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High Altitude Pumpkin Crumb Coffee Cake

September 27, 2021 by Heather Smoke 7 Comments

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This incredibly moist high altitude pumpkin coffee cake is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves, and topped with buttery brown sugar crumb topping. If you love an excuse to eat cake for breakfast, this pumpkin crumb cake is for you!

Looking for more pumpkin recipes for your fall baking? You’ll love these pumpkin sugar cookies with maple icing, pumpkin streusel bread, pumpkin bourbon ice cream, and pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

Pieces of pumpkin crumb coffee cake stacked on white plates.

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Why You’ll Love This Crumb Cake

Easy to Make. This is a really easy recipe to make, with just a few minutes needed to make the crumble topping and whisk up the cake batter.

Perfect for Fall. Your kitchen will be filled with the delicious aroma of pumpkin, butter, sugar and spices. What could be cozier on a chilly fall morning with a cup of hot coffee or tea?

Stays Moist for Days. To save time in the morning, you can bake this cake at night and serve it for breakfast the next day. It stays moist for days and days!

Easy to Scale Up or Down. Baked in a 9-inch pan, you’ll get 9 generously-sized squares of pumpkin coffee cake (or 12 more modestly-sized portions). To feed a larger crowd, multiply the recipe by 1 1/2 – 2x and bake it in a 9×13 pan. Or, if you just want a few pieces, you can scale it down and bake a smaller cake in a 6-inch pan.

Delicious Warm or Cold. I love to enjoy coffee cake when it’s warm from the oven. But this cake is still so delicious just eaten at room temperature.

Closeup of pumpkin crumb coffee cake.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Crumb Topping

  • Flour. All-purpose flour gives the crumb topping structure, since it absorbs the melted butter and forms big, delicious crumbles.
  • Sugar. Granulated sugar and brown sugar adds sweetness and a hint of molasses, as well as makes the topping crisp.
  • Salt. Balances the sweetness.
  • Nutmeg. A little freshly grated nutmeg makes your fall baking so much better!
  • Butter. Unsalted butter adds moisture and binds the crumbs together.

Cake

  • Pumpkin. Canned pumpkin adds pumpkin flavor and moisture. Don’t confuse this with canned pumpkin pie filling, which contains other ingredients.
  • Butter. Melted butter adds moisture, flavor and richness.
  • Sugar. Granulated sugar and brown sugar adds sweetness and moisture to the cake.
  • Whole Milk. Moisture.
  • Eggs. Gives the cake structure.
  • Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
  • Flour. All-purpose flour gives the cake strength and structure.
  • Corn Starch. Tenderizes the cake crumb and keeps it soft.
  • Baking Soda. Leavening agent, so the cake rises as it bakes.
  • Salt. Balances the sweetness.
  • Spices. My favorite blend of fall spices is cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves, which are perfectly complementary in this pumpkin coffee cake.
Pieces of pumpkin crumb coffee cake on white plates.

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
  • Spray a 9-inch baking dish with non-stick baking spray. (An 8-inch pan is too small for the amount of batter in this recipe, but you can multiply the recipe by 1 1/2 – 2x and bake it in a 9×13 pan.)
  • In a bowl, combine all of the crumb topping ingredients until moistened and crumbly. Set aside.
  • To make the cake batter, whisk all of the liquid ingredients (pumpkin, melted butter, sugars, milk, eggs and vanilla) in a large bowl. Separately, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, corn starch, baking soda, salt and spices).
  • Add the dry ingredients to the liquid and whisk just until moistened, but a few streaks of flour remain.
  • Spread the batter evenly into the greased baking dish, and sprinkle the batter with the crumb topping.
  • Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, or with moist crumbs clinging to it.
  • Set the pan on a cooling rack, and cool the cake for about 30-45 minutes, then slice and serve warm.

For a sweet variation, try drizzling the baked coffee cake with maple icing. Maple and pumpkin are so good together! You can get the maple icing recipe in this gingerbread coffee cake recipe.

Pieces of pumpkin crumb coffee cake stacked on white plates.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use an 8-inch baking dish instead of 9-inch?

No, the batter will overflow if you use an 8-inch dish, so you need to bake this cake in a 9-inch dish.

How should I adjust this recipe to bake it in a 9×13 pan?

When I’ve tested this recipe in a 9×13 pan, I scaled the recipe up 1 1/2x, and baked it for about 35-37 minutes. You can probably also just double the recipe for a 9×13 pan, and bake it for a few minutes longer until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.

