Next Post
Crockpot Cider Braised Short Ribs with Sage Butter Mashed Potatoes.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
You guy, you guys! I made a coffee cake!
My very first ever, and I have to say I’m kind of proud of it! 🙂
I mean, I know it’s technically just another cake, but I feel like there’s something kind of fancy about a cake baked in a bundt pan. Is that just me? Probably, but whatever! I’m excited because this is a semi new-to-me cake!!
I’ve made this cake multiple times now…you know, for testing purposes and all. But it’s cool, because this cake is honestly SO good! I wasn’t expecting to like a coffee cake this much, but thanks to these four words – cream cheese, streusel, brown sugar, and brown butter, well, those pretty much sums this cake up!
You know what’s weird though? I’ve only ever had coffee cake once in my life (or at least that I know of), and it was way back during my middle school days. I was at a friend’s house for a sleepover, a super rare event as I was such a homebody. Sleepovers were my worst nightmare and any time a friend asked me to sleepover I practically begged my mom to say NO. I was just a weird kid…
Anyway, I can’t remember why I chose to actually attend this particular sleepover, but what I do remember is the chocolate chip coffee cake my friend’s mom served in the morning! It was SO good, and I remember thinking it kind of tasted like a mix between a cookie, cookie dough and some kind of crumbly pastry. It was both moist and crumbly at the same time and I pretty much thought it was perfection.
I think I even asked my mom to buy one at the store next time, but pretty sure she never did, and that was my last experience with coffee cake. Or well until this cake, which I can tell you is a million times better than the store-bought one I had as a kid.
Like a million.
And you know what? There’s not even any chocolate!
Wait, what? I made a cake without chocolate and loved it?
Craziness, but true!
Okok, so let’s talk details here.
I made this three times in ONE day. Typically when I test out baking recipes I like to try to make all versions in one day so I can compare and then finalize the recipe in one big swoop! At first I wanted this to only be a brown sugar coffee cake with NO pumpkin. And my first test worked great, but I decide that I needed a larger cake, so I made it again. But it still felt like something was missing, and that’s when I added the pumpkin in.
I hesitated to use pumpkin because I have a ton of new pumpkin recipes coming up in the next few weeks (umm, hello! Thanksgiving!), but the flavors happening here just screamed “add pumpkin!”. So I added just a little to bump up the moistness and color of this cake.
Perfecto!
Let’s be real, we all want pumpkin right now anyway…hoping your motto for fall is “never enough pumpkin!”.?
Cream Cheese Swirled Brown Sugar Pumpkin Coffee Cake… yeah, the title is a bit long, but… I can’t leave anything out! The cake itself is a brown sugar, pumpkin, buttery kind of cake, swirled with a layer of cream cheese and a layer of streusel. I mean, that right there is pretty awesome, but since it’s cake, and all cake needs some kind of frosting, I decided to drizzle it with a brown butter and maple glaze.
FOR REAL.
This cake is so fallish, I just can’t help but love it to pieces… and even without the chocolate… it’s still so addicting! That pairing of pumpkin and cream cheese, it’s kind of unbeatable.
Just sayin’.
Cream Cheese Swirled Brown Sugar Pumpkin Coffee Cake.
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 758 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup brewed coffee can use milk or water
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Streusel
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons cold butter cubed
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
Brown Butter Maple Glaze
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 10 inch bundt pan.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and vanilla until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add the pumpkin and coffee, beat until smooth and creamy. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix on low speed until just combined, being sure the batter is completely mixed.
- To make the streusel. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add the butter and use your fingers to mix the butter into the flour until a crumble forms.
- Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan. Gently dollop the softened cream cheese over the batter and spread in an even layer. Sprinkle 3/4 of the streusel over top the cream cheese. Spoon the remaining batter over the streusel and carefully spread in an even layer. Sprinkle on the remaining streusel. Transfer to the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool 30 minutes and then invert the cake onto a plate.
- To make the glaze. Melt the butter over medium heat in a small sauce pot until just browned. The butter will melt, foam and froth, then begin to brown along the bottom. Whisk browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. Once the butter has browned, quickly remove from the heat. Stir in the powdered sugar, maple and vanilla until smooth. If needed, thin the glaze with a splash of water.
- Drizzle the glaze evenly over the cake and let set 10 minutes. Serve cake slightly warm or at room temperature. Keep cake stored, covered in the fridge.
Fall Tuesday cake baking session? Yes, lets!
I made this for a get-together Saturday night. I thought the recipe cake together nice and quick. I did read all the comments before baking. A few things: 1. I had no issues with mixing ingredients. The instruction did say to beat until smooth after adding coffee and pumpkin. I never got it to be “smooth” but knowing pumpkin I didn’t keep on beating it because I didn’t want the pumpkin to get gummy. It smoothed out fine once I added the dry ingredients. 2. I read that some people felt the cook time was too long. For that reason I checked the cake at 30, 40 and 45 minutes ultimately taking it out at 45. I felt the toothpick had the same amount of stuff on it all 3 times. I probably could have taken it out at 30 or even 40 minutes; at 45 minutes the streusel on top had started to burn slightly and I knew I had slightly overcooked the cake. 3. The cake was delicious and a big hit! But, personally, I was just not a fan of the cream cheese swirl. It just tasted like a piece of cream cheese in the middle. Maybe I could add something to the cream cheese next time to make it a little sweeter or complement the rest of the cake a little more. That’s just me! 4. I used Starbucks cafe verona in the percolator for the coffee and I didn’t get an overly strong coffee taste. Just a hint, and it was delicious. Thanks again for another awesome recipe. Yum!
I am so happy you enjoyed this cake Kristen! Thank you and Happy New Year!
