Bakery Style Pumpkin Crumb Cake

This moist, tender Pumpkin Crumb Cake is a pumpkin lover’s dream come true! Both the cake and the thick, buttery, warm-spiced crumble come together with one bowl, no mixer necessary!

If you’ve enjoyed our Better Than Starbucks Pumpkin Bread, you’ll LOVE this Bakery Style Pumpkin Crumb Cake!

Reinvent the wheel? Maybe not!

I looked at lots of different pumpkin crumb cake recipes before I had a revelation. Why not go with a sure bet, our Better Than Starbucks Pumpkin Bread (pictured below)?

With close to 200 5-star reviews, this is one of our most beloved Café recipes. Here are a few recent comments:

„I live in Australia and have never heard of pumpkin bread. What a beautifully tasting, moist bread. So simple to make too. The house was filled with a sweet aroma whilst it was cooking. I made a cream cheese frosting with maple syrup and orange juice for the top. Just about to make another one. Thanks for the great recipe.”

„This was, INDEED, the best pumpkin bread I have ever eaten or made. Two days later, and I’m already planning to make it (double this time) for round two. Turbinado sugar makes a wonderful crust on top since I didn’t have any pepitas at the moment. I used to bake the zucchini bread for a restaurant that was served in a basket with every dinner. This recipe is better which is saying a LOT because that was the best zucchini bread recipe I’d ever tasted, as well.”

„Love this doable, easy, very tasty recipe. This is my third time making it! I followed the recipe each time, and this time I made a double batch because I’m gifting one loaf. This is by far the best pumpkin bread recipe I’ve ever used – and I’ve been through many until I found yours. This is truly the gift that keeps on giving…”

„I have made this recipe several times and everyone loves it! It truly is the moistest bread I have ever had and delicious!!!”

Not the same-old, same-old but the same!

I hate to be a „stick in the mud„. If you live outside the US, you might not know what I’m talking about. A „stick in the mud” is an idiom we use that means, „one who is slow, old-fashioned, or unprogressive, aka, an old fogy” (from the Merriam-Webster dictionary).

I love trying new things, out-of-the-ordinary adventures, traveling to places far away, meeting new people, surprising family and friends with the unexpected… I do hate being a „stick in the mud”!

But… I’m just going to admit it. I am a stick in the mud in this case. You see, in addition to using the recipe for my pumpkin bread, it’s also the recipe I use for my Easy Praline Pumpkin Muffins (pictured below), another Café reader favorite. It’s just such a reliable, easy, no-fail, over-the-top-delicious recipe that I’m going to accept the unappealing moniker!

How to serve this Pumpkin Crumb Cake

Although the thick, buttery, warm-spiced crumb topping makes this cake reminiscent of a coffee cake that would be enjoyed for breakfast, it’s so much more than that:

• Bring it to work and leave it in the break room. Every time someone goes to get a cup of coffee, you’ll hear a shout of delight!

• Cut any leftovers into individual-sized portions and pop them in the freezer. When a neighbor or friend stops by, pull two pieces out, put on a pot or kettle for coffee or tea and call it a party!

• Serve it for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Add a drizzle of this Real Deal Microwave Caramel Sauce (takes less than 15 minutes to prepare). Your guests will be in dessert heaven, for sure!
• Serve it on its own, like this:

• It’s also fabulous with a simple shower of powdered sugar or a drizzle of the delicious vanilla glaze that’s included in the recipe!

However and whenever you decide to serve this delicious Bakery Style Pumpkin Crumb Cake it will be a sure-fire hit!

