Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

Pumpkin Streusel Coffe Cake

Wow, what a week it’s been. I think this was the first time in two decades I’ve been all alone in the house for an entire week. Imagine that folks. The husband was away on business in New York, son #1 was working and son #2 is away at school.  I suppose  this was my golden opportunity to do all those things a gal likes to do when there’s no one else to attend to but yourself. So, woo hoo! yippee! party time…okay, so maybe not. Did I squander my week of being unencumbered, should I just have let it rip?

Well, I let it rip okay. I spent the week on a non-stop bake fest. A real bender if you will.  Seven days of cookies, cakes and breads. I finally had to say to myself, “girlfriend, just step away from the oven”. I ended my maniacal bake-a-thon with this Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake.  What with autumn just around the corner it seemed so appropriate. So I’ve decided to give the KitchenAid a rest and return to normal activity.

Oh come on people, don’t judge me.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

From Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:

For the streusel:

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
• 1 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted (see note below)

For the batter:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup sour cream

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp. whole milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan or a 9-inch cake pan with 3-inch sides.
2. To make the streusel, in a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Combine the butter using 2 table knives or a pastry cutter, cut it into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in the pecans. Set aside.
3. To make the batter, in a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until well combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the pumpkin puree and sour cream and mix with the spatula. Stir in the flour mixture. The batter will be quite thick.
4. Using a small off-set spatula, spread half of the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel over the batter. With a small off-set spatula, lightly spread  the remaining batter over the streusel spreading the thick batter as best you can. Top with the remaining streusel. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 15 minutes. Remove the sides from the pan and slide the cake onto a cooling rack.
5. To make the glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla. Drizzle over the top of the cake. Cut into thick wedges and serve. Makes one 9-inch coffee cake.

Mama’s Tips:

To toast your pecans:  Place them in a small frying pan over medium heat tossing constantly until fragrant.

Recipe: Easy

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