I made this delicious recipe twice-once using coffee and once without. I liked it better without. I also found that baking it 9-10 minutes less than instructed allowed for a higher moisture level without sacrificing doneness. Lastly, i doubled the cream cheese “innards” cuz I love me some cream cheese with my pumpkin! A great recipe for being your first coffee cake!
I am so glad you liked this coffee cake! Thank you!
I made this cake for Canadian Thanksgiving dinner. The batter seemed kind of weird with the butter–when creaming it, it separated, but worked out in the end. I wonder if the problem can be solved by replacing the butter with oil, or partially replacing it with oil. I’ve made many bundt cakes in my time, and when they’re made with oil, the consistency of the cake is moister. I liked the cake, but would add more cinnamon next time and perhaps a bit of nutmeg–I like a bit more spice flavor. The icing was awesome! I licked every single drip that fell off of the plate and onto the wax paper that was put there to catch the drips!
Thank you Enid! I am super glad this worked out for you and you loved the icing! If you try the cake with more spice, let me know how you like it!
I had the same problem as other people, the batter started to separate when I added the coffee& pumpkin puree, but as soon as I mixed in the dry ingredients it turned out completely normal. The cake was really delicious, the only sad part is, that it broke into half while I was taking it out of the pan 🙁
So sorry the cake broke, but glad it tasted delicious. Let me know if I can help you with anything.
Hey Tieghan! I made this last night with my 4 year old… (she said she wants coffee cake for her birthday now) brought it to work for a co-workers b-day and it was sooooooo yummy. Wow. I had no issues with separation of the batter as some other people commented. I did end up using half an espresso shot mixed with some whole milk and water to get the 3/4 cup of coffee liquid… seemed to do great. I will be making this again for special occasions… probably a certain kid birthday, lol.
So happy it was good! Sounds like it worked out well! Hope its delish for the party!
Are you sure the oven temperature is 400 for 40-45 minutes? Mine was overdone and I only baked it 30 minutes.
Hey Lynda, So sorry this come out overdone for you. It is 400 for 40 minutes, but baking times can vary slightly for different ovens. Next time, just try for 25-30 minutes. Let me know if you have questions.
I like coffee cake
You should like this one then!
The cake is beautiful and looks delicious
Thank you Julia!
Coffee cake has ALWAYS been my kryptonite, especially if it has a SWEET crumble on top! And it’s crazy that you made this cake three times in one day! Must mean that this is FANTASTIC!
Hey Cassie! Thank you so much for all of the comments, I seriously loved reading through them! I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes on my blog & I hope you continue to! Have a Happy New Year!
Making this bundt today with the stunning nordic ware Jubilee pan. It’ll be my first time using it and your recipe looked perfect for it! I’m also curious where you got your saucepan that you’re using in the picture? I’ve been looking for one like that! Super cute!
Ah that sounds awesome! I got mine from William Sonoma!! Hope you loved the cake!
I think I put too much batter at first!!! My cream cheese layer will be at the bottom of the cake now. I hope it still turns out and doesn’t look weird !!:(
Oh no! Hopefully it came out okay!
It’s in the cooker now…I’m so nervous and pray it will come out beautifully, just like yours!
Hi, Marie!! Hope it was perfect!! Thanks!!
Aww, thanks! It looks GORGEOUS so we shall see tomorrow night when I host our ‘traditional’ English Thanksgiving. I’m a Yankee living in England so everyone here will be English. Fingers crossed; I’ll let you know but it really looks pretty and the maple glaze is perfect! xx
Sounds like so much fun!! Yes let me know!! Hope all is delish!! Happy thanksgiving!
I made this last night. It was delicious. I should have saved some streusel for the top. It was my favorite part! Do you think it’d work if I lined the bundt pan with streusel first, before putting in half of the cake batter? Or just saved some and sprinkle on top of the glaze?
Hey Jenny! So happy you love this cake, thank you!! I have not tried that, but I think if you love the streusel you could give it a try!! Or just bake extra on the side for the top, that would be great too! Let me know if you have questions. Thanks so much!
Hi again! Two more questions:
1) for the coffee, could I substitute milk or buttermilk and add a tablespoon or two of espresso powder? I find espresso powder (I love the KAF brand) really brings out the flavor of the other ingredients without making the whole thing taste like coffee. I also love using buttermilk in place of milk, especially for cakes with sweet glazes – I find the buttermilk “tang” balances out the sweetness. So:
A) If you think espresso powder plus milk would work, how much powder would you suggest? One tablespoon? Two?
B) Do you have a preference for regular milk vs. buttermilk? As you know, buttermilk has a lower fat content than whole milk, so I wasn’t sure what your preference would be.
2) Where did you get that GORGEOUS cake stand?
THANKS SO MUCH!!
Rachel
Hey Rachel! Yes, milk can be use, but think buttermilk might be a little thick, if it makes that batter thick, just add a little at a time to thin. I would use 1 tablespoon espresso.
The cake stand is from Anthropogie, but sadly I do not see it on their site anymore. So sorry! Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to help! 🙂
Hi! I have a general question/comment – I usually prefer recipes that include ingredient amounts by weight, in addition to by volume. But I love your blog and I want to try this cake!! Is is possible for you to start providing the measurements in oz or grams in addition to volume? Or perhaps you could tell me what your standard measurements are for basic ingredients like flour and sugar? (I find the major variations occur for ingredients that can be “packed in”, like flour and powdered sugar.
For recipes that don’t include weight, I usually rely on King Arthur Flour’s measurement guide (120 grams for a cup of flour, 200 grams for a cup of sugar, etc.) See http://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart.html
If you have a chance, let me know if you think that guide would work well for your baking recipes. Many thanks!
Cheers,
Rachel