If you love coffee and crumb cake then wait until you try this Pumpkin Crumb Cake! It’s an irresistible mix of coffee cake, crumb cake, and pumpkin spice cake -- it's an all-in-one dessert. Enjoy it with a hot mug of coffee at breakfast or for dessert!
The generous streusel topping with chopped pecans and vanilla glaze sets this cake apart from any other!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- This pumpkin crumb cake is made entirely from scratch without the use of box cake mix. All you need are pantry basics!
- This cake isn’t overly sweet. The streusel topping with chopped pecans sets this cake apart from other coffee cake and crumb cake recipes while the maple glaze adds a delicious amount of sweetness.
- The oil and pumpkin puree makes the cake layer ultra moist while the crumb is crisp and slightly crunchy.
The combination of coffee cake and classic New York crumb cake means that you can easily enjoy this buttery and moist cake for breakfast or as dessert!
🛒 Ingredients
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Note: The full list of this recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are listed in the recipe card below.
- Cinnamon -- a good quality spice is important for flavor. Be sure it is fresh and note outdated.
- Maple syrup -- an important flavoring for the glaze. Do NOT use maple breakfast syrup. It's not the same thing.
- Pumpkin puree -- not pumpkin pie filling.
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Start by preparing the streusel topping. For this you’ll need flour, chopped pecans, brown sugar, kosher salt, and melted butter.
- Combine the streusel ingredients in a medium-size bowl and set aside. Allow the mixture to absorb the melted butter and become more crumbly as it sits.
- Next, assemble the filling layer which consists of brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder.
- Mix the filling layer ingredients in a small-sized bowl and set aside until you make the cake batter.
- In a large bowl, whisk the oil, sour cream, molasses, eggs, vanilla extract, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix until smooth.
- Fold in the flour with a rubber spatula and mix until smooth but do not overmix.
- Line the metal baking pan with parchment paper. Make sure the edge of the parchment paper is 1-½ inches higher than the edges of the metal baking pan. Spray the paper with vegetable oil as well as any area of the pan that is exposed.
- Spread half of the cake batter into the pan, smoothing it to the edges of the pan.
- Sprinkle the filling layer mixture evenly over the cake batter.
- Spread the remaining half of the cake batter over the filling layer.
- Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top cake layer.
- Bake the cake for 55-60 minutes, or until the streusel topping is golden brown.
- Once baked, allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack. Start making the glaze topping with confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla extract.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the glaze ingredients.
- If the glaze mixture is too thick to drizzle, add a bit more milk until you reach the desired consistency.
- Drizzle the glaze on top of the streusel topping in the cake pan and let it set for 5 minutes.
- Once set, lift the cake out of the cake pan by the parchment paper. Then peel the parchment paper away from the sides of the cake.
- Slice the cake into squares and serve with coffee or tea.
🔪 Equipment
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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- 8-inch metal baking pan -- may use glass but the time will take longer
- mixing bowls
- rubber or silicone spatula
- whisk
- measuring spoons
- dry measuring cups
- liquid measuring cup
- parchment paper
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions we are most frequently asked about making a crumb cake recipe.
Crumb cake has larger crumbs, making it sweeter than coffee cake with a larger ratio of crumbs to cake than a classic coffee cake.
The topping is a streusel topping consisting of flour, sugar, salt, and melted butter.
New York crumb cake is the mother of crumb cake with the crumb layer being just as thick as the cake layer!
You can refrigerate your crumb cake but the crunchy streusel topping will become softer the longer the cake is stored in the fridge.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- If you aren’t sure whether the pumpkin crumb cake is cooked, insert a toothpick in the center of the cake. It should come out clean.
- Allowing the eggs and sour cream to reach room temperature will help the ingredients bond producing a better cake.
- I’ve used pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling in this cake.
- Use classic or mild molasses. The Blackstrap molasses is too overpowering in flavor.
- Metal or aluminized steel baking pans work the best for this cake. The heat distributes evenly and the metal retains the heat well.
- You will need to increase the baking time (5 minutes or more) if you use glass or ceramic baking pan/dish. If you do increase the baking time, keep a close watch on the crumb topping.
📚 Variations
- Instead of pecans use an equal amount of walnuts. You can also omit the nuts completely.
- Pumpkin spice (about 3.5 teaspoons) can be used instead of the individual spices called for in this recipe. It will alter the taste slightly but it’ll still work.
