Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake is a moist, tender pumpkin spice cake topped with a buttery crumble that adds just the right amount of crunch.
There's nothing quite like enjoying a slice of Amish pumpkin coffee cake with a hot cup of coffee or tea on a crisp fall morning. Pumpkin and spice are the flavors of autumn - pair them with cool mornings, colorful leaves, cozy sweaters, and homemade pumpkin treats, and you've got the perfect taste of fall.
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Why You'll Love This Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake
- Fall flavors in every bite - warm pumpkin spice, cinnamon, and brown sugar make this the ultimate autumn treat.
- Moist and tender cake - pumpkin puree and buttermilk keep the cake soft and flavorful.
- Buttery streusel topping - the crumbly graham cracker/pecan topping adds a delicious crunch and sweetness.
- Perfect for any time of day - enjoy a slice for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or as a cozy fall dessert.
- Great for freezing - Make it ahead, freeze, and simply thaw when you're ready to enjoy a quick fall dessert without the extra work.
How to Make Amish Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Mix the streusel ingredients and set aside. Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, pumpkin, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix the wet and dry ingredients, then spread the batter into a well-greased pan.
Sprinkle on the streusel, and bake at 350°F until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm, or let cool and store, or freeze for later!
Homemade Buttermilk
This Amish coffee cake recipe includes buttermilk, although it can easily be substituted with Greek yogurt.
However, if you don't have either of those ingredients in your refrigerator, it's easy to make buttermilk with what you probably already have on hand.
Simply add about 2 Tbs. lemon juice or vinegar in a cup and fill it with whole milk. Let the mixture set for about 5 minutes and it will get thick and work like commercial buttermilk.
What Kind of Pumpkin Should I Use?
Feel free to use a can of store-bought pumpkin puree (make sure you get the puree and not pumpkin pie filling). And honestly, I can't tell the difference between baked goods made with fresh pumpkin or store-bought.
But it's not hard to make fresh pumpkin pureé either. However, sometimes homemade pumpkin purée can be a bit runny. If that's the case, you may need to drain it a bit to get a thicker consistency.
My Amish mom often used butternut squash for pumpkin pies, etc. And they work great. I planted some butternut squash this year, so I've been roasting them to make pumpkin goodies.
The little pie pumpkins and crook neck pumpkins are also great pumpkins to use for baking. (I don't recommend using the giant carving pumpkins, they're more for decor than eating.)
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9 x 13" Pumpkin Coffee Cake
This Amish pumpkin cake recipe makes enough to fill a 9 x 13" baking dish. So it's a great recipe for feeding a crowd. (Mini spatulas are great for serving coffee cake.)
But there's no reason that you can't make this Amish coffee cake recipe even if you're not feeding a crowd because it freezes well. If you won't get the whole cake eaten within a few days, place some of the slices into an airtight container and freeze them for later. Freezing the coffee cake will keep it fresh. Then when a craving hits, remove a slice from the freezer, thaw it, and enjoy.
Can I Make it Without Pecans?
Yes, you can! I love the flavor of pecans, and I also love the crunchy texture that they add to baked goods. So I enjoy pumpkin coffee cake with pecans in the streusel topping.
However, pecans are expensive, and sometimes I'm too stingy to add them. So do whatever you feel like, add pecans to the topping, or don't. Pumpkin streusel coffeecake is good either way. And if you'd like chopped pecans in the cake part, you can stir some into the batter as well.
Does Coffee Cake Contain Coffee?
When you hear the words "coffee cake", you might be thinking that it would be a cake with coffee in it. And while that may occasionally be the case, most coffee cakes do not include coffee in the batter.
So why is it called coffee cake? The name simply comes from the fact that it's one of those lovely desserts that many people enjoy with a cup of coffee.
Typically, coffee cakes are topped with a sweet crumbly topping, making them a perfect treat to serve with breakfast or for a morning coffee break.
