A cozy, tender pumpkin-spiced coffee cake crowned with a buttery brown-sugar pecan streusel and a simple maple glaze. It bakes up soft and fragrant — perfect with a hot cup of coffee on a crisp fall morning.
1Prep the pan and oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9x9-inch baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving a little overhang for easy lifting.
2Make the streusel: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in the cold butter with a fork or your fingertips until coarse crumbs form, then stir in the chopped pecans. Set aside.
3Mix the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.
4Cream the butter and sugars: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the pumpkin puree and vanilla.
5Combine wet and dry: Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir gently, then fold in the sour cream, then the remaining dry ingredients. Mix just until no flour streaks remain — do not overmix.
6Assemble and bake: Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan, sprinkle the streusel over the top, and bake 38 to 42 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
7Glaze and serve: Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift it out using the parchment. Whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt, adding syrup a little at a time until pourable, then drizzle over the warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Lineage
The family tree of this recipe — trace every fork back to the original.