Cafe Tips for making this Pumpkin Crumb Cake

• This recipe calls for pumpkin pie spice which is a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Don’t have any pumpkin pie spice? No problem, you can make your own in way less time than you can run to the store and pick some up!
• Make sure you use pumpkin puree in this recipe and not pumpkin pie filling. They are often sold right near each other, and in the same size can. Pumpkin puree is simply pumpkin that’s been cooked and pureed. Pumpkin pie filling is pumpkin puree with added sugar and spices.
• I’ve tried lots of different pumpkin purees and I always come back to the Libby brand. This is not a sponsored post, but I really like the flavor, texture and beautiful color of Libby’s. I’m not super crazy about Trader Joe’s or Whole Food’s pumpkin purees.
• This recipe calls for using a 9-inch round cake pan. I love these OXO non-stick pans. They’re sturdy, long lasting and turn out beautiful cakes.
• Be sure to spray your pan and line it with parchment before adding the batter. I love these pre-cut parchment paper rounds. They’re not expensive and save lots of time!
• Although I’m a huge fan of butter for both cooking and baking, don’t try to substitute butter for the oil in this recipe. It’s the oil that gives this bread such a moist, tender crumb. And there’s a generous portion of butter in the crumb topping so the delicious flavor of butter is there!
• You can use any neutral-flavored oil for this recipe. I love avocado, sunflower, safflower and grapeseed oils, but canola, corn or vegetable oils also work. Stronger flavored oils like peanut, coconut, sesame or olive oils will add a flavor of their own to this bread.
• Instead of the crumb topping, this cake is also delicious with just a sprinkle of sugar over the top before baking. I like to use Cane, Turbinado or Demerara sugar as they give a nice little „crunch” but regular granulated sugar will also work.
• This cake takes 50-60 minutes to bake. To ensure that the sides don’t get too brown before the center of the cake is done, I like to line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and bake the cake right on the sheet pan. After 25-30  minutes of baking, I simply pull up the foil around the sides of the pan and tent another piece of foil loosely over the top.
• There’s nothing worse than going through the trouble of putting together and baking a cake only to find that you’ve under or over-baked it. The BEST way to determine when baked goods are perfectly done is to use an instant thermometer. Most cakes (including this Bakery Style Pumpkin Crumb Cake), are done when an instant thermometer, inserted in the center, reads 195-205˚F.

Thought for the day:

What we’re listening to for inspiration:

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If you enjoy this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.

Bakery-Style Pumpkin Crumb Cake

Chris Scheuer

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This moist, tender Pumpkin Crumb Cake is a pumpkin lover’s dream come true! Both the cake and the thick, buttery, warm-spiced crumble come together with one bowl, no mixer necessary!

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Breakfast/Brunch, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

SERVINGS 12 servings

CALORIES 461 kcal

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

For the crumb topping:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 6-7 tablespoons melted butter

For the cake:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups pumpkin puree
• ⅔ cup avocado, sunflower, grape seed or any mild-flavored oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

For the optional vanilla glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons half & half or cream
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• ⅛ teaspoon almond extract, optional

Instructions 

For the prep:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

• Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray. Rub with a small piece of paper toweling to coat all of the surfaces. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper Set aside.

• Line a sheet pan with foil. Set aside.

For the crumb topping:

• Make the crumble first by combining the flour, sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a medium size bowl. Stir well to combine all the ingredients.

• Drizzle the flour mixture with 6 tablespoons of melted butter then stir, stir, stir with a fork. Stir until there is no more flour at the bottom of the bowl and the mixture is forming into small clumps. If the mixture seems a little dry, drizzle with a bit more melted butter and stir again with a fork. Set aside.

For the cake:

• Crack eggs into a medium-large bowl and whisk well for 30 seconds.

• Add pumpkin and whisk until smooth then add the oil, white and brown sugars and vanilla. Whisk it all together until nice and smooth.

• Sprinkle the pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt over the pumpkin mixture and mix until well combined.

• Add the flour and stir just until the flour has disappeared and the batter is smooth.

• Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Smooth the top and scatter the crumb mixture over the top.

To bake:

• Place the cake pan on the prepared sheet pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. (The best way to determine doneness and a perfect cake is to check the temperature of the center of the cake with an instant thermometer. It will read 195-205˚F when done.) Don’t worry if it takes a little more or less time. Every oven is different!

• NOTE: Because this cake takes 50-60 minutes to bake I like to take the foil and pull it up around the edges of the cake after it’s been baking for 30 minutes. This ensures that the sides don’t get too brown. I also take an additional piece of foil and loosely tent the top of the cake after 30 minutes to prevent it from getting too brown.

• Cool for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a dinner plate. Place a cooling rack on top of the (upside down cake) and flip one more time so the crumb topping is facing up. Cool completely before adding the vanilla bean drizzle.

For the optional vanilla glaze:

• Combine the powdered sugar, half & half (or cream), vanilla extract and almond extract (optional) in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth.

• Drizzle over the cooled cake.

Notes

See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.
If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn’t have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.

Nutrition

Calories: 461kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 3gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 244mgPotassium: 159mgFiber: 2gSugar: 50gVitamin A: 4952IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 54mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Pumpkin Crumb Cake