I love almost any kind of coffee cake. And they come in many different flavors, often containing some kind of fruit and nuts. Some of my favorites are blueberry cream cheese coffeecake, blueberry sour cream coffeecake, my simple cinnamon streusel coffee cake, and this Amish pumpkin pecan coffeecake.
In case you prefer coffeecake in the form of muffins, I got you covered. Check out my cinnamon coffee cake muffins recipe.
I hope you enjoy this delicious fall pumpkin cake with streusel topping. If you try this Amish recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below. Thank you! I'd love to hear from you.
📖 Recipe Card
Amish Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Streusel Topping:
- ¼ c. brown sugar
- ¼ c. white sugar
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¾ c. all-purpose flour
- ¾ c. crushed graham cracker crumbs
- ¾ c. chopped pecans (optional)
- ½ c. butter, melted (1 stick)
Cake:
- 2 ¼ c. all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ c. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ c. pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
- ½ c. canola or vegetable oil
- ¾ c. buttermilk or greek yogurt
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
Streusel Topping:
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix all the ingredients except the butter.¼ c. brown sugar, ¼ c. white sugar, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, ¾ c. all-purpose flour, ¾ c. crushed graham cracker crumbs, ¾ c. chopped pecans (optional)
- Melt the butter and stir into the topping mixture until crumbly.½ c. butter, melted (1 stick)
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.2 ¼ c. all-purpose flour, 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, ½ c. brown sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 2 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy.2 large eggs
- Add the pumpkin, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix well.1 ½ c. pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix), ½ c. canola or vegetable oil, ¾ c. buttermilk or greek yogurt, 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined.
- Spread the batter into a well-greased 9 x 13" baking pan.
- Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top and lightly press it onto the cake.
- Bake at 350° for 28 - 32 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs.
- Cool for a few minutes and serve. Or let it cool, cover, and store at room temperature for up to two days. Refrigerate for up to a week. Or freeze it, in an airtight container, for later.
Nancy W
Delicious! I was craving fall spices so I made this recipe as muffins rather than cake. Took about 15 mutes at 350 degrees in regular size muffin tins and yielded 24 muffins. Incredibly moist and not too sweet. Next time I’ll increase the spices a bit and may try to fill a little of the topping into the middle of the muffin. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Anna
Awesome! Thank you for the feedback!!
RO
This is so good!! The addition of graham cracker crumbs is perfect 👌. It's slightly sweet, a bit salty and so soft and moist! Thank you for the recipe!
Anna
Thanks for taking the time to leave postive feedback!
Tina
I would love to make this recipe but I don't like the spices in pumpkin pie spice. I'd like to only use cinnamon. What amount of cinnamon would you suggest for the cake part of the recipe with not using pumpkin spice?
Anna
Do you not like cloves, nutmeg, allspice, etc. either?? I would add another teaspoon of cinnamon, then I would add a bit of nutmeg and cloves or something like that. If you don't like any of those spices, just add 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon and call it good.
Haleigh
Would the cake part be good with chocolate chips in it you think? I love the mixture of pumpkin and chocolate but not sure how it would play with the spices in this! Thank you!!
Anna
I've never tried it. So can't say for sure.?? Pumpkin and chocolate does go well together, and I've made pumpkin muffins with spices and chocolate chips before. They were good!
Rena Pfeiffer
Can I make 8x8 version,what are the measurements please
Anna
If you divide the recipe in half, you should be able to bake it in a deep 8x8 pan. It probably won't take as long to bake, so you will need to adjust the baking time.
Captain
This is the best coffee cake that I have ever made!! It has the perfect ratio of cake and topping, and is so moist. Even the leftover refrigerated cake is very moist and delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
Anna
So glad you enoy it!
Jan
I am saving your recipe to bake later. This evening I baked a pumpkin streusel coffee cake from another website and it is cooling as I write this. Your recipe looks
More user friendly and possibly tastier.
Anna
So yummy!