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Marvelously moist, fall-spiced, and crowned with sweet, buttery streusel topping, this Pumpkin Coffee Cake is a fall baking bucket list essential. Top it with vanilla glaze and enjoy alongside your coffee (a PSL perhaps?).

a slice of moist pumpkin coffee cake with streusel crumb topping and glaze

Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Spice Cake

  • It’s a Morning Treat. A slice of coffee cake for breakfast makes any day feel special, and when it’s pumpkin coffee cake, you know you’re going to have a lovely fall day. The topping and glaze make it a sweet step up from Healthy Pumpkin Bread.
  • The Cake Is Flavorful and NOT Dry. Alive with fall spices and packed with an inordinate amount of pure pumpkin, this cake is moist but has some heft to it (in a good way). It’s tender and plush, but not so delicate it will crumble or float away. In other words, its texture is spot-on (don’t miss my Apple Coffee Cake for a similar experience).
  • Crumb Topping, Forever. Buttery and cinnamony, with a touch of pecans for crunch, the streusel “lid” is so yummy, you’ll have a hard time not picking it right off the cake with your fingers!
  • Healthy Compared to Most. Made with Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, whole wheat flour, and maple syrup for natural sweetness, this coffee cake has nutritional benefits to offer, but doesn’t skimp where it counts: taste.

Delicious. Nutritious. This is the BEST pumpkin coffee cake!

Pumpkin coffee cake with streusel topping

How to Make the Best Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Streusel

The Ingredients

  • Flour. In addition to all-purpose flour, I used white whole wheat flour to lighten things up.

Substitution Tip

Instead of white whole wheat flour, you can use whole wheat pastry flour, whole wheat flour, or additional all-purpose flour.

  • Spices. Pumpkin pie spice, ginger, and cinnamon give the cake its richly-spiced fall magic.
  • Pumpkin Puree. The significant amount of pumpkin in this recipe helps keep the cake moist and ensures it has real-deal pumpkin flavor.
  • Brown Sugar. For sweetness and a soft, moist cake.
  • Greek Yogurt. Not only is Greek yogurt a healthy swap, but it also tenderizes the cake.
  • Maple Syrup. Adds natural sweetness and pairs famously with the pumpkin.
  • Milk. I used 1% milk, but you can use any milk you have on hand.
  • Vanilla. Enhances the pumpkin flavor and gives the cake an undeniable coziness.
  • Streusel Topping. Made with pecans, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter. It’s lightly crunchy, sweet, and buttery.
  • Vanilla Glaze. I can’t help myself! Iced pumpkin coffee cake is extra special.

The Directions

  1. Make the Topping. Combine the pecans, flour, sugar, and cinnamon together, then stir in the melted butter. Store in the refrigerator.
  2. Make the Batter. Whisk the dry ingredients together in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another.
batter for pumpkin coffee cake in a bowl
  1. Combine the Wet and Dry Ingredients. Transfer the batter to a baking dish. Sprinkle the topping over the batter.
  2. Bake. Bake pumpkin coffee cake at 350 degrees F for 27 to 30 minutes. Let cool.
  3. Make the Glaze. Whisk the ingredients together. Drizzle the glaze over the cake. DIG IN!

Dietary Note

To make this pumpkin coffee cake vegan, swap dairy-free yogurt for the Greek yogurt, and make sure to use dairy-free milk. For the streusel topping, use a vegan butter. For the glaze, use a dairy-free milk.

(For more vegan pumpkin recipes, check out my Vegan Pumpkin Bread, Vegan Pumpkin Pie, and Vegan Pumpkin Muffins.)

Iced pumpkin coffee cake cut into square pieces

Storage Tips

  • To Store. Refrigerate coffee cake in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days. 
  • To Reheat. Rewarm leftovers in a baking dish in the oven at 350 degrees F or in the microwave. 
  • To Freeze. Freeze coffee cake in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator. 

Meal Prep Tip

Prepare and bake the coffee cake as directed. Once it’s completely cooled, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then serve warm.

a slice of easy pumpkin coffee cake with streusel and glaze
Healthy pumpkin coffee cake cut into slices

Recipe Tips and Tricks

  • Don’t Bake it Too Long. Keep a close eye on your coffee cake towards the end of baking time (especially if your oven runs hot). Overbaking the cake can make it dry. As soon as a toothpick comes out mostly clean with just a few dry crumbs clinging, it’s done.
  • Tent with Foil. If you notice that your streusel topping is browning faster than you’d like, go ahead and tent the baking pan with foil.
  • Avoid Overmixing. Overmixing your coffee cake batter is going to leave you with a dense cake, which is not what we want. When you combine the wet and dry ingredients, stop as soon as the flour disappears.
  • Try It As Muffins. Take note from my Coffee Cake Muffins and bake this recipe as muffins at 400°F for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. (Check out my Healthy Pumpkin Muffins too!)

