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THE BEST Pumpkin Coffee Cake
This Pumpkin Coffee Cake is truly the best of all. It has rich brown butter flavor, a touch of maple, a plush, moist, glowing orange crumb texture and buttery brown sugar cinnamon crumble topping. I finish it with an espresso glaze, and oh my is it ever irresistible!
Ingredients
Crumb Topping:
- ¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tbsp (85g) packed light brown sugar
- ½ - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup (75g) unsalted butter, softened
Pumpkin Coffee Cake batter:
- 1 cup (237ml) pumpkin puree
- ½ cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup (75g) unsalted butter, browned
- ¼ cup (60ml) full fat sour cream
- 2 tablespoon (30ml) maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder,
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice)
- ½ teaspoon salt
Espresso Icing:
- ½ cup (60g) powdered sugar
- ¼-½ teaspoon espresso powder
- pinch of cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 3-4 teaspoon (15-20ml) whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang at each side.
- First brown the butter. Follow the instructions in this post here to learn how to brown butter in a 1-quart stainless steel saucepan. It’s easy! Brown specks and a dense golden foam will form at the surface when it is nearly ready. This whole process takes around 8-10 minutes. Immediately pour it into a large mixing bowl, then let it cool for about 20 minutes.
- Make the crumb topping. Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl and mix together until evenly blended. Add the soft butter and blend it in using your finger tips until it reaches a crumbly consistency and is rather evenly combined. Do not over-mix into paste. The crumbs should be irregular, ranging in size from a pea to and almond. You can also use a fork, but I find it works better and faster with your hands. Cover the bowl so it doesn’t dry out and keep it cold in the fridge until you’re ready to use it so the butter melts slowly during baking and doesn’t burn.
- Make the pumpkin batter. Combine pumpkin puree and both sugars in a large bowl and whisk to blend evenly until sugar is dissolved and the mixture looks syrupy. Add eggs and whisk to incorporate. Add slightly cooled brown butter, sour cream, maple syrup and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
- Sift flour, baking powder, pumpkin spice and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to blend well. Add these dry ingredients to the bowl with the pumpkin mixture and fold it in gently until just combined. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan and smooth it out.
- Assemble the cake. Take the crumb mixture from the fridge and crumble it over top of the batter so it covers the surface. It’s nice if you have a mix of large crumbs and small ones. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the crumbs are golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire rack, cover with foil and set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes. The foil will help it steam slightly so that the crumbs soften just a touch but will still stay crunchy.
- Once cool enough, lift the cake out of the pan using the overhanging parchment and let it continue cooling on the rack while you make the glaze.
- Make the glaze. Combine powdered sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in milk one teaspoon at a time until it is a drizzling consistency. I like when it is runny but still opaque. Mix in vanilla. Drizzle it over the cake even while it is still slightly warm, slice and enjoy!