- If you don’t have maple syrup for the glaze, either omit the glaze completely or leave the maple syrup out of the ingredients.
- If you omit the maple syrup glaze, sprinkle some powdered sugar over the streusel topping once the cake has cooled.
- Instead of glaze, consider drizzling salted caramel over the cake.
- You could use a cake flour for the streusel instead which will give the streusel a crisp texture without being overly crunchy.
- I prefer making this cake from scratch but you could also use a box yellow cake mix.
🥫 Storage
Cover your pumpkin crumb cake in aluminum foil and store it in an airtight container. It will last at room temperature for up to 3 days. To extend the life of your cake, store it in the refrigerator. For the best flavor, allow it to reach room temperature before serving.
📗 Related Recipes
Here are some similar recipes I know you’ll love:
- Pumpkin Spice Cake - an easy Fall-inspired cake made with pumpkin puree, warm spices, and a cream cheese frosting with crushed walnuts.
- Caramel Apple Pie Bars - the perfect way to enjoy all the flavors of apple pie without having to do any of the work.
- Toasted Pecan Praline Cake With Caramel Glaze - butter rich pound cake, studded with toasted pecans and heath bits, then drizzled with caramel glaze.
🍽 Serve with
Enjoy this pumpkin coffee cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of whipped cream. You could also drizzle some salted caramel over each slice for added decadence.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
Most people have grown up with a family coffee cake recipe passed down the generations. The difference with my pumpkin coffee cake is the addition of pumpkin puree and a more generous streusel topping with chopped pecans that resemble a crumb cake!
This modified coffee cake recipe is one of my favorites as we enter the fall season. I know you’ll love it too!
Fall is also when you find a plethora of zucchini, you simply have to try the fresh and wholesome olive oil bundt cake that is loaded with toasted walnuts and zucchini.
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
Pumpkin crumb cake is a moist buttery cake with spice cake layers. There's a sweetened cocoa powder filling, a streusel topping with chopped pecans, and an irresistible maple sugar glaze!
If you're as crazy about pumpkin as we are, try our Creamy cream cheese no bake pumpkin pie with gingersnap crust.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Maple Glazed Streusel Pumpkin Crumb Cake
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
Cake Layers:
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil (151ml)
- ½ cup full-fat sour cream room temperature
- 2½ Tablespoons molasses (35ml)NOT blackstrap
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed (213g)
- 1¼ cups pumpkin puree (312g) NOT pumpkin pie filling
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240g)
Filling layer:
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar packed (71g)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Streusel Top Layer:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120g)
- ½ cup pecans roughly chopped (57g)
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed (106g)
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
Maple Glaze Top:
- ½ cup confectioners'sugar sifted (57g)
- 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup NOT pancake syrup (28ml)
- 1½ teaspoons milk (7ml)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the Streusel topping and filling first and set aside.
Streusel Topping:
- In a medium-size bowl whisk together the flour, chopped pecans, brown sugar, and and kosher salt. Stir in the melted unsalted butter until use combined.
- The crumb mixture will absorb the butter as it sits and will be more crumbly by the time you're ready to put it on as the final layer.
Filling layer:
- In a small-sized bowl mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder until evenly combined. Set aside until you make the cake batter.
Cake layers:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line an 8-inch square metal baking pan with parchment paper making the edge 1 ½ higher than the edge. Allow the sides to overlap. Spray the paper with the vegetable oil plus any of the pan that is showing. Set aside **(see notes)
- In a large bowl, whisk the oil, sour cream, molasses, eggs, vanilla, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda until smooth.
- Using a rubber or silicone spatula, fold in the flour, mixing just until smooth and completely combined. Do NOT overmix.
- Spread half the batter into the prepared par, smoothing it all the way to the edges.
- Sprinkle the Filling Layer mixture evenly over the top of the bottom layer.
- Next spread the remaining batter over the top of the filling mixture.
- Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top cake layer in the pan.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the crumbs are a golden brown and don't look wet. A toothpick or a cake tester will come out clean when inserted in the center of the coffee cake.
- Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool.
Glaze topping:
- In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the confectioners' sugar, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla. If the mixture is too thick to drizzle, add a bit more milk until you reach the desired consistency.
- Drizzle on top of the crumb cake and let set about 5 minutes.
- Cool the coffee cake completely before removing it from the pan, slicing in squares, and serving. Serve with your favorite coffee or tea.
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