Can I make this in a 9x13 pan?

Other readers have made this recipe in a 9x13 pan. To keep it from being too thin, I recommend doubling the recipe

5 from 32 votes

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Name: Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup unsalted butter; ½ cup granulated sugar; ¼ cup brown sugar (tightly packed); 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; 2 large eggs (lightly beaten (room temperature preferred)); 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling); 2 Tablespoons sour cream; 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour; ¾ teaspoon baking powder; ¾ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; 1 cup all-purpose flour; ¾ cup brown sugar tightly packed; 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar; 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon; 6 Tablespoons salted butter (melted (see note for unsalted butter)); ½ cup powdered sugar; 2-3 teaspoons milk (plus additional if needed. Use whatever type of milk you have in your fridge.); 1/4 teasspoon vanilla extract

By Sam MerrittUpdated Oct 06, 2025

Jump to Recipe ▼

73 Comments

Servings: 12 people

45 mins

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.

My pumpkin coffee cake recipe is perfectly sweetened, outrageously melt-in-your-mouth, and flavored with all the best spices of Fall. It’s topped off with a rich brown sugar streusel crumb and drizzled with sweet vanilla glaze.

Square of pumpkin coffee cake on silver plate. Drizzled with vanilla glaze.

The Perfect Fall Bake

My pumpkin coffee cake was carefully designed to be a festive fall spin on my classic coffee cake, and that it is. Irresistible, perfectly spiced with an incredible texture, and the whole pan is devoured within several hours of coming out of the oven every. time

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It’s the epitome of Fall baking! Cozy spices wrapped up in pumpkin and blanketed with a brown sugar streusel and vanilla glaze. Pair it with a strong cup of coffee (after all coffee cake is served with coffee, not made with coffee) and you’ll be in heaven.
The flavor and texture is unparalleled. Moist without being heavy, soft, and perfectly balanced with Fall spices.
Easy! You can certainly use a mixer, but one is not needed!
It keeps well. Make it a day or two in advance of your next potluck or get-together and marvel at the still-outrageously moist crumb once served

Ingredient Overview

Ingredients for pumpkin crumb cake recipe

The ingredients are quite similar to what I use for my pumpkin muffins, but you’ll find a few small edits. The muffin recipe was designed to have a lighter, well, muffin-like texture, and for a good pumpkin coffee cake (or any coffee cake) you need a denser crumb (but it must never be dry and should practically melt in your mouth!).

Pumpkin. Use 100% pumpkin puree and avoid cans that are labeled “pumpkin pie filling”. Annoyingly, the two are often sold side-by-side and the packaging is very similar.
Spices. I start with pumpkin pie spice (don’t forget you can always make your own pumpkin spice, if you don’t have any on hand) and add a bit extra ground cinnamon.
Sour cream. I went back and forth with this ingredient before discovering that a mere two tablespoons packs a punch and makes this pumpkin coffee cake outrageously good. You’d think all the moisture from the pumpkin puree would be sufficient, but a big spoonful of sour cream makes the crumb moist (but not wet) and gives the cake a well-rounded flavor.
Sugar. There’s surprisingly little sugar in today’s recipe (well, it seems that way to me, anyway), thanks to the natural sweetness of the pumpkin and the streusel topping.
Butter. Butter is used in both the cake and the crumb topping, and in both instances I melt it first. Melting the butter makes for a more moist and butterier final crumb (and, as a bonus, removes the need for an electric mixer).

Tips for Making Pumpkin Coffee Cake

drizzling vanilla glaze over a plated square of pumpkin coffee cake

Mixing matters! When combining the wet ingredients, I do so in stages and ensure the wet ingredient are thoroughly combined (it’s OK if the mixture looks a bit piecey, sometimes a little separation occurs — it will come together when you add the dry ingredients!). An electric mixer isn’t required, but is fine here. When whisking the dry ingredients, again ensure they are well-combined. But once you combine the wet and dry ingredients, do so gently and by hand. Don’t over-mix or the end result could be a too-dense and dry pumpkin coffee cake.
The pan you use matters. I tested this recipe in a metal 9×9 baking pan and found it consistently needed 30 minutes to bake, give or take a minute or two, max. If you opt to use a ceramic or glass pan, the baking time will likely be longer than is indicated. Keep an eye on the cake and use a toothpick to test for doneness (a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with moist crumbs!).
Don’t over-bake. This is a cardinal sin of baking, and something I stress in recipes ranging from my chocolate chip cookies to my yellow cake. Over-baking your pumpkin coffee cake means it will be dry (it should never be dry!) and crumbly. It’s best when the toothpick you use for testing comes out with moist crumbs (not wet batter) and not dry. The cake will continue to bake in the pan as it cools, so removing it on the cusp of under-doneness (with moist crumbs) means it will finish baking perfectly as it cools. Once the toothpick is dry, it means you may be on the cusp of over-doneness. Get that cake out of the oven on time!

square of pumpkin crumb cake on white plate with pumpkins and more crumb cake in background

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this in a 9×13 pan?

Other readers have made this recipe in a 9×13 pan. To keep it from being too thin, I recommend doubling the recipe

Can I make this pumpkin coffee cake in a loaf pan?

I recommend making my pumpkin bread, instead, which was specifically designed for a loaf pan. However, some readers have commented that they have made this recipe in a loaf pan and that it took approximately 55 minutes to bake.

Can I freeze this cake?

Yes! After cooling completely, slice and individually wrap the pumpkin coffee cake before freezing. It should keep several months in the freezer.

Slice of pumpkin coffee cake with a forkful missing. pumpkins in background

More Pumpkin Recipes to Try:

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Crumb Cake

I hope you love this pumpkin coffee cake as much as everyone in my household does! If you try it out, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think! 💜

Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook

This recipe was originally published in October of 2017 (and even earlier I shared it over on The Stay at Home Chef’s website) but I have updated it to include more helpful information and new photos.