Each bite of pumpkin coffee cake with crumb topping is moist and flavorful thanks to power ingredients like pumpkin puree, pure maple syrup, and seasonal spices like ground nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Piled high with brown sugar cinnamon crumble topping and drizzled with easy vanilla icing, this spiced breakfast cake certainly hits the spot during the fall season.
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips.
Perfectly acceptable for breakfast, snack, or dessert, today’s pumpkin coffee cake is a must make during the fall season. Heavy on the crumb topping, this is a fall version of my New York-style crumb cake and tastes just like my pumpkin crumb cake muffins but in cake form. It’s bursting with pumpkin flavor and will have you racing to the kitchen table any morning of the week! Not to mention, it’s the perfect treat to serve on Thanksgiving morning as a prelude to all the pumpkin pie in the evening (see my complete list of 30+ make-ahead Thanksgiving breakfast ideas for even more inspiration).
And if you’re looking for dessert, this pumpkin crumb cake is perfectly acceptable or you may love my regular pumpkin cake instead. For even more inspiration, here are my 30+ best pumpkin dessert recipes.
One reader, Jamie, commented: “This recipe turned out exceptionally. I baked it for about 35 minutes. The crumb topping is not as floury as coffee cakes but blends into the cake beautifully. The vanilla glaze took it over the edge. One of the best recipes I have made in some time. I used 1/2 dark and 1/2 light brown sugar and enjoyed the result. Thank you! ★★★★★“
This Pumpkin Crumb Coffee Cake Is:
- Simple and quick to prepare
- Ultra soft and moist
- Incredibly pumpkin-y
- A perfect fall breakfast indulgence (serve alongside another fall favorite, cranberry cake!)
- Wonderfully spiced with cozy fall flavors
- Piled high with crumb topping
- Garnished with a sweet vanilla icing
This recipe also joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes—ready in 1 hour or less!
Video Tutorial
3 Parts to My Best Pumpkin Coffee Crumb Cake
- Pumpkin Coffee Cake: There’s incredible flavor in each soft, moist bite of the pumpkin cake layer.
- Crumb Topping: Top today’s coffee cake with a thick layer of cinnamon-spiced crumbs.
- Vanilla Icing: It’s not coffee cake without a drizzle of icing. For something different, you may love this pumpkin crumb cake paired with the same brown sugar icing we use on pumpkin donuts.
Overview: How to Make Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping
This recipe is made completely from scratch with no boxed cake mix in sight. Made with pantry basics, the cake comes together in minutes without a mixer. Ingredients like oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, and pumpkin puree make this the moistest coffee cake you’ll ever taste. (Careful not to over-bake it!) Pumpkin takes the place of egg and helps bind everything together, so this is an entirely egg free recipe. (This cake is vegan-friendly as well—use dairy free milk in the cake and dairy free butter in the crumb topping.)
See more egg-free baking recipes.
Make sure you’re using real pumpkin puree (I like canned puree), not pumpkin pie filling. We’ll use a little brown sugar and maple syrup to sweeten. There’s lots of spices and you can absolutely use homemade pumpkin pie spice here, see recipe Note. The crumb topping and glaze sweeten the cake, so there’s no need for more sugar in the cake itself. You’ll love how the sweet maple flavor pairs with real pumpkin and warm spices!
Be prepared, this is a super, super thick batter. Why? We’re using lots of heavy, wet ingredients to yield a moist and satisfying cake.
Crumb Topping
We can all agree that the crumbs are the best part of coffee cake, so we’re going heavy on the crumb topping today. (For more recipes loaded with crumbs, try apple crumb cake, zucchini crumb cake, pumpkin french toast casserole, and apple cinnamon muffins.) Today’s crumb topping is cinnamon-spiced—you need flour, brown sugar, salt, ground cinnamon, and cold butter. Cut the cold butter in with a fork or pastry cutter until it begins to clump together and form crumbs. Pour that glorious crumb streusel on top of the batter and gently press it down into the cake before baking. So easy!
Vanilla Icing
While the cake bakes, make the icing. If I have it on hand during the fall season, I like to use pumpkin spice coffee creamer instead of milk. If you have any leftover pumpkin puree, you can even make and use homemade pumpkin coffee creamer in the icing. Milk works just as well, though. Mix the coffee creamer or milk with a little confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract, and then pour the glaze on top of the warm coffee cake. Instead of vanilla icing, try a drizzle of salted caramel or dollop of homemade whipped cream.
More Fall Breakfast Recipes
- Apple Cinnamon Rolls
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Apple Cider Donuts
- Pumpkin Scones
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins or Mini Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Pancakes or Pumpkin Waffles
And if you are looking for dessert, here is a list of 30+ fall cake recipes.
Print
Pumpkin Crumb Coffee Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: serves 9
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
An incredibly moist and flavorful spiced pumpkin coffee cake, piled high with a crumb topping and finished with vanilla icing.
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 1/2 cup (63g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons; 56g) unsalted butter, cold
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger*
- 1 cup (230g) pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) canola or vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil if you prefer)
- 1/4 cup (82g) pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk*
Vanilla Icing
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons pumpkin spice coffee creamer, half-and-half, or milk
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9-inch square or 9-inch springform baking pan (or any 2.5 quart baking dish) with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Make the crumb topping first: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry blender or a fork. Mix to create clumps and crumbs. Set aside.
