A light and delicious pumpkin coffee cake topped with pecan streusel and a pumpkin spice glaze drizzled on top. The coffee cake is soft and lightly sweetened. And the pecan streusel adds a nice crunch!

iced pumpkin coffee cake on brown parchment

In the words of Janice Litman, Ohhhh Myyy Gawd.

I’ve only been waiting all year long to make this scrumptious pumpkin coffee cake.

I’m making you one of the best fall desserts that a cup of coffee has ever met. The coffee cake layer itself is mildly sweet, moist. It has a nice, warm pumpkin and cinnamon flavor. You don’t even need a mixer for this – it’s that simple. The pecan streusel is buttery and crunchy from the brown sugar and pecans, the thick, sweet pumpkin spice glaze on top goes beautifully with it.

I can’t say enough good things about this one. It’s indulgent, and the perfect way to welcome my favorite season – fall. Lots of that pecan crumb topping in large quantities on top and loaded with pumpkin spice in every bite.

Go big or go home; right?

drizzling coffee cake with pumpkin spice icing

Ingredients for pumpkin coffee cake

  • Flour: we’re using regular old all-purpose flour for this recipe.
  • Flavorings: pumpkin spice and vanilla help flavor the coffee cake.
  • Leavening agents: the leavening agents react with the buttermilk and help product carbon dioxide which gives the coffee cake that porous bubbly structure.
  • Oil: Instead of using softened butter for the coffee cake porition of this recipe, we’re using oil.
  • Sugars: we’re using both brown sugar and granulated sugar for this recipe.
  • Pumpkin puree: adds that pumpkin-y goodness. Be sure to use fresh or canned pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling for this recipe.
  • Buttermilk: buttermilk reacts with the leavening agents that then produce carbon dioxide to gie this cake lift.
  • Eggs: eggs add structure, richness and flavor to baked goods.
  • Butter: Just a bit of butter is used to make the pecan struesel that we’ll sprinkle on top before baking
  • Chopped Pecans: chopped pecans are used to add a bit of crunch and nuttiness to this pumpkin coffee cake.
  • Milk: help thin out the icing we’ll use on top.
iced pumpkin coffee cake with icing and jumbo streusel on brown parchment

How to make pumpkin coffee cake

  1. Start the prepwork. start by preheating the oven and spraying a square dish with cooking spray. Then make the struesel topping. It’s as simple as combining the butter, brown sugar, flour, and pumpkin spice in a bowl and using a fork or your finger tips to break down the butter into small, pea-sized pieces. Then, toss in the pecans and make sure thye’re coated in the flour mixture. Place the struesel in the fridge while you make the coffee cake mixture.
  2. Make coffee cake. Start by combining the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then whisk together the oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, pumpkin puree, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla in another bowl. When the wet ingredients are thoroughly combined, add the dry ingredients and mix until there are not more dry pockets. Pour the batter into the cake pan that you prepraed earlier. Add the streusel on top and bake the coffee cake until golden. You can test the cake by using a cake tester to make sure there isn’t anymore wet batter.
  3. Glaze it up. When the cake has cooled, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and pumpkin spice in a small bowl and then drizzle this on top of the coffee cake and let it set for 5-10 minutes before you slice and serve!
spatula with coffee cake on it

If you like this pumpkin coffee cake, you might also like:

patterned plate with coffee cake
Yield: 9-12 servings

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

A light and delicious pumpkin coffee cake topped with pecan streusel and a pumpkin spice glaze drizzled on top. The the coffee cake is soft and lightly sweetened. And the pecan streusel adds a nice crunch!

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon EACH: baking soda AND baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice powder (I used Trader Joes)
  • ½ cup EACH: oil AND light brown sugar
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup pure pumpkin puree
  • ⅓ cup buttermilk (see note)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Streusel topping:

  • ¼ cup EACH: cold salted butter AND roughly chopped pecans
  • ½ cup EACH: brown sugar AND all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon pumpkin spice powder

Glaze:

  • ½ cup confectioners sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoon milk
  • ¼ teaspoon pumpkin spice powder

Instructions

  1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 8x8 or a 9x9 square pan with cooking spray, set aside.
  2. STREUSEL TOPPING: In a small bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, flour, and pumpkin spice and using a fork or your finger tips, break the butter down into small pea sized pieces. Add the pecans and toss until they are coated in the flour mixture. Place in the refrigerator while you make the cake layer.
  3. CAKE: In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin spice powder, set aside. In another bowl, whisk the coconut oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, pumpkin puree, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla together. When the wet ingredients are thoroughly mixed, add them to the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, fold until the cake batter is *JUST* combined. Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan.
  4. Add the streusel topping on top and bake the coffee cake for 32-42 minutes. Depending on the size of pan you use, this will vary slightly. I used a 8x8 and mine took 35 minutes exactly. Use a toothpick of a cake tester, a few crumbs on the tester is fine but more than that will need a few more minutes in the oven. Allow the cake to cool completely before glazing.
  5. GLAZE: Combine the confectioners sugar, 1 tablespoon of milk, and pumpkin spice in a small bowl. If the glaze is thick slowly add in 1 teaspoon at a time (a total of 3) or as needed to thin the glaze. Drizzle on cake, let dry 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

  • Homemade buttermilk can be used in place of store-bought buttermilk. Just add 1 teaspoon vinegar to ⅓ cup milk and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Have you made this recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR, I'd love to see what you made!