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 post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
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.
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.
Email This Recipe
Enter your email, and we’ll send it to your inbox.
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.
Notes
This recipe was published in 2017 and recently updated with additional recipe tips. Photos by Sarah Fennel.
Such great pumpkin flavor, and the cake has a beautiful texture! I think that next time I will omit the topping. I love the maple flavor it adds, but I had to add quite a bit more than 2T of syrup to make it even close to pourable, and it ended up too sweet for me (and yes, I did measure the sugar by weight and sift it, and I was using 100% pure maple syrup).
Could you let me know how I should measure out my homemade pumpkin purée? From what I have read, the homemade purée has a ton of moisture so should I weigh with the moisture or after dabbing it out with some kitchen roll?
This coffee cake is so delicious! There hasn’t been a single recipe I haven’t loved on this whole site. It’s super easy to make and the pumpkin really adds a nice fall touch!
Another perfect recipe! I was excited to make the Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake for this month’s baking challenge! It’s a perfect combination of pecans, cinnamon, maple, and pumpkin in a really moist and tasty coffee cake!
So moist and delicious. Tastes like fall.
This coffee cake is SOO good! Such a great fall dessert recipe.
We made the cake this morning and the recipe is super easy! It’s great whenever we don’t need to use a mixer because it’s quieter. The cake turns out really tasty and we omitted pecans since we did not have any in the house and also omitted the glaze because we don’t always like the extra sweetness of frosting/glaze. We had to bake an extra 5 minutes to get the center fully cooked using an 8″ square metal pan, but that might be our oven variance. Overall, this is a recipe we would make again!
So excited to hear that you enjoyed this recipe!
Really delicious recipe. Everybody loved it! X
Came out super good- everyone loved it! I did have to cook it or around 50 mins not 35 and it rose a decent bit. Could’ve stood to use a slightly bigger pan.
what size of a baking pan???
8×8 She specified in the recipe
Would oat flour work instead for this recipe? Or any gluten free type flour?
I don’t think oat flour would work but you could try it with a 1:1. I’ve never tried it myself though
I would recommend a Gluten Free 1:1 all purpose flour! Though I haven’t tested that myself.
Has anyone tried this using a gluten free flour like Cup 4 Cup?
yes, it works fine with GF flour