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.
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!”
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. 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.
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+ favorite pumpkin dessert recipes.
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
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
- Pumpkin Pancakes or Pumpkin Waffles
And if you are looking for dessert, here is a list of 30+ fall cake recipes.
PrintPumpkin 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 (230g) 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 (82g) 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.
Another amazing recipe.
I made this gluten free and vegan, and it’s probably the best coffee cake I’ve ever had. Follow the instructions and it turns out perfect. I used coconut oil, cashew milk and a blend of gluten free flours
This is wonderful – especially freshly baked. I was wondering if you’ve ever tried you maple icing (from your brown sugar maple cookies) since it sets so well and is so delicious?
Hi Carole, we haven’t but can’t see why that wouldn’t work!
Another amazing recipe.
I made this gluten free and vegan, and it’s probably the best coffee cake I’ve ever had. Follow the instructions and it turns out perfect
I used coconut oil, cashew milk and a blend of gluten free flours
I halved the oil, added an egg, used a Bundt pan and 45 min – perfection.
My first one is baking. Next time I’m going to use your minor alterations so there’s a bit less fat. The Bundt pan iis an inspired choice, too. Thanks!
This has been a major hit at parties this fall! I sub vegan butter and oatmilk, double the spices, and it’s a perfect vegan dessert. It does seem like a little too much crumb topping for my preferences.
Glad I read the comments prior to baking this wonderful cake! I doubled the recipe to make a 9×13 coffee cake and subbed with pumpkin spice and cinnamon. This cake came out moist and crunchy thanks to the crumb top. My coworkers couldn’t get enough of it and I already have requests to bring it again!
This recipe is excellent EXCEPT for the icing. The icing is too much, too sweet, and too bland. Less icing and icing that included maple syrup would have tasted 1,000 times better. Also I subbed in whole wheat pastry flour for all purpose and it didn’t hurt the recipe at all. Next time I’ll be tempted to add pecans and chocolate chips and skip the icing all together.
Thank you! I’ve been looking for this comment about whole wheat substitute 🙂 And pecans or dark chocolate chips are a must with pumpkin 😉
Nice recipe
SO YUMMY! I used oat milk and found that it needed to be baked for about 5-8 minutes more (I made it twice). With my trial run, I felt the cake needed a bit more spice and salt, so I added that to each component in my second run (cake, crumb topping, and icing).I felt the spices and salt made the flavor really pop. I thought the crumb topping needed one extra tablespoon of cold butter, and then it came out exactly how I like it. Definitely serve warm but it’s great cooled down, as well. I love all things pumpkin. 🙂
I made this over the weekend. I didn’t use canned pumpkin – I used pumpkin that had been frozen in a prior year and defrosted it (I’m not sure why recipes always want you to used canned). I did use almond milk and I didn’t use all the glaze because it seemed to be too much, but it turned out really tasty!
Sara, I’m sure they call for canned pumpkin because making your own is such an undertaking! My mom and I did it once (like 40 years ago!), and when we were finished we found that it tasted EXACTLY like Libby’s! From then on, I’ve been a die-hard Libby’s gal! Never tried frozen; I did not even know there was such a thing, to be honest!
Not rating the cake here, because it’s currently in the oven, but I did make the coffee creamer: it’s delicious!
Oh my goodness, this a delicious recipe! The only additions I made was adding 1/4 tsp of cardamom to the spices, and one egg to the wet ingredients (I didn’t have quite enough pumpkin puree. I didn’t use the glaze either. The crumb of the cake itself is delicate and soft. The crumble on top adds a bit of texture. I made this in the 9 inch springform. I would definitely recommend!!
I love that when making this with nondairy milk it is vegan! I have some vegan friends and they really enjoyed this recipe (as did I!). I will say, based on reviews, I baked this in a 9×9 pan for close to 50 mins and it came out crumbly but not dry. I iced when cool. I will definitely make this again!
This was probably the best pumpkin cake I’ve had. It turned out moist, and the spices and combination of crumb topping and glaze were perfect. I’ll be making this again many times I’m sure!
Hi Sally, I made this a couple of years ago & it was delicious. Did you update the recipe in some way? I’d like to make it again, but would like it to turn out the same since it was so good. Thanks!
Hi L! I added new photos recently– and the only change to the recipe was adding ground ginger to the cake. Feel free to leave it out!