Do I need to make any adjustments if I don’t live at high altitude?

You might need to make a few minor adjustments, such as decreasing the flour by a couple tablespoons and perhaps increasing the baking soda by about 1/4 teaspoon. This article has excellent guidelines on making specific adjustments for various altitudes.

How much pumpkin pie spice should I use instead of the spices in the cake batter?

You can use 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice to replace the spices listed in the recipe.

Can I substitute the melted butter with vegetable oil?

Yes, you can use oil instead of butter in the cake, but not in the crumb topping.

Is there a substitute for the eggs?

While I haven’t tested it in this recipe, unsweetened applesauce is a good replacement for eggs in many baked goods. Use 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce to replace each large egg.

Will this recipe work with gluten free flour blends?

It might! I’d suggest trying it with a measure-for-measure gluten free flour blend. The cake might be a bit more coarse, crumbly or dry, and it’s possible you’d need to add a little more milk to compensate.

Isn’t there supposed to be coffee in coffee cake?

Coffee cake refers to a type of cake, usually with a crumb topping, that’s served for breakfast with coffee. Most coffee cake recipes don’t actually contain any coffee.

A piece of pumpkin crumb coffee cake with a bite taken.

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Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!

Pieces of pumpkin crumb coffee cake stacked on white plates.

High Altitude Pumpkin Crumb Coffee Cake

Heather Smoke
This incredibly moist pumpkin coffee cake is full of fall spices, and topped with buttery brown sugar crumb topping.

All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.

5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Total Time 50 mins
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings9 -12 servings

Equipment

  • 9 inch baking pan

Ingredients
 

Crumb Topping

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
  • ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Cake

  • 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup whole milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
  • ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¾ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
  • Spray a 9-inch baking dish with non-stick baking spray.
    (An 8-inch pan is too small for the amount of batter in this recipe, but you can multiply the recipe by 1 1/2 – 2x and bake it in a 9×13 pan.)
  • In a bowl, combine all of the crumb topping ingredients until moistened and crumbly. Set aside.
  • To make the cake batter, whisk all of the liquid ingredients (pumpkin, melted butter, sugars, milk, eggs and vanilla) in a large bowl. Separately, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, corn starch, baking soda, salt and spices). Add the dry ingredients to the liquid and whisk just until moistened, but a few streaks of flour remain.
  • Spread the batter evenly into the greased baking dish, and sprinkle the batter with the crumb topping.
  • Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, or with moist crumbs clinging to it.
  • Set the pan on a cooling rack, and cool the cake for about 30-45 minutes, then slice and serve warm.

Notes

Store leftover coffee cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days.
Keyword Coffee Cake, Crumb Cake, Pumpkin
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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Filed Under: Breakfast

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amanda Cowan

    November 1, 2021 at 7:14 pm

    Cake part was delicious! But I found the topping to be so powdery and also it was a lot. So it seemed the cake was doubly high because of so much topping. Wondering if I made it wrong?

    Reply
    • Heather Smoke

      November 2, 2021 at 3:50 pm

      It sounds like maybe you measured too much flour? The topping isn’t powdery when I make it, and it’s only as high as shown in my photos.

      Reply
  2. Liz

    April 20, 2022 at 9:16 am

    5 stars
    Made this for a brunch and it cooked up beautifully and was a big hit. Will definitely be making this again!

    Reply
  3. Sheila

    October 10, 2022 at 3:06 pm

    Do I need to adjust anything if I’m not baking at a high altitude? Thank you😊

    Reply
    • Heather Smoke

      October 10, 2022 at 3:50 pm

      Sheila, you might need to make a few minor adjustments. Please see my FAQs for details: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/baking-faqs/

      Reply
    • Shaz

      November 11, 2022 at 9:31 am

      Hi! Wanted to bake this but wondered if I could substitute whole milk for almond milk? Thank you!

      Reply
      • Heather Smoke

        November 11, 2022 at 12:13 pm

        I’m sure that would work just fine.

        Reply

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I'm Heather, and welcome to my Colorado kitchen, where you will find high-altitude tested recipes for beautifully photographed cakes, baked goods and sweets. I believe that the kitchen is the heart of a home, and everyone is welcome in mine. So stay a while, sip a cup of coffee, and bake something delicious with me!

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