Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is all the kitchen traditions we have made over the years. We always have Indian Pudding on Thanksgiving, Mrs. A's meatballs on Christmas Eve, and days upon days of cookie baking and decorating. We've been making this pumpkin coffee cake for many years, and it is the perfect thing to have around for breakfast with a cup of coffee, or as an afternoon snack while decorating our mountains of cookies. 

The basic recipe comes from the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts and  we have added a few twists to make it our own. The cake is moist and soft, and full of the fall spices that make everything so fragrant and delicious. While we find it pretty much perfect as is, this simple cake is easily adaptable; throw in a handful of chocolate chips or dried cranberries to start your own kitchen tradition.

Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake
adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts
 

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans

Topping

3/4 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans

Icing:
1 1/2 cups powder sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
2-3 tablespoons milk

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.

Make streusel topping:

In a medium bowl, with your fingers blend the first 5 ingredients together, making a moist crumble. Add the nuts and mix to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of your mixer cream together the butter and sugar, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and pumpkin puree and continue to beat until thoroughly mixed.  Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves and allspice. Add to the pumpkin mixture and mix until combined then fold in the nuts. Pour batter in prepared pan, smooth top and sprinkle streusel topping evenly over the top
.
Bake in for 40 -50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool.

When cake has cooled mix together icing ingredients in a small bowl, adding enough milk so that icing drizzles from your spoon. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake. (I put the icing in a sandwich bag, snip off the corner and drizzle away)
Printable recipe

 

Enjoy!

  
Link:Foodie Friday