Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Streusel and Caramel

This Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Streusel is soft, warmly spiced, and made with homemade caramel. The pumpkin cake has a tender crumb, a buttery cinnamon streusel topping, and caramel running through the middle and drizzled over the top.

If you want to start a fall day in the best possible way, Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Streusel is the answer.

With a dozen servings, it's great for a group, and if you keep it at the ready in the freezer, it's quick to warm up and serve any time.

Sweet with a soft crumb, and spiced caramel throughout, it's totally swoon-worthy.

I promise you, if you like pumpkin with warming fall spices, you will absolutely go crazy for this!

Ingredient Notes

This recipe has three components: Caramel (sugar, water, sour cream, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, heavy cream, and butter), Cake Batter (flour, brown sugar, butter, pumpkin purée, eggs, baking soda, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and cloves), and Cinnamon Streusel (flour, butter, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon).

• sour cream - This is for the caramel. You should use full fat sour cream.
• heavy cream - The cream is also for the caramel.
• ground cinnamon - Cinnamon is a delicious warming spice that goes into each component of the pumpkin coffee cake: the caramel, the batter, and the streusel.
• ground cardamom - Cardamom, an earthy warming spice that goes into the caramel and the batter.
• ground cloves - Another warming spice, the cloves go into the batter only.
• ground ginger - This warming spice adds a little kick, and it also goes into the cake batter only.
• granulated sugar - The granulated sugar is the base of the caramel sauce.
• brown sugar - For this recipe dark and golden are both okay - it's for both the streusel and the cake batter.
• butter - I always bake with unsalted butter so I can control exactly how much salt is in the recipe. Each component contains butter: the caramel, the batter, and the streusel. Each amount should be measured separately, as some is melted, and some is only softened.
• pumpkin purée - Be sure not to buy pumpkin pie mix. You want 100% pure pumpkin purée.
• pure vanilla extract - Nielsen-Massey vanilla is excellent. (For the cake batter only.)
• eggs - Use large eggs. And if possible, for the best flavor and texture, use pasture-raised eggs - they're an ethical choice, too.
• all-purpose flour - Flour is used in both the batter and the streusel topping.
• baking soda - If you don’t bake regularly, it’s a good idea to check to be sure your baking soda is still good. To do so, pour a couple of tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice over about ¼ teaspoon of baking soda. If it starts to fizz, it’s still good.
• kosher salt - I almost always bake with Kosher salt. It’s coarse and salts foods in a subtle way that enhances their flavor without making them taste salty. If you use table salt, use half the amount! (There is salt in each component of the recipe.)

Variations and Substitutions

• While I highly recommend making the caramel in the recipe because of its unique flavor profile, use any caramel you like, keeping in mind that the texture and flavor won't be exactly the same. This one might be somewhat similar.
• Gluten-Free Pumpkin Coffee Cake. This recipe has been tested with Cup4Cup Gluten-Free Flour and works really well.

Recipe Tips

• There are three components to this recipe: spiced caramel, cake and streusel. You will see in the recipe card below that the ingredients are listed separately for each. Many of them overlap, so it's really efficient to measure them for all three first. Why get the cinnamon out three times? Know what I mean?
• The caramel portion of this recipe can be made up to a week ahead. Warm it slightly if it has been stored so that you can easily pour it.

How to Make Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Streusel and Caramel

For the Caramel

- In a small saucepan, combine the water with the sugar and cook over low-medium heat until the color is dark amber, about 15 to 20 minutes. (Do not ever stir this mixture!)

- Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the sour cream, butter, cream, and heavy cream. Stand back — when you add these ingredients, the mixture may bubble up. Continue to whisk until it's smooth. Then add the salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir to blend, remove from the heat and set aside.


For the Streusel

- Add the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt to a large bowl and mix to blend. Drizzle the melted butter over this evenly and mix with a fork just until the dry ingredients have been absorbed by the butter. Do not make this smooth — it should be crumbly and look like crumbs. Set aside.

For the Cake

- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and adjust a rack to the center. Line a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking dish with parchment paper. (Use a large piece that will cover the sides, and cut slits in each corner so that it will lay flat.

- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, baking soda, and salt.

- In another large bowl, use an electric mixer to blend the brown sugar with the butter. Then add the pumpkin, eggs and vanilla and mix to blend.

- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix only long enough to blend everything together evenly.

- Add half of the batter into the parchment-lined baking dish and smooth it out with a spatula. Then drizzle half of the caramel evenly over the surface.

- Add the remaining batter over the caramel and spread it evenly, and then coat the entire surface evenly with the streusel.

- Bake in the preheated oven just until it begins to turn golden and is set, about 45 minutes.

- Let it cool in the dish for about 30 minutes and then drizzle it evenly with the remaining caramel.

Can you make it without the caramel?

The spiced caramel puts this pumpkin coffee cake with streusel over the top -- however, it's still pretty amazing made without it.

Follow the same instructions, just omit the caramel in the middle of the cake and drizzled on top. (This will save you time.)

More Scrumptious Pumpkin Desserts

Serving Suggestions

This coffee cake is a scrumptious addition to any fall brunch. Imagine it with a cup of hot coffee with cream.

It's great with a spread of other brunch items, both sweet and savory. Below are a few delicious ideas:

• Bacon Cheddar Waffles
• Green Chile Hash Browns with Poached Eggs
• Potato Egg White Frittata
• Grapefruit Brûlée
• Papaya Fruit Bowl

How to Store Pumpkin Coffee Cake

• Room temperature. If you plan to eat the coffee cake the next day, you can keep it at room temperature. The best way to preserve its freshness is to let it cool completely, cut it into a dozen squares, and put them in an airtight container. They will last longer this way (two to three days) if you place a dry paper towel below and on top of the pieces of cake.
• Freezer. The cake can be frozen for about three months. The easiest method is to place the cake pieces in Ziploc freezer bags, in a single layer. I would do this in a few bags, so you can defrost just a few at a time. Let them defrost at room temperature.
• Refrigerator. Though not ideal because it might change the texture and dry it out, refrigerating is okay for a day or so.

Whether you freeze or refrigerate, warm it before serving.

Enjoy every last crumb of this delectable pumpkin coffee cake!

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