Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Coffee Cake wasn’t on my fall baking list—until my mother-in-law walked in last October, dropped three cans of pumpkin purée on the counter, and said, “Make something that’ll impress the church ladies.” No pressure at all, right?

I tried her grandmother’s handwritten recipe first. Big mistake. Then I went for a fancy Pinterest version—somehow even worse. That’s when I remembered the legendary coffee cake my college roommate Sarah used to make during finals. Everyone lost their minds over it. I gave it a pumpkin twist, added warm spices, a buttery streusel, and hoped for the best.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Listen, I’ve made a LOT of pumpkin desserts in my day, and most of them end up tasting like cardboard with cinnamon. This one’s different because it stays crazy moist for days (seriously, day three is even better than day one), and that streusel topping has the perfect crunch that doesn’t get soggy. My teenage nephew, who literally survives on Hot Pockets and attitude, ate four pieces and asked me to make it for his birthday instead of regular cake. When a teenager chooses your baking over store-bought anything, you know you’ve hit gold.

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📝 Ingredient List

Streusel Topping:

• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup melted butter

Cake Batter:

• 1 cup pumpkin purée (whatever brand’s on sale, honestly)
• ¼ cup applesauce (the chunky kind works fine)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ⅛ teaspoon cloves (seriously, don’t go crazy here)
• 1½ cups flour

Vanilla Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1½ tablespoons milk
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

🔍 Why These Ingredients Work

Here’s the deal – most pumpkin cakes are either dry as the Sahara or gummy as a stress ball. I use both pumpkin purée AND applesauce because my cousin Maria (who went to culinary school and never lets us forget it) taught me this trick. The pumpkin gives you that fall flavor we’re all craving, but the applesauce keeps things moist without making it heavy. That vegetable oil instead of butter? Another Maria special – it keeps the cake tender for days instead of turning into a brick the next morning.

The spice blend is where I went rogue on Sarah’s original recipe. Most people dump in pumpkin pie spice and call it a day, but I measured each spice separately after tasting about fifty different combinations. That tiny bit of cloves is what makes people go “what IS that amazing flavor?” but use more than an eighth teaspoon and it’ll overpower everything else.

Essential Tools and Equipment

You don’t need fancy stuff for this. I use my old 8-inch square pan that’s probably older than my marriage, some parchment paper, two mixing bowls, and a whisk. Oh, and a cookie sheet to spread that streusel on – any rimmed baking sheet works. Don’t stress if you don’t have a wire rack; I’ve cooled plenty of cakes on top of the stove.

👩🍳 How To Make Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Coffee Cake

1. Get everything ready: Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line that square pan with parchment paper and leave some hanging over the sides so you can lift the whole thing out later. Trust me on this one.
2. Deal with the streusel first: Mix up all the streusel stuff in a bowl until it looks like chunky sand. Then spread it on a cookie sheet and ignore it for about ten minutes while you make the cake batter. This is the secret that makes it actually crunchy.
3. Start the wet stuff: Dump the pumpkin, applesauce, oil, egg, and vanilla in your big bowl. Whisk it until it looks smooth and orange. Don’t overthink this part.
4. Add the sugars: Throw in both kinds of sugar and whisk for maybe thirty seconds. It should look a little glossy when you’re done.
5. Spice time: Add all the dry ingredients except the flour – that’s the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all those spices. Whisk it in until you can’t see white powder anymore and everything smells like fall.
6. The flour part (don’t mess this up): Add the flour and fold it in gently with a spoon or spatula. Stop as soon as you mostly can’t see dry flour. Some lumps are fine – actually, lumps are better than overmixed tough cake.
7. Put it together: Spread the batter in your pan. It’s gonna be thick, so just push it around until it’s mostly even. Sprinkle that dried streusel all over the top.
8. Bake it: Stick it in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes. It’s done when you poke it with a toothpick and get just a few crumbs, not wet batter but not totally clean either.
9. Wait (I know, it’s torture): Let this thing cool completely before you even think about glazing it. Go fold laundry or something. If you rush this part, the glaze will just melt and make a mess.
10. Glaze and eat: Mix up the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until it’s smooth. Drizzle it however you want and then cut yourself a piece because you’ve earned it.

Tips from Well-Known Chefs

My sister-in-law went to culinary school and she always says to get your eggs out early so they’re not cold. Something about mixing better, I don’t know, but I do it now. Also, my mom watches way too much Food Network and she’s always quoting Martha Stewart about not overworking cake batter. Apparently Martha’s right about that one.

❗ You Must Know

Personal Secret: Okay, this is gonna sound weird, but spread that streusel mixture on a baking sheet for ten minutes before you put it on the cake. I discovered this completely by accident when my neighbor knocked on my door right after I mixed it up, and I forgot about it sitting there. When I came back, the streusel had this amazing crumbly texture that stayed crunchy even after baking. Now I do it every single time, and people always ask why my streusel is so much better than everyone else’s. It’s literally just letting it sit and dry out a little bit – who knew?

