Pumpkin Coffee Cake W/Brown Sugar Streusel

I wish…

Oh! How I wish…

…that I had found this recipe years ago!

Like so many of you, I love the pumpkin season.  Homemade pumpkin puree gets stirred into muffins and pies and even dip!  I don’t jump on the pumpkin spice latte bandwagon, but most everything else I am game for!!  I have a major soft spot for coffee cake and when I saw this recipe, I knew it was right up my alley.  For some reason, the fact that it gets cut into wedges is more appetizing to me.

I have no idea why.

Regardless of the shape of the pan it is baked in, this coffee cake would be excellent baked in a shoe box.  It is simple and classic, which is what I like most about it.  On Pinterest the other day, I saw a recipe for pumpkin glazed roast chicken and I wanted to strangle whoever created that.  Not EVERYTHING should be pumpkinified people!!  It should be limited to things like…well…coffee cake.

This isn’t too sweet and it is moist and lovely.  Add a hot cuppa tea and-gah.  I just.  I can’t even.

The recipe makes two round coffee cakes so that means I have eaten….a few.  We won’t go into details, but suffice to say that I can say with confidence that these bake up great every time and hold a full 24 hours and the streusel is still crunchy on top!  Defrosted from the freezer and warmed a bit in the oven is very nice so add these to the menu when guests are coming over the holidays.  Heck!  Bake one after dinner and eat it with hot cider for dessert!  Or as a mid day snack with that tea I mentioned.  I hear that it is also good eaten with your hands standing over the sink with a huge glass of cold milk, but thats just a rumor.
Pumpkin Coffee Cake W/Brown Sugar Streusel
Recipe adapted from here.
Note that this makes two coffee cakes.  You could freeze one, but I prefer the eat coffee cake two mornings in a row meal plan.

Coffee Cake:
1 stick (1/2 c) butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree-not pumpkin pie filling
2 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 T cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
3/4 tsp salt

Streuesel:
1/4 c flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
2 T butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix all streusel ingredients together until well incorporated.  Set aside.

With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time and mix until smooth.  Add the pumpkin and mix, scraping the sides of the bowl and mixing again to combine thoroughly.  Mixture will look curdled.  Add the dry ingredients and mix slowly until just barely combined, scraping the bottom and mixing by hand with a spatula at the end.  Spray and flour two, 8 inch round cake pans.  Divide the batter evenly between the pans and sprinkle with the streusel.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for at least 10 minutes to let the cakes set a bit, then run a thin spatular or knife carefully around the  edges of the cakes and turn out onto a cooling rack.  Serve warm or room temp.  If you want to freeze either of the cakes, cool completely and wrap well in cellophane and seal in a gallon ziptop bag.  Defrost and serve, or warm briefly in the oven before slicing.