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger together in a large bowl until combined. In a medium bowl, whisk the pumpkin, brown sugar, oil, maple syrup, and milk together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until *just* combined. Avoid over-mixing the batter. Batter will be very thick. Spoon/pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread to make an even surface. Pour the crumb topping evenly on top and gently press them down into the batter.
- Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes. Check the cake’s doneness at the 30 minute mark by inserting a toothpick into the center. If the toothpick comes out clean or with a couple moist crumbs, the cake is done. If the toothpick has wet batter on it, bake the cake for 5 more minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.
- Make the icing: Whisk the icing ingredients together. Add an extra splash of creamer/milk to thin out if desired. Drizzle over warm or cooled cake. (We like serving this warm.)
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: This cake may be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Square Pan, 9-inch Springform Pan, or any 2.5-quart Baking Dish | Glass Mixing Bowls | Pastry Blender | Whisk | Rubber Spatula
- Spices: Instead of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger in the batter, you can use 2 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice. You could also just replace the nutmeg, cloves, and ginger with pumpkin pie spice and keep the cinnamon in the recipe.
- Milk: You can use any milk, dairy or nondairy, in the cake batter. I really like using buttermilk when I have it on hand. Makes the cake very moist.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Absolutely delicious, a favorite of the whole family!
I doubled the crumb part and used a rectangular cookie sheet to spread the batter. After baking I sprinkled powdered sugar on it. Absolutely delicious.
I just Made this cake and added a little coffee to the icing along with spices and it is the best recipe ever! Thank you for publishing it!
I just made this and wow, smells and tastes great! Thank you!
I don’t have maple syrup. Can I just use white sugar?
Hi Heather, you can use an equal amount of honey or agave in place of the maple syrup.
This recipe is perfect, thank you! The cake is moist and not too sweet. I left the icing off because I was afraid it would be overall too sweet and the cake really tastes great without it. The spice amounts are just right as well, not overpowering.
This was absolutely scrumptious! I added chopped pecans to the topping and it was an instant favorite.
This is so yummy and super easy! I LOVE the crumb topping. I was a little short on pumpkin so I substituted about 50 grams with applesauce. I also added the cream cheese filling from your Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins recipe!
Talk about fall flavor. This coffee cake is delicious, not to mention easy to put together. You won’t be sorry if you choose to bake this one.
I made this for breakfast this morning. Last night, I baked a pie pumpkin and made the puree this morning. The coffee cake took more than 30 minutes to finish, probably because of the homemade puree. We enjoyed the flavor and the aroma of the kitchen on this beautiful fall morning.
Wow, Perfect! Has nice balance of pumpkin flavor and fall spices that is exactly what I was looking for. Family LOVED it! Keeper.
I followed the recipe using a 1-1 gluten free flour – no other substitutions. While it is delicious, the actual cake part came out a little dry with a 30 minute bake time. I think I might add an egg yolk next time and see if that helps! But overall, very good
Made this today with AP flour. Saw your comment and decided to just throw the egg yolk in there as I was skeptical myself—came out fantastic and moist, I’d probably even just use the whole egg next time. Good call on your part.
Could you use this recipe and make muffins?
Hi Emily, This is great for muffins–-simply spoon batter into individual muffin liners. Fill the liners to the top. Bake for around 20-23 minutes or until baked through. Or, here are our pumpkin crumb cake muffins. Enjoy!
Ok, it says it’s to be made in a 9″ square pan but in the picture they show what looks to be more like a 9×13 dish. Which should I make it in, the 9″ square like it says and ignore the picture?
Hi Kirsten, in the photos, I used a 2.25-quart baking dish, which holds about the same as a 9-inch square pan. There is not enough batter and topping for a 9×13-inch pan. You’ll want to use a 2.25-2-quart pan.
This recipe is AMAZING. My sister made it and I couldn’t get enough….however….I need to eat very low carb. Can I make this with almond/coconut flour in place of regular flour? I think if I use a 1:1 sugar substitute that should work with no issue and sugar free maple syrup. Any thoughts or suggestions? Any guidance would be appreciated…I don’t want to live without this!!!!
No eggs?
Hi Denise, that’s correct! Here are more Egg Free Recipes if you want to browse!
Wow!!! My mom just made this and it was absolutely delicious! I’m planning to make it for my family tomorrow and cannot wait to eat more!! So much flavor!
Great recipe! For anyone who may be wondering about subs, here are mine:
Substituted all ap flour for fresh milled soft white flour
Used only coconut oil in the cake and while the batter smelled coconutty, the taste was all pumpkin spice 🙂
Omitted nutmeg, not my cup of tea. Upped the cinnamon and clove a little.
And biggest change of all I had no 2.5 qt baking dishes, so I used a 9×13 and cut the bake time short by maybe 5 minutes, just check it. Had plenty of topping to cover it.
Another great recipe thank you!
What can I use instead of maple syrup? It’s hard to get that in my place.
Hi Sara, are you able to get ahold of golden syrup?