Also, when I first made this, I called it a coffee cake. Then I thought, well that has a whole lot of crumbs…maybe it’s a crumb cake. Then I realized I had absolutely nooo idea what the difference between a crumb cake and a coffee cake was. So, I asked Google, and found some answers.
1. Coffee cakes can be pretty much anything that you would want to serve with coffee.
2. People from NY/NJ believe a crumb cake should have at least a 1:1 crumb to cake ratio.
3. A crumb cake can be a coffee cake, but a coffee cake is not always a crumb cake.
4. Crumb cake ALWAYS has a whole lot of crumbles on top.
Phew – got that? I think most of us (or at least me…) have a certain image of coffee cake, probably something with crumbles andcinnamon and maybe a swirl through it. But it can be anything! Crumb cakes, though, are specific. You can’t just call anything a crumb cake.
I also added pecans, because I <3 them, but you can replace them with your favorite nut or just leave ‘em out entirely.
This pumpkin crumb cake also is sooo perfect for fall, because hello: pumpkin and cinnamon. I know you’re being bombarded with pumpkin recipes all over the internet, but I truly believe this one is special. Take that for what you will.
Happy October! Enjoy :)
Ingredients
- For the cake
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup sour cream For the crumb topping
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon table salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and still warm
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- For the cake
- Preheat an oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan or a 9-inch cake pan with 3-inch sides.
- Prepare the crumb topping.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until well combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the pumpkin puree and sour cream and mix. Stir in the flour mixture. The batter will be quite thick.
- Spread batter in the prepared pan. Top with the crumb topping. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 15 minutes. Remove the sides from the pan and slide the cake onto the rack. For the crumb topping
- Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and pecans and stir until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough. Set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.