridge and microwaved each slice when I ate it. Will definitely make again.
So glad to hear that this was a hit for you, Sarah! Thanks so much for letting us know! 🙂
Can I use pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger? If so, how much of that should I use?
Hi Leah! We haven’t tried that, but feel free to experiment with using pumpkin pie spice instead of the other spices listed – simply add the spices in the recipe up and replace with pumpkin pie spice at a 1:1 ratio. Let us know how it goes 🙂
Yes, but use a really good complex pumpkin pie spice (America’s Test Kitchen, Penzey’s, etc.) Use the same amount as the spices listed together. Keep leftover pumpkin spices wrapped in foil in the freezer.
I cooked an extra 5 min (metal pan) and it was still uncooked in the middle. The outside edges were delicious. Used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Tried to bring ingredients to room temp but they might have been cold still and affected cooking time. Always love getting the weights for ingredients!
Dear Tessa,
When you lost ‘Fine salt’ in your recipes, do you mean table salt? Or is this another salt I need to know about?
Thank you,
Diane V.
Hi Diane! Tessa loves using fine sea salt for baking. In fact, she wrote an entire article about the different types of salts (table, sea, kosher) that I think you’ll find very helpful 🙂