This amazing Pumpkin Sour Cream Coffee Cake is a fluffy and moist pumpkin spice cake topped with a cinnamon crumb topping. It makes a perfect Fall breakfast coffee cake or dessert!
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Coffee Cakes (also sometimes called Crumb Cakes) might be one of my favorite things in the world because you get to eat cake for breakfast. Seriously, what is better than cake served in the morning with coffee? I’ll tell you what, nothing. Well, except when you make that cake pumpkin flavored, because then that is just a tiny bit better.
However, to be fair, this Pumpkin Sour Cream Coffee Cake is also amazing for dessert. Or snack. Or lunch. Or 1 am. It’s literally delicious anytime you want to eat it. It just sits on the counter calling your name when you walk by.
This Pumpkin Coffee Cake starts off with a soft, fluffy, but still moist, spiced pumpkin cake. Then, on top of that cake, sits a thick layer of cinnamon crumb topping that bakes into the top of the cake. Each bite is better than the last and I promise you wont want to miss making this recipe! Let’s get started!
Ingredients
There are a few important ingredients needed for this pumpkin cake recipe to be a success. Like most pumpkin baking recipes, you want to use pure canned pumpkin puree — not pumpkin pie filling. This pumpkin cake recipe uses an entire 15 oz can of pumpkin, so no worries about wasting or having any leftovers!!
Streusel Topping
- All-Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Butter: melted
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- All-Purpose Flour
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Butter: softened
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Canned Pumpkin: the one that is just pureed pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling
- Sour Cream
- Whole Milk: you can also use buttermilk or even evaporated milk.
Tips For Pumpkin Sour Cream Coffee Cake
How To Keep Cake Moist: I like to use butter in this cake, but you can also use vegetable oil (or canola oil), combined with pumpkin, to keep the cake extra moist. However, you still have to make sure you do not over bake it. Keep an eye on your cake and make sure it doesn’t over-bake.
Cinnamon Crumb Topping: If your topping happens to be browning quicker than the cake underneath can cook, top the cake lightly with a piece of tinted foil. This will keep your crumb topping from over baking and browning too much.
Pumpkin Pie Spice: I like to use pumpkin pie spice as it’s a great combination of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice to flavor my pumpkin cake. I also included a homemade recipe below for homemade pumpkin spice! However, you can substitute it with plain cinnamon if that is what you have on hand.
Pumpkin Pie Spice vs Cinnamon?
You can use pumpkin pie spice or just cinnamon in this recipe. Either way is delicious! If you do not have Pumpkin Spice on hand, but would like to make it, below is a simple recipe:
DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- Mix all ingredients together. This recipe will make a little over 2 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice.
- You can double or triple the recipe and save it for any other wonderful Fall recipes or even sprinkle it over your morning coffee!
Can I Use Something Other Than Pumpkin?
If you are not a pumpkin fan, this cake would also be amazing made with a butternut squash puree or a sweet potato puree. As long as they have the same texture as canned 100% pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!) it will work just fine.
Sometimes homemade squash style purees are not as thick canned pumpkin and sadly they will be too much liquid when added to this cake. If this happens to you, try squeezing your puree with cheesecloth to remove some of the excess liquid.
More Reader Favorite Pumpkin Desserts
Pumpkin tends to be a favorite every year around these parts! I have spent almost 14 years now making epic pumpkin desserts for all of you! Here are a few of the crowd favorites:
- Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- Best Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins
- Best Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Donuts
This Pumpkin Sour Cream Coffee Cake is one of my favorite fall time desserts and I am asked every year to share this recipe when I make it for friends. It’s a wonderful cake to serve any time of day, but boy do I love it for breakfast with a cup of coffee.
Head on over to Dixie Crystals to get the full recipe I developed for them by clicking the button below:
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Where is the recipe
Hi Nora! You can find the recipe at the bottom of every post, or linked at the bottom of every post. Just click the “Jump to the recipe” button at the top of every post to go directly to that area. The recipe will be posted in full there, or if you find one of the rare 20 recipes (out of 2000+ recipes) that are like this, they will have a big black button that says GET THE RECIPE. Just click right there and it will take you to the full printable recipe. Hope this helps!
2 questions: 1.Can I combine butter and oil for the total amount needed in the recipe? 2. Regular or cake flour? Thanks.
Hi Ann! Yes a combo of oil and butter should work fine. And it’s all purpose flour! :-)
I’m confused about the tips you provided. You mention using vegetable or canola oil for an extra moist cake, but the recipe calls for butter for the fat. If I want to substitute with oil for moistness, how much oil to use? Thanks!
Hi Julie! I apologize for any confusion! You can use an equal amount of oil (3/4 cup), but I personally prefer butter in this cake. Both will work though!
Can I substitute the whole milk with any other milk ?
Yes it should work ok, but I recommend a milk with some fat to it for taste purposes. So if you are looking for a dairy-free option, something like full fat coconut milk should be ok! Just shake it up really well!
Your recipes are really great for me when i am looking for the healthy meals for my son. The taste is so good and he loves to eat so much. Thank you for your sharing.
I would like the recipe for Pumpkin coffee cake
I Would like the full receipe for the pumpkin sour cream cake
Thanks
So there is only 1cup flour in cake part?? Is it updated now?? Or is it still 3c flour for cake and 2c flour for topping? Thanks!
Yes, there is 2 cups of flour in the streusel topping and 3 cups of flour in the cake. Hope this helps!
This was delicious and perfect for fall and Halloween! Thank you for the recipe which will for sure be a new addition to my family’s breakfasts in the fall from now on.
So glad you enjoyed it Megan!
I followed this recipe to a T, but it took much longer the. bake, and the streusel topping melted into the cake. Also, it was not done in places, but that could be a problem with my oven, not the recipe. I’ll give it another try, because despite its flaws, it is quite good.
I “think” mine cooked for at least 25 extra minutes, and it still wasn’t done! I say think, because I have a new oven, I put this in, set the timer and took a shower. I never heard the timer go off. By my calculations, I was at least 20 minutes late for the timer going off. Checking it, I couldn’t tell if that was goo from the cake, or from the streusel, so I gave it 5 more minutes, worried that I really overcooked it. The streusel was so thick, cake gooey in the center. The streusel also doesn’t appear to be so thick in the photo, as it is in the recipe. I’m making it again tomorrow, however I’m cutting the streusel in half.