This Pumpkin Coffee Cake is one of our favorite fall breakfast treats. It’s perfectly moist, packed with pumpkin flavor, and covered in the most deliciously crunchy cinnamon streusel topping. A breakfast win that doubles as dessert!
When it comes to breakfast, I’m usually all about eggs. Scrambled, over easy, omelettes, you name it. I’m an egg lover through and through. But. When it comes to special occasions, like holidays or birthdays or a fun brunch with friends….someone please tell me there will be coffee cake.
I’m such a sucker for it, and I love all kinds. From Caramel Apple Coffee Cake to Peach Cobbler Coffee Cake… I’m here for it. And this Pumpkin Coffee Cake? There’s something about it that gets me every time.
Maybe it’s the crumb topping that makes it more like a pumpkin crumb cake. Or the fact that it just goes so well with my morning coffee. Or maybe it’s just the simple fact that I’m eating cake for breakfast. I mean…how is that even acceptable….? Yet, somehow, it is.
So OBVIOUSLY you need to make it… and once you do, chances are you’ll be making it over and over again this fall. Not only because it’s packed with fall flavors, and the perfect addition to any holiday brunch, but because it’s too easy not to make! Believe me when I say this is the ONLY Pumpkin Coffee Cake recipe you need!
what you’ll need for this recipe
- Flour – I used 2 cups all purpose flour. Substitute gluten free flour by following substitution instructions on package.
- Baking powder – I added 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder for leavening.
- Pumpkin pie spice – I used 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice for delicious pumpkin spice flavor.
- Salt – I also added 1/2 teaspoon salt to bring out all the flavors.
- Brown sugar – I chose to use 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar to sweeten the coffee cake. Substitute granulated sugar if you prefer.
- Oil – I added 1/4 cup canola oil. [*Note: this is a change from the recipe I originally published, which called for 1/4 cup softened butter.]
- Pumpkin puree – I used 1 cup pumpkin puree.
- Milk – I also added 1/2 cup milk. I used 2%, but any type will work just fine.
- Streusel topping – I made an epic streusel topping with 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar, 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 4 Tablespoons softened salted butter, and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.
how to make pumpkin coffee cake
Combine wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, oil, pumpkin puree, and milk. Mix until blended.
Add dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and mix just until blended.
Transfer to a baking pan. Spread cake batter into a greased 8×8 inch baking pan.
Make the streusel. Prepare streusel topping (see below) and sprinkle evenly over coffee cake.
Bake. Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
how to make streusel topping
- Combine 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 4 Tablespoons salted butter (softened) and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.
- Use a fork or pastry blender to mix ingredients together.
- Streusel is ready when mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Recipe Variations
- Use any combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice in place of pumpkin pie spice
- Add a simple glaze or drizzle on top after baking and cooling (combine powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract or cinnamon)
- Add 1/4 cup maple syrup to the batter (reduce brown sugar to 1/2 cup)
- Substitute melted butter for the oil
- Make it gluten free by using a 1:1 gluten free substitute
storage tips
Coffee Cake can be stored in a number of ways:
- Frozen, wrapped tightly and sealed in an airtight freezer bag or container for up to 6 months.
- At room temperature, covered, for 2-3 days.
- Refrigerated in an airtight container for 1 week.
More Delicious Breakfast Treats
If you’re anything like me… and love a good breakfast treat… be sure to check out these delicious recipes! They’re SURE to become favorites!
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup milk
Streusel Topping
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter softened
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, brown sugar, milk, and oil. Stir well.
- Add flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Stir just until blended.
- Spoon batter into a greased 8×8 inch baking pan.
- Prepare streusel by mixing ingredients together with a fork or pastry blender until they resemble coarse crumbs.
- Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over batter
- Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes, until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
This recipe looks so healthy and delicious! Thanks for posting a recipe about the DIY pumpkin pie spice too! It’s so hard to find pumpkin pie spice here. My family really loved it and will make many tim again..Thank you so much about this recipe!! and Happy thanksgiving
Would this come out the same if I used a muffin pan instead of a 8×8 pan?
Yes, you might just have to adjust the baking time.
Good pumpkin coffee cake I wish a recipe for cookbook ?
Looking soo delicious ????????
Can I swap your pumpkin butter for pumpkin purée? I’m making the Brie and have extras! Thank you.
You would have to cut back on sugar & spices in the recipe since pumpkin butter had both of these.
This needs to happen soon, it looks so good!
wow, what a nice twist on coffee cake, love the pumpkin and the cinnamon streusel, so thank you for this recipe!
Oh my, this looks incredible!! I would LOVE a slice with my morning coffee!!
Oh my goodness! I love any kind of pumpkin flavor, so this would be such a hit in our home! So delish!
