Weather: 10 degrees, glad it’s above zero
What I’m listening to: Leave A Light On, Jenny & Tyler
Amidst the gobs of turkey and fixins, the mountains of mashed potatoes, the rivers of gravy, and the forests of green beans, Thanksgiving breakfast is an easily overlooked thing. Is it even a thing? Let’s be real. Hardly anybody is thinking about Thanksgiving breakfast.
I had a recent conversation with my girlfriend over breakfast about how much she adores coffee cake and what particularly makes a good coffee cake good. She envisioned a moist cake base that is more airy than dense, a crumble topping, how it needed some texture and crunch in the form of pecans (as opposed to walnuts we both agreed), and a nice ribbon of buttery cinnamon goodness running through the center of the cake when you slice into it. This coffee cake abounds with everything on her list, plus one more important ingredient: pumpkin. Make this Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Pecan Crumbe to start your Thanksgiving off right, served warm all throughout the morning with plenty of freshly brewed coffee.
Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Pecan Crumble
Ingredients
For the pecan crumble
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 1 cup chopped pecans
For the cake
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup 100% pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon orange zest optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease a 9-inch springform pan; set aside.
- Make the crumble: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and sea salt. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles crumbs. Stir in the pecans. Set aside.
- Make the coffee cake: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the brown sugar, about 1 minute on medium-high speed. Add the eggs and beat to combine, scraping the insides of the bowl down as needed. Add the pumpkin, sour cream, vanilla, and orange zest and beat until well incorporated.
- Pour in the dry ingredients you have set aside for the cake. Beat on medium speed until it all comes together and forms a thick batter. Spread half of the batter into the prepared springform pan using a small offset spatula. Sprinkle half of the crumble over the batter. Then gingerly spread the rest of the batter over top. Sprinkle the top of the cake evenly with the remaining pecan crumble.
- Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until cake is set in the middle. Allow to cool on a cooling rack for 15 minutes before releasing from the springform pan. Serve warm.