I used gluten free 1-1 flour (Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur’s). The crumb topping may be different with gluten free flour (not as crumby). I used my hands to help with the texture. I made a 9×9 and a 13×9. I followed the suggestions for 35 minutes for the 13×9 which worked perfectly. I added a small amount of pumpkin pie spice extract for the bigger batch and that went a long way. I also added pumpkin spice (not extract) to the milk for the frosting. I love this recipe!
What do the * mean next to some ingredients: nutmeg, cloves, ginger and milk?
Hi Adrrienne, the asterisk indicates that there is a corresponding recipe note, which can be found at the bottom of the recipe card after the instructions. Hope this helps!
I’m 11 and love to bake. I chose this as a fall recipe and my family loved it! I was a bit worried about having no eggs in the recipe so I added two after looking at some similar recipes. The cake was light and fluffy but I think you could add some more of the spices. I baked it for around 38 minutes and the cake was perfect. I would definitely make this recipe again!
Could you make these as muffins?
Hi Gaby, definitely! This is great for muffins– simply spoon batter into individual muffin liners. Fill the liners to the top. Bake for around 20 minutes or until baked through.
I made them as muffins and doubled it for a 13×9 pan. It was really too much for the 13×9. I should have made a few muffins with some of the batter.
I have made this recipe about 7 times in the last month! Everyone loves it. I have so much butternut squash from my 2020 harvest still that I’m always looking for ways to use it.
I haven’t tried this just yet, but wondering if the maple syrup can be swapped for honey?
That should work!
Best pumpkin coffee cake Ive ever tried! OMG thanks Sally for your wonderful recipes that bever disappoint! Cake is mosit not overly sweet delish and that crumble to die for! I didnt make the glaze as I dont like overly sweet baked goods!
Will definitely make it again!
It’s delicious! I’ve made it three times already, but each time it sinks in the middle after cooling. The toothpick comes out clean and the last two times I made it I gave it a few minutes extra to see if it wouldn’t sink, but it still did. Can I prevent that somehow? Everyone still loved the cake.
Hi Annie, how strange! We recommend you check to make sure your baking powder and soda are fresh. We find they lose strength after just 3-4 months – that could be the culprit!
Just tried this, very easy to put together but I feel like it’s not that sweet. If you’re looking for a sweet factor, you HAVE TO put the icing on top, otherwise didn’t really taste like much to me.
Yummy!! Made this last night and my husband and I couldn’t wait until morning to eat it. The spice mix is perfect! I am a baker and couldn’t resist adding one egg. It came out very moist and delicious. The crumb topping wasn’t very crumbly, I think it needed a little more butter. I will make again and maybe try an oatmeal topping. Thank you Sally, love your recipes!!
Just made this and now I’m obsessed! I’m already planning when I can make it again . Soooo good. I doubled the recipe and baked about 35 minutes in a 9×13 glass dish. So moist and light, so tasty. A perfect “Welcome to Fall” snack!
I want to make this dairy free. Any recommendations for the best dairy free milk substitute and butter substitute to use? Thank you so much!
Hi Melanie, we haven’t tested any dairy free substitutes in this recipe, but let us know if you try any!
I made this with almond milk and it tuned out great!
Amazing recipe! I used buttermilk instead of milk and the cake was incredibly moist. I feel like some pumpkin cake/bread recipes simply taste sweet and moist without actually tasting of pumpkin or spices, but in this recipe all the flavors came through beautifully.
Hello! I followed the recipe to the T with measurements on a scale however the cake came out very oily and not as fluffy as I would have expected from your pictures. Not sure what went wrong or if the recipe called for too much oil (I thought 1/2cup was a a lot). The flavour was great however.
I am wondering if there should be eggs in the recipe
I just made this and it’s delish and super easy. My only differing result was that my crump topping wasn’t really crumbly. It turned out more like a crusty toooong which since it’s brown sugar & cinnamon it still takes great! Any ideas what I did wrong? I think maybe I should have added a bit more butter. The topping was only slightly crumbly in places after using pastry cutter. Won’t stop me from making again though! YUMMM!!!
I made it and it seems like it had a gummy texture. Maybe it was from the lack of eggs?
Mine too. I popped it back in the oven (even though toothpick had come out clean). Tastes terrible, and I am hoping cooking more will rescue it. It definitely appears close to raw.
Made this today and it is so good. Nice and moist, just the right amount of density. Not overly sweet, great pumpkin flavor. You will not be disappointed.