Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Coffee Cake

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This moist and fluffy Pumpkin Coffee Cake will go perfectly with your morning coffee this fall! Complete with a melt-in-your-mouth streusel and a drizzle of glaze, you won’t find a better fall breakfast cake!

Moist Pumpkin Coffee Cake With a Homemade Glaze

Cake for breakfast? Count me in. And, just know that this delicate pumpkin coffee cake will have you sneaking another slice after dinner, too! Filled with warm, cozy spices and plenty of pumpkin flavor, it’s a fall-spirited dream come true.

The crumbly cinnamon streusel and creamy vanilla glaze really tie the whole treat together. Every component requires very little effort – you don’t even have to break out your electric mixer! Once the coffee cake has cooled, it can be stored all week and warmed up whenever a craving hits – if it lasts that long.

For more easy pumpkin desserts, be sure to check out this pumpkin cake, this pumpkin pound cake, this pumpkin chocolate chip bundt cake, or this pumpkin roll cake!

Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Coffee Cake Recipe

Pumpkin streusel coffee cake is a family favorite! Here’s why I think you’ll adore it as well:

  • Perfectly moist. This pumpkin coffee cake is made with the ideal combination of pumpkin puree, oil, milk, and brown sugar so that it comes out moist and fluffy instead of dry and chewy every time.
  • Packed with warm, sweet flavors. The cake itself is made with a cozy blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Then, it’s topped with a sweet vanilla glaze and a cinnamon-sugar streusel topping. Yum!
  • Great for fall. Pumpkin coffee cake plus a steaming cup of coffee is the best way to kick off your morning on a cold, blustery fall morning!
A slice of pumpkin coffee cake on a plate with a second slice and a jar of cinnamon sticks in the background.

What You’ll Need

Here is what you’ll need to make this sweet pumpkin coffee cake. Scroll down to the recipe card for more specific details regarding the amounts you’ll need and the full set of instructions.

For the Cinnamon Streusel Topping

  • All-Purpose Flour: Feel free to use 1:1 gluten-free flour if necessary.
  • Light Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar has delicious caramel notes!
  • Ground Cinnamon: Feel free to add more or less depending on how strong you want the warm, earthy sweetness to be!
  • Unsalted Butter: Cut it into cubes. You want it to remain cold so that it combines into a streusel properly.
  • Pinch of Salt: You can use table salt, sea salt, etc.

For the Pumpkin Coffee Cake

  • All-Purpose Flour: Unlike with brown sugar, flour should never be tightly packed when you measure it. Using a food scale is best for accuracy.
  • Baking Soda & Baking Powder: Using both creates the ideal rise and texture.
  • Spices: Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves give this cake the perfect flavor. You could just use pumpkin pie spice, but I really prefer to use my own spices.
  • Salt: To enhance the other flavors in the cake.
  • Unsalted Butter: You can use salted butter instead if you like.
  • Vegetable Oil: Canola oil will also work just fine.
  • Light Brown Sugar: Packed. The molasses in the brown sugar adds even more flavor and moisture to the cake.
  • Milk: I use 2% milk. Whole milk would also work well.
  • Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract adds the strongest, boldest flavor.
  • Pumpkin Puree: Make sure you don’t mistakenly grab pumpkin pie filling! Also, you may notice that this cake doesn’t call for any eggs. That’s because pumpkin puree is a natural leavening agent with a lot of moisture. Adding eggs would just weigh the cake down and make it kind of gummy, so this recipe leaves them out.

For the Vanilla Glaze

  • Powdered Sugar: Sifting the lumps out ahead of time will ensure that your glaze comes out nice and smooth.
  • Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla is best here, too!
  • Milk: Cream works well too if you’d prefer to use that instead.
  • Chopped Pecans: Optional, to sprinkle over the finished cake.
A piece of breakfast cake on a plate with one bite on a metal fork beside the slice.

How to Make Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Coffee Cake

This pillowy soft pumpkin cake is super easy to make. Here’s the rundown!

  • Prep the cake pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan with a circle of parchment paper in the bottom, and grease the sides.
  • Combine the dry streusel ingredients. Add the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a medium-sized bowl.
  • Add the butter. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is fully incorporated and the mixture is crumbly. Set the streusel aside.
  • Combine the dry cake ingredients: Stir the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Set the mixture aside.
  • Combine the butter, oil, and sugar. Add the melted butter, oil, and brown sugar to a large bowl and whisk until well combined.
  • Add the milk, vanilla, and pumpkin. Add in the milk, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree, whisking everything together until well combined.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold until everything is fully incorporated. Do not over-mix the batter.
  • Transfer the batter and streusel to the pan. Spread the cake batter evenly into the prepared cake pan. Next, spread the streusel mixture evenly on top of the cake batter.
  • Bake the cake. Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few loose crumbs.
  • Let the cake cool. Remove your coffee cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack to finish cooling.
  • Make the glaze. Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and cream in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. You can always add a little more milk or sugar if needed.
  • Drizzle the glaze over the cake and enjoy! Drizzle the glaze over the cake and sprinkle it with chopped pecans if you’d like.
An uncut cinnamon streusel pumpkin coffee cake on a serving platter beside a small pumpkin.

Tips for Success

These helpful tips and tricks will have you whipping up the most heavenly treat in the history of coffee cakes.

