Vegan Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Vegan pumpkin coffee cake with a thick cinnamon swirl, generous pecan crumble and optional maple icing. This cozy cake is full of pumpkin puree and warm spices. It's perfect for breakfast or dessert, served with a hot cup of coffee or tea, just like my classic vegan coffee cake!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Vegan

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 5

Servings

Calories 325

Author Anthea

Ingredients

Pecan Crumble

½ cup (50g) pecans or walnuts, chopped (or use an extra or an extra 2 tablespoons / 15g of flour to make nut-free)
½ cup (65g) all-purpose plain flour
¼ cup (55g) vegan butter or coconut oil, softened
3 tablespoons (40g) packed light brown sugar or coconut sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cinnamon sugar layer

¼ cup (50g) packed light brown sugar dark brown sugar or coconut sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Pumpkin Cake

1 cup (200g) pumpkin puree canned or homemade (not pumpkin pie filling)
¾ cup (190g) dairy-free milk
⅓ cup (85g) neutral flavored oil
⅓ cup (65g) packed light brown sugar
⅓ cup (65g) granulated sugar or more light brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar white vinegar or lemon juice (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
2 cups (250g) all-purpose plain flour spoon and leveled (note 1)
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (note 2 for homemade blend)
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teapsoon salt optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) round springform pan or loose-bottom cake pan with parchment paper.

Crumb topping:

Add all the ingredients to a small bowl. Mix with a spoon or your fingertips until all the ingredients are well combined. There shouldn't be any pockets of butter or flour. Set aside.

Cinnamon sugar layer:

In a separate bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon until well combined. Set aside.

Prepare the cake:

Add the wet ingredients (pumpkin purée, dairy-free milk, oil, sugars, vinegar and vanilla) to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until just combined. It's okay for the batter to have some lumps, as long as they aren't lumps of dry ingredients.

Assemble the pumpkin coffee cake:

Pour or scoop half of the pumpkin cake batter into your prepared pan and smooth the surface with a spoon or spatula. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top. Pour the remaining batter into the cake pan and smooth the surface. When you smooth the final layer of cake batter, it will refuse to stick to the cinnamon sugar layer. Try to avoid lifting your spoon/spatula as much as possible, and just do what you can.
Sprinkle the crumble on top of the cake (there'll be a lot of crumble).
Bake the cake for 52-57 minutes. At the 30-minute mark, if the crumble is browning too quickly, tent your cake pan with aluminum foil. The cake is ready when you can insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and it comes out clean.
Let the cake rest in the cake pan for 15 minutes then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely. To serve, dust the top with powdered sugar or drizzle with a simple glaze (see note 3 to make a maple glaze).
The cake can be kept at room temperature for 2 days or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Alternatively, you can freeze the cake for up to 1 month (cut up the cake and store in individual slices for the perfect quick snack). Note that the crumble topping will soften over time.

Notes

To spoon and level your flour, fluff up the flour in its container, use a spoon to add flour to your measuring cup, and level it off with a knife. Using your measuring cup to scoop flour out of the container will pack in too much flour and result in a dense cake. Alternatively, use the gram measurements and an electric kitchen scale for the best results.
To make your own pumpkin spice blend, use 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.
To make a maple icing, mix 1/2 cup (50g) of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup until smooth. For a vanilla icing, replace the maple syrup with with 1-2 tablespoons of milk. Mix in more sugar for a thicker glaze, or more liquid for a runnier glaze.

Nutrition