Pumpkin Coffee Cake – the best pumpkin cake! The cake is tender and moist and the crumb topping is sweet and crunchy thanks to crushed graham crackers!
If you love coffee cakes with crumb topping, you need to try my Best Apple Crumb Cake or the Lemon Cream Cheese Crumb Cake recipe.
After last year’s super successful and loved apple crumb cake, I had to create the pumpkin version this year. It’s all you want in a pumpkin cake: the moist, tender crumb, perfect balance of spices and a crumb topping you could eat on its own. This cake has it all. And may I just add – it goes perfectly with a tall late or cappuccino OR a glass of red wine. You will love the crumb topping. I added crushed graham crackers for more texture and it is the best cake topping ever!
Ingredients (your shopping list):
- brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- ground cinnamon
- salt
- graham cracker crumbs
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- vanilla extract
- pumpkin pie spice
- 100% pumpkin puree
- eggs
- vegetable oil
- buttermilk
Step by step instructions
The success of this cake comes from two secret ingredients: my homemade pumpkin pie spice AND graham cracker crumb topping. Yes, I am using crushed graham crackers in the crumb topping which makes it irresistible and crazy delicious.
Step 1: make the crumb topping
Whisk all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add melted (cooled) butter and stir with a fork. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.
Step 2: make the cake
Whisk together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and whisk everything together until the batter is smooth.
Step 3: bake
Pour the batter into a 13″ x 9″ cake pan, top with the crumb topping and bake for up to 35 minutes.
Storing and freezing
If you have a cake stand with a top or lid, it will keep the cake fresh and moist longer.
Once completely cooled, you can freeze baked cake (whole or individual pieces) in a freezer-safe container or ziploc bag. It should last up to 4 months.
More pumpkin recipes:
For more recipes like this one, feel free to browse our Cake Category.
If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Ingredients
!for the crumb topping:
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs I used plain honey graham crackers
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoon unsalted butter melted, cooled to room temperature (not hot!)
!for the cake:
- 2.25 cup all-purpose flour
- 1.25 tsp baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup pumpkin puree not pie filling
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
Instructions
!to make the crumb topping:
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together both sugars, cinnamon, salt, flour and graham cracker crumbs. Add cooled, melted butter and stir with a fork until coarse crumbs form. Set aside.
!to make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour a 13" x 9" baking pan. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and pumpkin spice.
- In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, eggs, vanilla, oil and buttermilk.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together until smooth. Whisk for about a minute (I use a whisk but you can use a hand-held mixer).
- Pour the batter into prepared pan. Tap the pan against your counter to release any air bubbles.
- Sprinkle the crumb topping all over the surface of the cake batter, spreading it evenly.
- Bake the cake for 32 to 35 minutes OR until a toothpick inserted in few places near the center comes out clean.
- Cool to room temperature and slice.
Notes
- You can half the recipe for a 8" x 8" baking pan.
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on October 11th, 2015 and updated on October 10th, 2019.
Shirley says
Hi, can l make this in a tube pan?
Thanks,
Shirley
Bernadette Bigelow says
Easy recipe to follow. Pumpkin Coffee Cake tastes exactly how comments said this cake would taste and more. We enjoyed our Pumpkin Coffee Cake while still warm! Thank you for a new fall recipe which I have added to my favorites.
Anna says
Thank you so much, Bernadette! I am so glad the cake was a hit!
Laura Reese says
THIS COFFEE CAKE WITH PUMPKIN IS THE PERFECT FALL RECIPE. I LOVE HOW THE FLAVORS COME TOGETHER.
Anna says
Thank you so much, Laura!
Billy says
These are ridiculous and honestly the absolute most perfect thing to eat with a coffee in the morning. It’s got just the right amount of sweet and the pumpkin flavor is delicious.
Katie says
My kind of fall breakfast! I could eat this every day!
Pam Dana says
My cake came out perfect!! Thanks for the great recipe and instructions!
Kristyn says
Love the crumb topping!! It’s perfectly moist & so good! I make coffee cakes all the time & this one is our favorite all fall long!
