This Pumpkin Crumb Cake is the ultimate fall dessert with a perfectly dense, moist pumpkin cake and a generous layer of melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin spice streusel. It’s the kind of cake that has everyone scraping their plates clean to get every last crumb! And it all comes together using basic baking staples, a couple of bowls, and a whisk.

Want more pumpkin desserts? Try our Pumpkin Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies or our Easy Pumpkin Bars.

Why Our Recipe

  • A dense, moist pumpkin cake with a tasty pumpkin spice streusel topping that will have you scraping up every bite from the plate.
  • Easy to make with basic baking staples and a little pumpkin puree.
  • The finishing glaze makes it temptingly pretty!
A plate of slices of pumpkin crumb cake.

In our opinion, one of the best things about fall is all the seasonal desserts. This pumpkin crumb cake is sure to become one of your fall favorites. It’s also really pretty too so it’s great for a brunch, get together, book club, or just a regular after dinner dessert. You can even make it ahead of time, and trust us—it tastes even better the next day!

Ingredient Notes

An overhead view of the ingredients needed to make pumpkin crumb cake.
  • Pumpkin Puree: Be sure to use plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Two totally different things!
  • Salted Butter: This recipe uses melted salted butter in both the cake and streusel. If you’re using unsalted butter, add an extra pinch of salt.
  • Sugars: The combination of both sugars adds sweetness and depth of flavor. You can use either dark or light brown sugar.
  • Eggs: Room temperature eggs blend more easily into the batter, creating a smoother texture. If your eggs are cold, you can place them in warm water for 5-10 minutes before using.
  • Sour Cream: If you don’t have sour cream, plain Greek yogurt works as a 1:1 substitute.
  • All-Purpose Flour: The base for both the cake and the streusel. Users have reported that gluten-free blends designed to be a direct replacement do work in this recipe.
  • Pumpkin Pie Spice: If you don’t have a pre-made blend, you can make your own using 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and a pinch of cloves.
  • Milk: You’ll need just a few tablespoons to thin out the glaze. You can also just use water, but milk adds a little fat that makes the icing a little thicker and balanced, rather than just a straight sugar.

Variations

Nutty Streusel: For extra crunch and flavor, add 1/2 cup of chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts to the streusel topping. The nuts will toast as the cake bakes and add a little crunch.

Maple Glaze: Layer on another fall flavor with maple! Take the glaze to the next level by adding 1/2 teaspoon of maple extract. Just whisk the maple extract into the glaze with the milk, and drizzle it over the cooled cake for a tasty twist.

A stack of slices of pumpkin crumb cake sitting in front of the rest of the pan of cake.

Serving Suggestions

We recommend cutting this cake into 9 slices for a standard serving size. You can also make this into bite-size finger foods by cutting into a 4×4 grid giving you 16 slices. It would be difficult to go much smaller.

Brunch: This Pumpkin Crumb Cake is perfect for serving with a hot cup of coffee or tea. That’s where the term coffee cake comes from!

Dessert: Serve topped with a dollop of whipped cream (freshly whipped is our preference) or serve with a scoop of vanilla or caramel ice cream.

Storage Instructions

Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For best results, wait to add the glaze until just before serving if storing for more than a day.

This cake freezes well without the glaze. Once it’s fully cooled, wrap individual slices or the whole cake tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and glaze just before serving.

More fall desserts . . .