This pumpkin coffee cake is amazing! Its moist and spiced cake, nutty crumble, and sweet glaze are the perfect combination. If you’re looking to try something a little different, then this pumpkin coffee cake is the way to go!
Despite its name, there is in fact no coffee in this pumpkin coffee cake. So if you’re not a fan of coffee (that is also me), do not let the name put you off. Coffee cakes get their, slightly confusing, name because they are meant to be served alongside coffee. But really they are perfect to eat by themselves as well.
Key Ingredients
Cake batter
- Gluten Free Flour: it can be hard to find good gluten free cakes that don’t feel stodgy or leave you with a funny aftertaste. This is not the case with this pumpkin coffee cake, it’s moist but not solid! Often gluten free baking recipes also have a whole heap of various flours, so this is also a plus to this cake.
- Leavening agents: are baking soda and baking powder. These are used as the leavening agent for this cake. They play a crucial role in reacting with ingredients like the brown sugar in this recipe, which ensure the cake will rise. The last thing we want is a solid cake.
- Pumpkin spice: brings warmth to the cake. It wouldn’t be pumpkin baking if there wasn’t any pumpkin spice! You can often buy this premixed, depending where you live, or you can make it yourself. Pumpkin spice is typically made up of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, all spice, and cloves – all in grounded form.
- Pumpkin puree: not pie filling. A star ingredient in this pumpkin coffee cake! Using pumpkin puree brings a delicious flavour that blends so well with the warm spices, whilst also making this cake moist and tender. I made my own puree by roasting pumpkin and then blending it with the tiniest amount of water, if you can buy it that would be a lot easier!
- Brown sugar: adds a deep flavour with its molasses content. It contributes to the soft texture by bringing moisture to the cake.
- White sugar: helps to balance the sweetness of the brown sugar, whilst also contributing to the pumpkin coffee cakes structure.
- Oil: is another moisture component. You’re going to want to use a light tasting oil, I used canola.
- Milk: I used regular, but you could opt for a dairy free substitute.
Crumble
- Flour: is used to build the base of the crumble. Mixed with the butter, it holds the crumble’s ingredients together.
- Oats: I love adding these in my crumble toppings. Traditionally a coffee cake will have more of a streusel on top, but by incorporating oats it gives it an amazing additional texture.
- Butter: a binder for the crumble. By using your hands to squish the other ingredients into the cubed butter, it forms the crumbly texture. Although, you do not want to fully combine the butter. By leaving some of it whole it allows a small amount of the butter to melt into the cake, further contributing to the moisture of the pumpkin coffee cake.
- Cinnamon: a light of this in the crumble topping compliments the pumpkin spice in the cake. It brings an additional warmth to every bite.
- Walnuts: the star of my crumble topping! By incorporating walnuts into the crumble topping it adds a beautiful, subtle nuttiness. These will be chopped walnuts so they blend with the oats. It’s a simple addition but it really sets this recipe apart from other pumpkin coffee cake recipes. Walnuts are a perfect complimentary ingredient to this tender cake.
Glaze
- Icing sugar: also known as powdered sugar. This is one of the two ingredients used to make the glaze. Because the cake is already on the relatively heavier side, using powdered sugar adds a nice light topping.
- Milk: the binding agent that gives the icing sugar glaze its delicious and sweet form. By using milk it means the glaze is on the runnier side, allowing it to seep into the crevices of the crumble topping and soak into the pumpkin coffee cake.
How to make the pumpkin coffee cake
This cake is split into 3 parts.
Cake batter:
- Preheat your oven to 180°C.
- In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin spice). Stir until they are all combined.
- In a separate medium size bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (pumpkin puree, brown sugar, white sugar, oil, and milk).
- Pour the wet mixture into the large bowl of dry ingredients. Fold these together until they are combined – be careful not to over mix.
- To a 9×9 inch baking pan, spray non-stick oil or grease with butter.
- Pour the batter into the pan.
Crumble topping:
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, walnuts, cinnamon, oats, and the 1/2 cup of brown sugar.
- Add the cubed butter to the flour mix. Use your hands to mush it all together. It should be a moist crumbly texture.
- Sprinkle the crumble relatively evenly over the cake batter.
Bake the pumpkin coffee cake:
- To the preheated oven, insert the cake.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Use a toothpick or skewer to check if the cake has baked enough, it should come out clean with a few crumbs.
Serve the cake:
- Remove the cake from the oven, let it cool for at least 20 minutes.
- Whilst the cake is cooling, make the glaze by whisking the milk and icing sugar together.
- When the cake has cooled, drizzle the glaze over top, then serve!
Storage for the pumpkin coffee cake
Due to the cake having pumpkin in it, I would recommend keeping it in the fridge. You could keep it air tightly wrapped or contained outside the fridge for 1-2 days. In the fridge it should last 3-4 days if tightly wrapped or contained. Keep the glaze in a separate bowl/container, otherwise the cake will go soggy.
Serving
Traditionally these types of cakes are served with coffee, after all that’s where the name comes from! However, as a non-lover of coffee myself, I can attest this pumpkin coffee cake is perfect when served on its own. I do definitely recommend reheating it however, the warmth in temperature and warmth of the spices are an amazing pairing – just pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds or so.
More for your sweet tooth:
- Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Earl Grey Chiffon Cake
- Mango Sago
- White Chocolate Pistachio Cookies
- Apple Pie
- Panna Cotta
- Portokalopita (Greek Orange Cake)
Alrighty, grab your ingredients and let’s get to baking! You do not want to miss out on this scrumptious and amazing pumpkin coffee cake.
Pumpkin Coffee Cake (GF)
This pumpkin coffee cake is amazing! Its moist and spiced cake, nutty crumble, and sweet glaze are the perfect combination.
Ingredients
Cake batter
- 2 cups all purpose flour (gluten free)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp pumpkin spice
- 1 cups pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ cup canola oil
- ¼ cup milk
Crumble topping
- ½ cup flour (gluten free)
- ¾ cup oats
- 100 grams butter
- Cinnamon
- 75 grams walnuts (chopped)
Glaze
- ½ cup icing sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
Cake batter
- Preheat your oven to 180°C.
- In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin spice). Stir until they are all combined.
- In a separate medium size bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (pumpkin puree, brown sugar, white sugar, oil, and milk).
- Pour the wet mixture into the large bowl of dry ingredients. Fold these together until they are combined – be careful not to over mix.
- To a 9×9 inch baking pan, spray non-stick oil or grease with butter.
- Pour the batter into the pan.
Crumble topping
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, walnuts, cinnamon, oats, and the 1/2 cup of brown sugar.
- Add the cubed butter to the flour mix. Use your hands to mush it all together. It should be a moist crumbly texture.
- Sprinkle the crumble relatively evenly over the cake batter.
- Bake the cake
- To the preheated oven, insert the cake.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Use a toothpick or skewer to check if the cake has baked enough, it should come out clean with a few crumbs.
Serve the cake
- Remove the cake from the oven, let it cool for at least 20 minutes.
- Whilst the cake is cooling, make the glaze by whisking the milk and icing sugar together.
- When the cake has cooled, drizzle the glaze over top, then serve!