Marla says
Best coffee cake ever! Made this yesterday and hubby and I both love it. It’s rich, moist and the graham cracker crumb topping is perfect.
dee says
wow thank you for this amazing cake!!!!!!!! we all love it and I can not keep up baking it for pot luck dinners.
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Hi Dee! Thank you so much for the sweet comment! I am so happy to know you love the cake!
Christine says
Pumpkin! It’s one of the main reasons I love Fall so much. This coffee cake looks amazing, and I can’t wait to try it! I’m going to make it to take to a friend’s house to share over coffee. YUM!!!
Emili says
So I made two of these for a bake sale. I used disposable foil pans and they passed the toothpick test. But they both came out half-baked in the middle. I even baked them for 45 minutes. What did I do wrong?
Kiki says
Just had to say that this is one of my family’s favorite coffee cakes to date–the graham cracker topping truly stays crisp for days (even though it sometimes doesn’t last that long here, haha).
I shared the pin/link with my mom and she tried it and we noticed it came out differently–my printed version (from a year ago) has the brown and granulated sugar listed in the crumb topping ingredients but it looks like it’s no longer on here. I’m sure it’s just a formatting thing, but wanted to give you a head’s up so others don’t miss out on that extra sweetness in the topping. 🙂
Thanks again for this recipe! It really is a winner!
Paul Hayes says
Yowsers! This is a terrific recipe – I adore the idea of using graham crackers for the crumb. Super crunchy!
Susan Tunney says
I love everything pumpkin. I had all the ingredients on hand and I am so glad I decided to make this today. Absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe. Really love the graham cracker crumb topping.
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Hi Susan! I love that! Thank you so much for trying the recipe and for coming back to let me know you love it. The crumb topping is my favorite part. 😀 Have a beautiful day! -Anna
Caryn says
I made this cake and it was A-MAY-ZING!!! Thank you for sharing!!! 😀
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Woohoo! Thank you so much for trying the recipe and for letting me know! I am so happy to know you enjoyed the cake. 😀 Have a beautiful day, Caryn! -Anna
Margie says
OMG the BEST crumb topping the cake was Fabulous will definitely make this time and time again . The flavors were great, cake was moist
Thanks for sharing this!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Hi Margie!! Yay! Thank you so so much! I am so happy that you love the crumb topping and the cake. Have a wonderful week!
Kasey says
Am I overlooking the recipe for the pumpkin pie spice?
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Hi Kasey! You can find the recipe for my pumpkin spie here:
https://www.crunchycreamysweet.com/homemade-pumpkin-pie-spice/
Hope that helps! Happy baking!
Katerina says
This just screams, “I’m THE BEST! TRY ME!”!! It’s gorgeous!
Michelle says
Wow! This looks GLORIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!
Andi says
This looks really good! Absolutely irresistible! Yummy!
Valerie says
This entire post is just so warm and cozy! Coffee cake is one of my most favorite things and I love the fall twist!
Ashley says
I would never have thought to pair coffee cake with wine! Such a great idea! And I am loving that thick layer of crumb on top — the best part!
Senika says
I’m intrigued! Red wine + pumpkin coffee cake?! Sounds like an interesting combo but I totally trust your suggestions. I’ve got the red wine, now I just need to make this perfect-for-Fall cake!
Tonia says
Pumpkin coffee cake is fantastic and I love the addition of graham crackers!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thank you, Tonia!
Michelle says
I love coffee cake and pretty much all things pumpkin, so this quite a natural dessert for me to love.
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Same here! Love this time of year for baking! Thanks, Michelle!
Amy Stafford says
This looks like a great cake. So fluffly and moist. I want it in the morning with my coffee.
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
It really is! It melts in your mouth – so good!
Kelly says
This sounds amazing! Totally acceptable to have dessert for breakfast, right?? 😉
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Always! 🙂 Thank you, Kelly!
Medha says
Mmmm this looks delicious- love the streusel and love that you used buttermilk in here 🙂
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thank you, Medha! Buttermilk is the best in cakes!