Ingredients
Streusel
- 1 cup packed / 200 g light brown sugar
- 1 cup / 128 g all-purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup / 113 g unsalted butter cold and cubed
For the Pumpkin Cake
- ¾ cup packed / light brown sugar
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temp.
- 1 cup / 230 g canned pumpkin purée
- ¼ cup / 56 g unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup / 60 g sour cream ** you can substitute buttermilk as well
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice blend
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups / 190 g all-purpose flour
For the Glaze (optional)
- ¾ cup / 75 g confectioners’ sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 4 teaspoons milk
Method
- Make the streusel: In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, pumpkin spice, and salt. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers until crumbly. Refrigerate while you prepare the cake.
- Prepare the cake batter: Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray an 9×9 square or 9-inch round or large loaf pan with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown and white sugar and eggs until smooth.
- Add pumpkin purée, melted butter, sour cream, pumpkin spice, vanilla, and salt. Mix well.
- Add baking powder, baking soda, and flour until just combined (do not over mix).
- Assemble: Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Add the remaining batter and top with the rest of the streusel. **The batter will come up very high and bake to the top. This is correct. The glaze is added after the pumpkin cake is removed.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes (Depending on the size of your pan. My 8x8 and loaf pan both take 50-60 minutes in my oven) until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs. Allow to cool for ten minutes before removing.
- Glaze (optional): In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar, pumpkin spice, salt, and just enough milk to reach drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.
Notes
Tips
- Don’t overmix the batter: Fold in the flour gently so the cake stays tender and fluffy.
- Double-layer the streusel: Adding half in the middle of the batter and the rest on top gives you sweet crunch in every bite.
- Let the cake cool before glazing: If the cake is too warm, the glaze will melt instead of setting beautifully on top.
- Swap spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger can be adjusted to taste if you don’t have a pumpkin spice blend on hand.
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