Not too sweet, this delicious coffee cake is oh so perfect for Autumn. The moist pumpkin cake is topped with a crunchy streusel made with brown sugar and pecans. It’s easy to make in a 9 x 9″ for a fantastic breakfast or snack, so keep this recipe handy — Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake is fantastic during any season.
Having a great coffee cake recipe on hand is great for so many reasons. Need to bring something to a pot luck? Having a brunch? Need a quick breakfast or afternoon snack?
Here ya go, Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake.
Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake
First thing, put your unsalted butter in the freezer, which will make it easier to grate later.
Second, while that’s getting nice and frigid-cold, make the pumpkin cake batter.
Start by mixing all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
Next, mix all the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl: pumpkin, brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, and milk. (I use almond milk, but regular works, too.)
Now, add the dry ingredients into the large bowl with the wet ingredients and stir.
Once everything looks mixed, stop mixing. You don’t want to over-mix the batter.
Mixing flour with liquids activates the gluten proteins that give baked goods their structure. Over-mixing, therefore, can lead to your coffee cake being tough, gummy, or unpleasantly chewy.
In short, that just sounds icky.
Ok, so the batter will be on the thick side. Pour it into a 9 x 9″ greased baking dish and smooth it out so that the batter is even and level.
Making the streusel
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans.
Take the butter out of the freezer. To mark how much you need to grate (1/4 cup) mark the stick of butter with a knife.
Using a cheese grater, grate the butter in batches into the flour mixture, stirring between batches.
If you grate the butter all at once, it will stick to each other. By stirring it in with the flour, it keeps the butter flakes separate from each other.
Sprinkle the streusel over the top of the pumpkin batter and bake in a 350° oven for 35 minutes (+/-), or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Adding a lemon glaze on top
As if the cake with streusel topping wasn’t scrumptious enough, here’s a lemony glaze you can drizzle on top.
Let the coffee cake cool about 30 minutes, then make your glaze.
Simply mix the powdered sugar with the lemon juice and drizzle over the top of the coffee cake.
Drizzle the glaze on with the fork or spoon you used to mixed the sugar and juice together, or pour it into a small zip lock baggie and cut the tip off.
Also, if you’re fresh out of lemon juice, you can substitute with milk, or even water.
Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake
Materials
Pumpkin Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup 100% pure pumpkin, ("puree" not "pumpkin pie mix")
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup almond milk, or regular milk
Streusel Topping:
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
Lemon Glaze:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, or milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9 x 9" baking dish. Place a stick of unsalted butter into the freezer.
Pumpkin Cake:
- In medium bowl, mix together flour, pumpkin pie spice, soda, powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In large bowl, mix together pumpkin, sugars, oil, and milk.
- Add flour mixture into pumpkin mixture and stir just until everything is mixed. Do not over-mix. Pour into greased baking dish.
Streusel Topping:
- In medium bowl, mix together pecans, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- Remove butter from freezer and grate half of the stick (1/4 cup) into flour mixture in batches, stirring between batches. Sprinkle streusel over top of pumpkin cake.
- Bake for approx. 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Let cool for 30 minutes.
Lemon Glaze:
- Mix powdered sugar with lemon juice (or milk) and drizzle over the top. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake
Chocolate lovers will adore this Chocolate Chip Raspberry Coffee Cake recipe, which is off the charts decadent.
And for my pumpkin lovers, I have a few recipes I’d love to share with you:
And, if you’re lucky enough to find Jell-O’s Pumpkin Spice Pudding, which always sells out super fast every Fall, these recipes are delicious:
Traditionally, I see the Pumpkin Spice Pudding in Target and Walmart late summer, early Autumn. Seriously, though, they sell out fast. You can also order from Amazon.
Follow me on Pinterest and post a picture of your coffee cake. Also, leave a comment below and rate this recipe.
Lastly, happy baking and God bless you.
Copyright © Sweet Ordeal. All content and images are copyright protected. Do not use any images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, make sure to re-write the recipe in your own words and only list ingredients making sure to link back to this post for the original recipe and directions.