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. We love it so much, we also created a cookie version with these pumpkin crumb cake cookies! 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 (226g) 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 (80g/60ml) 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
Can I make this is mini’s? If yes how do I alter the temp and cooking time? Im baking for a bake sale and we need servings for just 1 or 2 people
Hi Deb, are you looking to make in a muffin pan? If so, here’s our pumpkin crumb cake muffins recipe!
I love your recipes, Sally. I made this one last night and subbed in allspice for the ginger, nutmeg, and clove purely for convenience’s sake. Turned out awesome, the glaze also hardens into this fun, crunchy texture afterwards. I really love your recipes that have pumpkin and spices so I can feel festive but do not have an overtly pumpkin flavor. Now I need to find some people to eat this thing with me!
My crumb topping didn’t turn out. Not sure why, I used cold butter and all other ingredients to a t. It sort of melted/meshed onto the cake.
Hi Cara, it sounds like the butter may have ended up getting a little too warm before baking. Next time, try putting the crumb topping in the fridge while you prep the rest of the cake batter. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
Great flavor. I used GF flour and it came out VERY cakey – didn’t hold together very well. Really nice flavoring.
I just made this and it’s taking forever to bake. I just noticed there are no eggs in this recipe. Is that an error?
Hi Cindy, pumpkin takes the place of egg and helps bind everything together in this recipe, so this is an entirely egg free recipe. Are you using the correct size pan and/or did you make any changes to the recipe by chance?
This was delicious and the perfect fall coffee cake. I wanted a 9×13” so I made the recipe times 1.5 and it was the perfect amount.
I just purchased your baking 101 cookbook, this recipe is not in there, but I will be adding to it! This is the most delicious pumpkin coffee cake I’ve ever had! Thank you for all of your amazing recipes
Do I need to use packed pumpkin (like Libby’s or drain the water from a store brand)? I’ve noticed differences with other recipes when I use packed pumpkin vs one that contains more water- just checking. Thanks!
Hi Cathy, Packed pumpkin and canned pumpkin should be the same thing, although there could be differences in moisture content between brands. Be sure you aren’t using canned pumpkin pie filling which is different. If your pumpkin seems too watery you can lightly blot some of it out.
Quick, easy and delicious for a fall Saturday morning breakfast. My kids especially loved it. If you’re fanatical about fat, you can leave out the oil and this is still wonderful. I’m definitely not but made this when I was still half asleep and forgot it. Oops. Still a win and it’ll be even better next time. Thanks!
Very very tasty and a very easy recipe!
I made it as is the first time around. Delicious! Second time around, I used the remaining pumpkin puree (with a bit of yogurt to reach 226g) and baked it in a loaf pan with half of the crumb topping for around 50 minutes. Also delicious!
I just made the pumpkin coffee cake with my granddaughters. There wasn’t an egg listed in the cake portion, or in the instructions. Should there have been one? Thanks.
Hi Jamie, this recipe doesn’t have any eggs!
Thanks for asking! I wondered about eggs too.
Genuinely one of the best pumpkin recipes I’ve made. I shared it with friends and got rave reviews. Can’t wait to make again!
Wow! Absolutely delicious!!! I took this to work for my coworkers and they all asked for the recipe. Super moist and awesome flavor. I used coconut oil and buttermilk. I also used pumpkin pie spice for the clove, ginger and nutmeg and kept the cinnamon the same. Will be making this again and again! 🙂
I made this pumpkin coffee cake (without the icing) for a family event, and it was a huge hit! It turned out so soft and moist, with the perfect amount of spice and pumpkin flavor. I will say I added a few extra dashes of the fall spices. Thank you Sally & team for another fantastic recipe!
can you use oat flour instead?
Hi Lisa, we don’t recommend it. Oat flour has very different baking properties than all-purpose flour and isn’t always a 1:1 swap. It’s best to stick with all-purpose flour here.
Loved the flavors but I found this cake to be pretty dry though I’m fairly certain it’s not over baked. I noticed the batter was extremely thick and I had a hard time getting all the flour to incorporate. Any suggestions? I followed to the t.
Hi Lindsey, Thanks for giving this recipe a try. If your batter was thick and the cake was dry, it sounds like you may have had too much flour. How did you measure the flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or weigh) the flour instead of scooping it. Hope this helps for next time!
I made this today… And it was amazing! The cake was so moist and it was just enough crumb topping with that drizzle of icing… just divine. 💕
Hi! Just wondering why there are eggs in the pumpkin bread and muffin recipes but not here? Assuming pumpkin does a similar job as egg …
Hi Lesley, pumpkin takes the place of egg and helps bind everything together in this recipe, so this is an entirely egg free recipe.
Could I use gluten free flour?
Hi Cynthia, We haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flours, but some readers have reported success using 1:1 flour substitutes (like Cup4Cup). If you try it, let us know how it goes!
I’m wondering if I can double the recipe and make it in a 9 x 13 baking dish?
Thank you!
Hi Alexe, some readers have commented that they’ve successfully doubled and baked this in a 9×13, but we haven’t tested it ourselves. We’d recommend making the batter twice (instead of doubling) and filling a 9×13 halfway. Or use our larger pumpkin cake recipe and top with the crumbs (double the crumb portion). Let us know how it goes!
Any suggestions on how you could modify for a Bundt pan?
Hi Chris, Since the crumb topping would end up on the bottom of a Bundt Cake, we would make our Pumpkin Bundt Cake recipe instead.
Is there another sweetener we could use besides maple syrup? We have honey, but we don’t have maple syrup. Thank you. We can’t wait to make it.
Hi Kathleen, you can use an equal amount of honey or agave in place of the maple syrup.
Made this pumpkin crumb coffee cake and the family loves it! It is a nice fall breakfast option for the mornings.
No eggs?
Hi Kathy, pumpkin takes the place of egg and helps bind everything together in this recipe, so this is an entirely egg free recipe.
This is one moist, spicy, delicious coffee cake! Definitely a keeper!
Can this be made as muffins?
Hi Alyssa, here’s our pumpkin crumb cake muffins recipe!
My question is, can I make this into muffins my grandson’s allergic to eggs
You certainly could, Ellen. You can follow the baking instructions from the other recipe.
I’ve made it twice this week, it’s that good! Everyone loved it and this will definitely be made multiple times this season.
I only have 8”x8” dishes and at 38 minutes it was cooked perfectly through. Also subbed in olive oil in a pinch the first time I made it, and I could not taste the difference between that and avocado oil.
Just made this and it’s absolutely delicious!!
Would it be possible to make this cake and add a cream cheese layer like in your Blackberry Cream Cheese Crumb Cake recipe? Like a combination of that cake and your Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins?
Hi Stephanie, we have not tested it to know exact results, but please do let us know if you give it a try!
Another fantastic recipe. So easy and delicious! It was super moist and kept covered, it did not dry out the next day or two. I used a springform pan, but next time will line it so i can slide it off the base. Exactly what we needed as a cool nor’easter is blowing in.