Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

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You’ll fall in love with this pumpkin streusel coffee cake! It has a moist pumpkin cake, a crisp cinnamon streusel with oats, and a simple vanilla glaze to top it all off.

whole coffee cake sliced into pieces on cutting board.

Why this Recipe Works

This pumpkin streusel coffee cake is quick and easy to prepare and makes the most delicious fall breakfast or brunch! It’s perfectly spiced and topped with a crumbly cinnamon streusel. The simplicity of this recipe and the tasty outcome will have you making this recipe on repeat.

Ingredient Notes

all ingredients for recipe laid out and labeled.

Butter. The butter in the streusel topping must be cold. The thing that makes streusel so good is it’s crunchy, rugged texture. If you just melted the butter and mixed all the streusel ingredients together you would get a smooth dough, like a cookie dough. But that’s not what we want, we want that signature crumbly streusel texture and the only way to do that is to use cold butter!
Oats. Use old fashioned oats not quick oats. Oats in the streusel are what makes this crumble topping a streusel.
Pumpkin puree. Pumpkin adds moisture to this coffee cake and gives it the pumpkin flavor. Be careful when you are at the grocery store that you don’t accidentally buy pumpkin pie filling instead of pumpkin puree. The cans look similar and it’s an easy mistake to make. You can also try making your own pumpkin puree!
Brown sugar. Brown sugar in the cake adds an extra bit of molasses and amps up the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice flavor.
Pumpkin pie spice. Pumpkin pie spice gives this cake its signature spiced flavor. See our expert tips for how to make your own pumpkin pie spice.

How to Make this Recipe

step-by-step photos showing how to make cake batter.

Making the Cake Batter

Mix dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, oil, vanilla, both white and brown sugars, eggs. Mix together until smooth.
Add wet to dry. Slowly add in the dry ingredients until just incorporated. The batter should be smooth, but do not over mix. Over mixing will make your cake tough instead of tender.
Pour into pan. Pour the pumpkin cake batter into a greased 9-inch round cake pan or an 8x8-inch pan.

step-by-step photos showing how to make streusel.

Making the Streusel

Cut the butter into the flour. Cut the cold butter into the flour until you have pea sized chunks of butter.
Add remaining ingredients. Add in the sugar, salt, oats, and cinnamon.
Top it off and bake. Sprinkle the streusel over top of the coffee cake. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 37-42 minutes.

Glaze it

Make the Glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Once the cake is completely cool, drizzle the glaze over the cake. If you prefer a cream cheese glaze, use the recipe in our banana upside down cake.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What’s the difference between a streusel and a crumble?

The answer to this question is highly debated. Ask one person and they’ll give you a totally different answer than the next. But, here is my answer based on my studies and observations.

A streusel is crisper, a crunchier topping than a crumble. Crumbles are often sweeter and softer. They still have the short texture and crumbly appearance of the streusel, but the texture is different. Streusels often contain oats or chopped nuts, where you do not often find those ingredients included in a crumble topping.

Can I use a different pan besides a 9-inch cake pan?

Yes, you can also use an 8x8-inch square pan. Bake the pumpkin coffee cake for the same amount of time as the 9-inch round cake.

Can I double this recipe?

Absolutely! You can double this recipe and bake it in a 9x13-inch pan. You may have to adjust the time. Start by baking it for 30 minutes and add time as needed.

Can I turn this cake recipe into muffins?

Yes! Fill the muffin papers about ⅔ full. You will need to reduce the overall bake time. Start by putting them in at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 minutes, then check on them and add time as needed.

Expert Tips

Use homemade pumpkin pie spice. Making your own pumpkin pie spice is so easy! To replace the pumpkin pie spice in this recipe, use the following instead:
- 1 ⅛ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ heaping teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ heaping teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon all spice

Different ways to cut the butter in. You can use a pastry cutter, two knives, or even a food processor. Just cut that cold butter into your flour until you’ve got a crumbly mixture before adding the rest of the streusel.
Glaze it when it’s hot or cold. You can glaze this cake when it’s hot or cold. If you glaze it when the cake it hot the icing will just melt into the cake or you can glaze it after the cake has cooled and the icing will stay more distinct.
Don’t overbake it. If your cake is overbaked it will be dry and crumbly and you’ll lose that beautiful moist texture from the cake. I always recommend starting with less baking time than you think you need, you can always add more. When checking your cake you should have a few moist crumbs stuck to the toothpick when inserted into the center.
Storage and Freezing Tips. This pumpkin streusel coffee cake is best sealed in an air tight container at room temperature and is best eaten within 3 days. You can freeze this cake. Wrap it tightly in two layers of plastic wrap and place it in an air tight container to prevent any freezer burn. Thaw completely before eating. It’s best if eaten within three months.