There’s an incredible magic in the sound of leaves crunching underfoot, and the delightful aroma of spices fills the kitchen. One of my absolute favorite fall treats is my fantastic Pumpkin Crumb Coffee Cake. It’s wonderfully soft and moist, bursting with flavor, and adorned with a crunchy streusel that enhances the center and top of the cake! Then, it’s topped with a layer of sweet glaze.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 – 40 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes, about

Yields: 9 – 18 squares

Ingredients:

Streusel topping:

1/4 C. all-purpose flour

1/2 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. pecans or walnuts, finely chopped

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 Tbsp butter, melted

For the cake:

2 C. all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 C. brown sugar

1 C. pumpkin puree, not pumpkin mix

1/2 C. cooking oil

1/2 C. sour cream

2 large eggs

For the sugar glaze:

1/2 C. powdered sugar

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray the bottom of an 8-inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine all of the streusel ingredients with a fork until crumbly, set this aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, brown sugar. In another bowl, add the pumpkin puree, oil, sour cream, and eggs making sure to mix this well until its all incorporated. Add your wet ingredients to your dry then gently stir until just combined.

Spoon half of the batter into the bottom of your pan then half of your streusel topping. Spread the remaining batter over the streusel topping then the remainder streuel topping.

Bake for 35 -45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes.

While your cake is cooling, in a small bowl, combine the sugar, maple syrup and vanilla extract until a thick, pourable icing forms, not runny. Drizzle over the warm cake making sure to get from side to side. Let cool all the way and serve.

At 7,000 feet elevation and higher, cook for 10 minutes longer.