  • Use cold butter. Be sure that the butter in the streusel is cold so that the mixture becomes crumbly. If the butter is too soft, it’ll just kind of smoosh together.
  • Avoid over-mixing the batter. Remember to gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients instead of continuing to whisk. If you mix the batter too thoroughly, your coffee cake can become too dense.
  • Layer the streusel if desired. Feel free to add half of the batter to your pan, then half of the streusel topping, repeating until everything has been added. This will give your coffee cake a more classic look with two layers of cinnamon streusel.
  • Add the glaze after the cake has completely cooled. If you drizzle the glaze onto the cake before it has cooled, it will melt and run down the sides.

Serving Suggestions

Pumpkin coffee cake doesn’t have to be served alongside a cup of joe. There are definitely other options:

  • Drinks. If you’d prefer tea, milk, eggnog, or hot chocolate instead of coffee, fill up your cup with whatever you’d like.
  • Brunch favorites. Whenever I’m hosting a fall brunch, I’ll pair my pumpkin coffee cake with a savory dish like meat and veggie omelets or this overnight sausage breakfast casserole. Gosh, now I’m really craving breakfast for dinner!
  • Breakfast sides. If you’re looking for a couple of light sides to add to a coffee cake breakfast, chop up some fresh fruit or fry up a few strips of bacon!
A piece of homemade coffee cake on a plate with cinnamon streusel and glaze on top.

How to Store & Reheat Coffee Cake

Pumpkin coffee cake stores quite well! Here’s how to preserve and properly reheat it:

  • To store. This coffee cake will stay fresh for up to 5 days if you keep it in an airtight container in the fridge or at room temperature.
  • To reheat. Warm up individual slices in the microwave for about 10 seconds, if desired.

Can I Freeze Pumpkin Coffee Cake?

If you’re planning to store your coffee cake in the freezer, I recommend adding the glaze after you thaw it out. Wrap the cooled coffee cake in a tight layer of plastic wrap, then add a tight layer of foil or freeze it in an airtight container. Frozen coffee cake will last for up to 3 months. Thaw it out in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before you enjoy it.

More Easy Coffee Cake Recipes

Homemade coffee cake is the best! Make these easy recipes for breakfast or dessert:

Print
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A slice of pumpkin coffee cake on a plate with a second slice and a jar of cinnamon sticks in the background
Recipe

Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Coffee Cake

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 12-14
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

Pumpkin coffee cake is so moist and fluffy! Topped with a cinnamon-sugar streusel and a sweet vanilla glaze, it’s the perfect fall breakfast.


Ingredients

Cinnamon Streusel

  • 1/2 cup (65g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (112g) packed light brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup (56g) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
  • Pinch of salt

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

  • 1 3/4 cups (228g) all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons nutmeg
  • 3/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup (168g) packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (233g) pumpkin puree

Glaze

  • 3/4 cup (86g) powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 23 tablespoons milk or cream
  • Chopped pecans, optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan with a circle of parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides.
  2. To prepare the streusel, add the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon to a medium sized bowl.
  3. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is fully incorporated and the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.
  4. To make the cake batter, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  5. Add the melted butter, oil and brown sugar to a large bowl and whisk together until well combined.
  6. Add the milk, vanilla extract and pumpkin puree and whisk together until well combined.
  7. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together until well combined. Do not over mix.
  8. Spread the cake batter evenly into the prepared cake pan. Spread the streusel mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter.
  9. Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs.
  10. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to finish cooling.
  11. To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and cream in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. You can always add a little more milk or sugar, if needed.
  12. Drizzle the glaze over the coffee cake and sprinkle with chopped pecans, if desired.

Notes

  • To Store: Store cooled coffee cake in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Microwave individual servings for 10 seconds if desired.
  • To Freeze: Add glaze after thawing. Wrap cooled coffee cake in plastic wrap, then freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before enjoying.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Slice
  • Calories: 315
  • Sugar: 28.8 g
  • Sodium: 187.9 mg
  • Fat: 12.6 g
  • Carbohydrates: 48.8 g
  • Protein: 3.1 g
  • Cholesterol: 20.5 mg

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19 Comments
    1. Lindsay

      Hmm it’s hard to say since I haven’t tried it. There may be slightly different amounts of moisture between the two, which could affect the outcome. Plus canned yams are sweeter so you may decide you want to adjust the sugar.

    1. Lindsay

      A regular cake pan would be totally fine, it just may be harder to get the cake out of the pan without some of the topping coming off.

  1. Linda Masson

    Delicious flavor but quite skimpy on the batter. I could not spread half the batter to the edge of a 9″ pan. Maybe use 8″ or thin the batter slightly next time. Very moist! Yum






  2. Valerie

    Hi!
    If I wanted to cook this in a Bundt cake pan instead, would I just have to adjust the cooking time or do you think the ingredients would need to be altered as well?

  3. Rachel

    I am always ooking for coffee in cake ideas. This on is a keeper. I am definitely giving it a try. Thanks for sharing, it looks yummy.

  4. Mir

    One of the things I love about you is that you never overbake anything. It needs that moisture to be so amazing! And your streusel is SO on point.

Lindsay
About Lindsay

I'm a wife and a mom to twin boys and a baby girl! And I've got a serious sweets addiction! Bring on the treats!

Scripture I’m Loving

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29