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Best Homemade Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake with Pecan Crumble

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This pumpkin spice coffee cake with pecan crumble has a tender, velvety crumb, a swirl of warm spices, and a pecan topping that shatters when you bite into it. It’s the perfect fall coffee cake to bake on a crisp Saturday morning.

Ingredients

  • All-purpose flour, 2 cups (240g)
  • Granulated sugar, 1 cup (200g)
  • Brown sugar, ½ cup (100g), packed
  • Pumpkin puree, 1 cup (240g)
  • Buttermilk, ½ cup (120ml)
  • Vegetable oil, ½ cup (120ml)
  • Large eggs, 2
  • Vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons
  • Baking powder, 1½ teaspoons
  • Baking soda, ½ teaspoon
  • Salt, ½ teaspoon
  • Pumpkin pie spice, 2 teaspoons
  • Cinnamon, 1 teaspoon
  • All-purpose flour, ½ cup (60g) (for crumble)
  • Brown sugar, ½ cup (100g), packed (for crumble)
  • Cold unsalted butter, ¼ cup (56g), cut into small cubes (for crumble)
  • Pecans, ¾ cup (90g), roughly chopped (for crumble)
  • Cinnamon, ½ teaspoon (for crumble)
  • Salt, a pinch (for crumble)
  • Powdered sugar, ¾ cup (90g) (for glaze, optional)
  • Milk or heavy cream, 2-3 tablespoons (for glaze, optional)
  • Vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon (for glaze, optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Position the rack in the center of the oven. Line your 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches of overhang on two opposite sides. Lightly grease the parchment and the exposed sides of the pan with butter or non-stick spray.
  2. Make the pecan crumble topping first. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cold cubed butter and use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to work it into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse sand with some pea-sized butter pieces remaining. Stir in the chopped pecans. Pop this bowl in the refrigerator while you prepare the cake batter.
  3. Whisk the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Make sure everything is evenly distributed.
  4. Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, buttermilk, vegetable oil, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
  5. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold everything together gently. Stir just until you no longer see streaks of flour—about 10 to 12 strokes. A few small lumps are perfectly fine.
  6. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Use your spatula to spread it evenly into the corners.
  7. Add the pecan crumble. Take the crumble topping out of the refrigerator. Sprinkle it evenly over the batter, covering the entire surface. Use your fingers to break up any large clumps if needed. Press the crumble down very gently into the batter.
  8. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached. The top should be golden brown and the edges should be pulling away slightly from the pan. If the crumble is browning too quickly after 30 minutes, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil.
  9. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Place the pan on a wire cooling rack. After 15 minutes, use the parchment overhang to lift the cake out of the pan and transfer it to the rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
  10. Make the glaze (if using). While the cake cools, whisk together the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk or cream, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Add more liquid a teaspoon at a time until you reach a drizzling consistency. Once the cake is completely cool, drizzle the glaze over the top in a zigzag pattern. Let the glaze set for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Don’t overmix the batter. Use room temperature ingredients. Toast pecans for extra flavor. Let the cake cool completely before slicing. For a gluten-free version, use a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour blend. For a dairy-free version, use plant-based buttermilk and vegan butter. For a nut-free option, skip pecans and add ½ cup old-fashioned oats to the crumble.

Nutrition

Keywords: pumpkin spice coffee cake, pecan crumble, fall coffee cake, pumpkin coffee cake, easy coffee cake recipe

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