Pumpkin Crumb Cake

By Yossy Arefi

Published Sept. 30, 2022

Pumpkin Crumb Cake
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Maggie Ruggiero.
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
5(1,761)
Comments
Read comments

This pumpkin-packed crumb cake is everything that is wonderful about fall baking. Warmly spiced, moist pumpkin cake topped with spicy, crispy streusel and topped with an optional but delicious glaze. It is just the thing for an afternoon snack, and just as good for breakfast the next day. You can use any pumpkin spice blend you like, but the homemade recipe included below includes a bit of cardamom, which isn’t usually included in pumpkin spice blends, but brings a hint of citrusy floral flavor. The pumpkin-spice glaze is optional, but if you have the time, don’t skip it. It adds a nice extra hint of sweetness and spice.

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Ingredients

Yield:1 (8-inch-square or 9-inch-round) cake

    For the Streusel

    • ½(packed) cup/100 grams light brown sugar
    • ½cup/64 grams all-purpose flour
    • 1teaspoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin spice blend (see Tip)
    • Pinch of salt 
    • ¼cup/56 grams unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

    For the Pumpkin Cake

    • Nonstick cooking spray
    • 1(packed) cup/200 grams light brown sugar
    • 2large eggs
    • 1cup/230 grams canned pumpkin purée
    • ¼cup/56 grams unsalted butter, melted
    • ¼cup neutral oil
    • 1tablespoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin spice blend (see Tip)
    • ½teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 1teaspoon baking powder
    • ½teaspoon baking soda
    • 1½cups/190 grams all-purpose flour

    For the Glaze (optional)

    • ¾cup/75 grams confectioners’ sugar
    • ¾teaspoon pumpkin spice blend
    • Pinch of salt
    • 3 to 5teaspoons milk (any kind will do)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.

  2. Step 2

    Make the streusel: In a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour, pumpkin spice and salt. Add the butter, then pinch the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture forms pebble-size crumbs and is evenly moistened.

  3. Step 3

    Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin purée, melted butter, oil, pumpkin spice and salt; whisk until combined and smooth. Whisk in the baking powder and baking soda, then whisk in the flour.

  4. Step 4

    Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smooth the top and tap on the counter a few times to release any large air bubbles. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top.

  5. Step 5

    Bake the cake until puffed and golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Set the cake in the pan on a rack to cool. After about 15 minutes remove the cake from the pan and set it on the rack to cool almost completely.

  6. Step 6

    When the cake is just slightly warm, make the glaze, if using: Add the confectioners’ sugar, pumpkin spice, pinch of salt and 3 teaspoons of milk to a bowl. Whisk until smooth, adding a bit more milk as necessary to form a glaze that is very thick but can be drizzled.

  7. Step 7

    Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake.

Tip
  • Make your own pumpkin spice blend by combining 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, ½ teaspoon ground allspice and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves. Makes about ¼ cup. 

Ratings

5 out of 5
1,761 user ratings
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Comments

RL

Really good - I didn't make the glaze because I intended to freeze half, but to my taste it's actually sweet enough without. Coincidentally, if you're opening a 15 oz can of pumpkin puree for this, the amount left over is almost exactly the right amount for Jesse Szewcyzk's Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars (also in this database).

A.A.

I can't believe I'm the first comment! This is delicious exactly as written - as Yossy recipes almost always are! (If you haven't bought her Snacking Cakes cookbook yet, you should. I'm baking my way through it and each cake has been a delight.) For this recipe, I used homemade pumpkin puree, which I think may be a little more moist than canned pumpkin so the bake time was closer to 50 min. Lovely, moist and autumnal!

Marvis

I give it a 5 for taste, texture and appearance. However this is just a quick bread. After whisking all liquid ingredients together, the flour, spice, salt and leaveners can be combined and added to the liquid ingredients, all at once, for a simpler and quicker combination.

Table top

Delicious.

SD

This cakes lacks depth. The pumpkin spice blend should be replaced with a variety of spices at different ratios, such as nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger.

KathyD

I wouldn't change a thing. The cake is light and moist and subtly spicy. The optional glaze puts it over the top, and is not overly sweet, as some have claimed, but, rather, makes pumpkin spice taste really pop. I made the pumpkin pie spice mix provided in the recipe and was happy with it.

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