💡 Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Check your spice drawer: If your cinnamon smells like sawdust, throw it out and buy fresh. I learned this the hard way when my first attempt tasted like nothing despite using the right amounts.
• Room temperature egg matters: Take it out when you start preheating your oven. Cold eggs don’t mix well and you’ll end up with weird lumps.
• Don’t overthink the flour: I used to stress about perfect mixing, but honestly? A few small lumps are fine and keep the cake tender. Overmixing makes it tough.
• Parchment paper is your friend: Make those little handles by leaving overhang. Otherwise you’ll be digging cake out with a spoon like I did the first three times.
• The toothpick test: You want a few moist crumbs, not a clean toothpick. Clean means overbaked and dry.

🎨 Flavor Variations / Suggestions

My aunt Linda puts chopped pecans in everything, so she adds about half a cup to the streusel and it’s pretty good. My kid wants chocolate chips in every dessert on earth, so sometimes I throw in a handful of the mini ones just to keep the peace.

Last month I tried it with some orange zest because I had leftover oranges, and it was surprisingly good – just grate maybe one orange’s worth into the batter. My neighbor made it with cream cheese swirled through once and brought me a piece. I still haven’t gotten that recipe out of her, but I’m working on it.

⏲️ Make-Ahead Options

I’ve made the batter the night before and stuck it in the fridge, then let it sit out while the oven heated up the next morning. Works fine. You can make the streusel ahead too, just keep it separate from the wet stuff.

The whole finished cake keeps getting better for a couple days after you make it. Sometimes I make it Sunday night for weekday breakfasts. You can even freeze the thing before you glaze it – I’ve done that when I knew company was coming. Just thaw it out and add the glaze before serving.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

The biggest mistake I see people make is mixing that batter to death once the flour goes in. I literally count my folds now – about 15 gentle folds with a rubber spatula and then STOP. Even if there are a few white streaks, they’ll disappear in the oven. My first few attempts were tough as shoe leather because I kept mixing until it looked perfect.

Also, every oven is a drama queen and runs different. Mine runs hot, so I check at 28 minutes. Start checking yours at 30, but don’t keep opening the oven door every two minutes like my mother does. That’s how you end up with a sunken middle and trust me, no amount of glaze fixes that disaster.

🍽️ Serving Suggestions

This cake is dangerous with morning coffee because you’ll end up eating half the pan before noon (ask me how I know). I usually cut it into squares and put it out with coffee for church potlucks, book club meetings, or when my sister brings her kids over and I need them to like me.

For fancier occasions, I warm individual pieces for about fifteen seconds in the microwave and serve them with vanilla ice cream. My brother-in-law, who normally only eats dessert on birthdays, demolished three pieces this way last Thanksgiving. You can also drizzle some caramel sauce on top if you’re feeling extra, but honestly, the vanilla glaze is perfect as-is.

🧊 How to Store Your Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Just cover it with foil or stick it in a cake container if you have one of those fancy things. It’ll stay good on the counter for three days, though mine never lasts that long. If you want to keep it longer, put it in the fridge for up to a week.

To reheat pieces, just zap them in the microwave for fifteen seconds or so. Sometimes I stick the whole cake back in a low oven (like 300 degrees) for about ten minutes if I’m serving it to people and want it warm. You can wrap individual pieces and freeze them too – great for when you need cake in a hurry.

⚠️ Allergy Information

This has gluten, eggs, and dairy in it. My friend Sarah can’t eat gluten, so I tried it once with that Cup4Cup flour blend and it worked okay – just use the same amount. For dairy-free people, use whatever plant milk you have instead of regular milk in the glaze, and coconut oil instead of butter in the streusel. The cake part doesn’t have dairy anyway.

I’ve never tried it without eggs because nobody I know has that problem, but I bet one of those egg replacer things would work if you need it to.

❓ Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use a different sized pan?

Yeah, I’ve used a round 9-inch pan before and it was fine. If you use a bigger pan like 9×13, it’ll be thinner so check it earlier – maybe around 25 minutes.

Can I make this as muffins instead?

Sure, I guess. I’ve never tried it but I’d probably fill muffin cups about two-thirds full, put some streusel on each one, and bake for maybe 18-20 minutes? You’d have to experiment.

What if I don’t have applesauce?

I used melted butter once when I was out of applesauce and it worked fine. You could probably use more oil too, or I bet mashed banana would be weird but interesting.

How do I know when it’s done?

Stick a toothpick in the middle. If it comes out with just a few damp crumbs, you’re good. If it’s got wet batter on it, give it a few more minutes. If it’s totally clean, you probably waited too long.

Can I freeze this thing?

Yep, just don’t put the glaze on first. Wrap it up good and it’ll keep for months. Let it thaw on the counter and then glaze it.

I hope this becomes your new fall obsession like it did mine – my kids now request it instead of regular cake for their October birthdays, and my husband has started dropping not-so-subtle hints about making it “just because” every weekend!

Sending love and flour-dusted hugs from my kitchen to yours 🍽️

💬 Did you try this recipe? Tell me how it went! Seriously, I want to know if your family loved it as much as mine does, or if you tried some crazy variation that actually worked. Leave a comment and let me know – I read every single one and always write back!