Wow! This looks amazing! Just perfect. I want a slice of this right now.
This is such an amazing flavor combo!! Would love to try it!
What about adding some dark chocolate chips to the recipe?
Did you ever make this with dark chocolate chips?
I’m making this recipe now, added 1/2 tsp salt from reading the comments and put the batter and streusel topping in 6 jumbo muffin pans rather than the 8×8 pan. I added chopped pecans and omitted the pumpkin pie spice in the streusel because it sounded too spicy for us…. Added a few semi-sweet chocolate chips to each muffin. Adjusted baking time for muffins to 30 minutes and will see how that goes. Anxious to see how they turn out.
I would love to have this for breakfast or dessert! Can’t wait to try it with a cuppa coffee!
I just made the cake, and it is very tasty. The batter was so thick, almost like a cookie dough, and that concerned me a bit. However, the batter rose well and in the end the cake turned out to be light in the texture. Thank you for the nice recepy!
So happy you enjoyed it!
I meant recipe ????
🙂
I noticed there is no salt in the recipe. Are you using salted butter or does it simply not need any?
I’ve updated the recipe.
I’m making one now. The only question I had, do you mean unsalted butter or salted butter?
I actually changed the recipe to use oil instead of butter!
This was amazing! Thank you for sharing. By any chance, do you know the amount of calories per slice?
Can I substitute oil for the butter?
Yes, I actually updated the recipe to use oil instead of butter.
Omg it looks delicious 😋 but my question is can I use almond flour and sweetener and will it be the same amounts? Thank you.
Yes you can, the recipe might come out a tad differently, but sounds great! Typically you would use the same ratios but check the flour and sugar packages to see what they specify!
This looks delicious! Do you use a hand mixer or stand mixer when you make it? Also, when you measure your flour, do you dip and sweep or spoon and level? Thanks so much!
I used a hand mixer. I
This looks delicious. Do you use a hand mixer or stand mixer when you make it? And when measuring the flour, do you dip and sweep, or spoon and level? Thanks!
I used a hand mixer 🙂 and I also spoon and level flour.
Good flavor and consistency, but the recipe didn’t have salt, and I feel like it could have used salt
Thank you, we absolutely LOVED this recipe!! I didn’t have enough brown sugar for the streusel so I just put white sugar and it still came out REALLY delicious! I also like that it is not overly sweet so I can put powdered sugar on top! I also made a diy pumpkin spice (without cloves or allspice since I didn’t have those spices) and I used homemade pumpkin purée as well. Even with these changes, it still came out great!
Very soft and tender cake with a delicious streusel, but it’s screaming for salt to bump up the flavour, which is extremely subtle. I would definitely make this again with the addition of salt in the batter.
How much salt would you add?
I adjusted the recipe to include salt. If you use salted butter in the batter, I would add an additional 1/4 teaspoon salt. If you use unsalted butter, I would use 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Have you made it again, adding salt? How much did you like?
Thank you for sharing your recipe
My grandson and I made the Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake tonight. It was delicious !!! I followed your recipe exactly.
Oooo I’m making this today. It can be dessert tonight as well as breakfast tomorrow, if there’s anything left. I even have all the ingredients on hand. 😋 Thanks for the recipe and the appetizing pictures. ❤️
Good pumpkin coffee cake I wish a recipe for cookbook ?
Can’t wait to try it!
This looks delicious.
Do you know the sugar content in a piece of this coffee cake? I have to watch my sugar intake.
Thanks,
I updated the recipe card to include nutrition info. Looks like 23 grams of sugar in 1/12 of the cake. Hope this helps!
I made this exactly as written, and I think it would work much better as a pumpkin bread sliced thin. It’s very dense and not as sweet as I’d hoped when I thought of cake. I wish the streusel covered more area, maybe as a middle layer too.
I just made this to bring to our dinner club for dessert. I had to sample it and was very happy with the result. I am going to pump it up with some whipped cream. I am hoping there is some left over so that I can have it tomorrow with coffee.
Hi Cathy ,
I stumbled upon your pumpkin coffee cake recipe early 2024 . It was an instant winner and just perfect for a winter Minnesota morning . Since your recipe made two pans , I could easily gift a friend in her own 8×8 “ pan I was returning to her after a family spaghetti dinner with her family . I have always loved pumpkin but found this to be particularly pleasant of not too sweet or salty . I have now copied your recipe into my favorites as I will definitely be making this again .
So happy to hear this… thanks for letting me know!
I love this recipe and come back to it every fall. I also experimented tonight and adjusted the spices and replaced pumpkin with mashed ripe banana. I realize that makes it a totally different thing but oh man it worked perfectly!
Oh good to know! Thanks for sharing!