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

4.96 from 42 votes
An easy recipe for moist, healthy pumpkin coffee cake with streusel topping, cozy spices, and sweet vanilla glaze. The best fall breakfast!

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 28 minutes
Total: 50 minutes

Servings: 12 slices (1 8-inch square cake)

Ingredients
  

FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING:

  • 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar light or dark (use 1/4 cup for a slightly less sweet topping)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

FOR THE COFFEE CAKE:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup milk (I used 1%)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE GLAZE:


Instructions
 

  • Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper so that the paper overhangs two sides like handles. Coat with nonstick spray.
  • Make the topping: In a medium bowl, stir together with a fork the pecans, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour the melted butter over the top. Stir until evenly moistened. Place in the refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the cake.
  • Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice cinnamon, and ginger.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, brown sugar, oil, yogurt, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla until evenly combined.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir gently, just until the flour disappears. Do not overmix. The batter will be very thick.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top.
  • Remove the topping from the refrigerator and sprinkle over the top of the batter.
  • Bake the pumpkin coffee cake for 27 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with just a few crumbs of batter clinging to it. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. With the parchment handles, lift the cake out of the pan for serving or to let finish cooling.
  • Make the glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar, 3 teaspoons milk, and vanilla extract. The glaze should be smooth and somewhat thick but still pourable. If it's too thick, add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time; if it's too thin, add more powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Drizzle over the warm cake. Slice and enjoy.

Video

Notes

  • TO STORE: Refrigerate coffee cake in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days. 
  • TO REHEAT: Rewarm leftovers in a baking dish in the oven at 350°F or in the microwave. 
  • TO FREEZE: Freeze coffee cake in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1(of 12)Calories: 288kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 4gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 8mgPotassium: 148mgFiber: 2gSugar: 24gVitamin A: 3280IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 1mg

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Erin Clarke

Hi, I'm Erin Clarke, and I'm fearlessly dedicated to making healthy food that's affordable, easy-to-make, and best of all DELISH. I'm the author and recipe developer here at wellplated.com and of The Well Plated Cookbook. I adore both sweets and veggies, and I am on a mission to save you time and dishes. WELCOME!

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69 Comments

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  1. This was AMAZING! Double recipe filled a 9×13 pan beautifully. Used pumpkin I had baked and frozen after halloween last year when carving pumpkins were almost free. Made a cream cheese glaze by simply adding a block of softened cream cheese & a little more milk to glaze recipe. It covered entire cake which looked nice & tasted great. Everyone loved it! This is a keeper! Thank you. My son wanted a pumpkin cake for his b-day & this was exactly what I was looking for. I will be making this again several times this fall! – Blessings5 stars

  2. Oh my goodness, this is absolutely delicious! The maple syrub in the batter gave me the idea to add a little maple extract to the glaze. YUM! Thank you for this recipe- it’s so good, and so easy to make!5 stars

  3. I am really bad at baking and this came out absolutely AMAZING! Not too sweet, perfect texture, and the crumble topping is *Chef’s kiss*! I was surprised/ nervous there is no egg in this recipe, but the texture is perfect. Also, I live in high altitude, and had to bake for an extra 15 minute! Just an FYI for any other high altitude peeps.
    Thanks for this recipe!!5 stars

    1. Hi Lysso! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review and feedback on cooking in high altitude!

    1. No Rita, I’m sorry! You can try roasting and blending your own pumpkin for puree though. I have pumpkin roasting instructions in my Pumpkin soup Recipe: https://www.wellplated.com/pumpkin-soup-recipe/

  4. So yummy! I did not have canola oil so used applesauce instead. Still turned out delicious. My husband, 6 year old and tidlker loved it!5 stars

  5. First homemade coffee cake in da books!!!…and W O W this is a good one! Super simple and ridiculous delicious. My 13 yr old and I made it one Friday night…so can even be done through end of week exhaustion lol. I’m contemplating making this to replace pumpkin pie on the TG dessert table…it’s THAT good :)5 stars

  6. This is incredible! Took no time at all to whip together. I used coconut oil instead of canola oil and I omitted the glaze because I didn’t think it needed it. Everyone I made it for loved it. So moist and flavorful! Already looking forward to making it again.5 stars

    1. Yes Kathy! I’d wait to sprinkle on the topping until just before baking, so store that separately in the fridge.

  7. Very easy to make and absolutely delicious! I added nutmeg and allspice instead of pumpkin spice and it turned out amazing.
    Thanks for the recipe!5 stars

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