The best New York–style crumb cake is nearly as much crumb as it is cake. This recipe follows that formula, just with one seasonal swap: Instead of vanilla cake on the bottom, plush pumpkin cake hops in. The result is infinitely cozy, especially with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves add fireplace-level warmth, while freshly grated ginger adds an enlivening zing. If you’re out of stock, ground ginger works too. (I store whole, unpeeled knobs in the freezer so they last longer, and finely grate them on a Microplane like Parmesan.) When your timer approaches the 35-minute mark, skip the tester or toothpick to check for doneness and opt instead for a thin knife, which offers more surface area and, in turn, more intel. A few crumbs from the streusel are welcome, while any raw pumpkin batter mandates a few more minutes in the oven. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool—go for a walk and try to catch a falling leaf?—but your patience will be rewarded. If you’re grumbling about only using half a can of pumpkin, I get it. But the solution is simple: Transfer the purée to an airtight container and pop in the fridge, where it’ll keep for up to a week, then use it in any of our other pumpkin purée recipes. Or just bake another crumb cake. Tightly wrapped, it can hang out at room temperature for a couple of days.
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What you’ll need
8" Baking Pan
$25 At Amazon
Scale
$26 At Amazon
French Wire Whisk
$18 At Amazon
Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls, Set of 6
$39 $36 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
9–12 servings
Ingredients
STREUSEL
12
2
⅔
1½
1
½
¼
CAKE AND ASSEMBLY
1
1
1
¼
½
2
¾
½
¼
½
1
1
Preparation
STREUSEL
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter an 8x8" baking pan and line with parchment paper, leaving generous overhang on all sides; butter parchment. Whisk together 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, ⅔ cup (packed; 133 g) light brown sugar, 1½ tsp. ground cinnamon, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, ½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg, and ¼ tsp. ground cloves in a medium bowl. Add 12 Tbsp. (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled, stirring with a spoon until most of the floury streaks are gone. Set streusel aside.
CAKE AND ASSEMBLY
Step 2
Whisk 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, 1 tsp. baking powder, ¼ tsp. baking soda, and ½ tsp. ground cinnamon in a large bowl.
Step 3
Whisk 2 large eggs, ¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp. pumpkin purée, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (packed; 50 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) vegetable oil, 1 Tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger or ¼ tsp. ground ginger, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy. Add pumpkin mixture to dry ingredients and gently stir until just combined (a few lumps are okay—it’s better not to overmix). Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread all the way to edges; smooth surface.
Step 4
Using your hands, squeeze reserved streusel into big clumps and evenly distribute over batter. (No need to press it down; it will all come together in the oven.)
Step 5
Bake cake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out mostly clean (a few crumbs from the streusel are okay, but no batter), 35–40 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool until pan is no longer hot to the touch. Using parchment paper, lift cake out of pan and onto rack. Let cool completely.
Step 6
Just before serving, dust with powdered sugar and cut into a grid to make 9 or 12 pieces.
Do ahead: Cake (without powdered sugar) can be baked 1 day ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
Leave a Review
Reviews (28)
Back to Topmeh...it was sufficient as a crumb cake recipe but not amazing. the pumpkin makes it moist, but it's really a SPICE crumb cake rather than a PUMPKIN spice crumb cake. if you're looking for a pumpkin punch, then you'll need to look elsewhere.
lucie b
Lynchburg, VA
9/20/2023
Wasn't there a kids holiday show about a great pumpkin and miracles? Well, never minid, but anyway this cake is somehow delightfully moist and wonderful even at 5000' feet altitude in the high desert where cakes, well anyway....
Kathleen
New Mexico
9/19/2023
Delicious. And as for that leftover (unsweetened) pumpkin purée, your dog will love it and it’s good for her!
Mia
Lake Forest, IL
9/17/2023
oh my gosh! This cake is delicious! I could not wait until it was completely cool to try it. I used fresh ginger, but would either add more or use dry for more of a kick, but that's just a fine point. Yummy.
Donna
Hartford, CT
8/29/2023
I liked this recipe, but found the streusel to taste too floury. Next time I make it I plan on either reducing the amount of flour in the streusel or replacing half of it with oats. The cake is surprisingly not too sweet!
Evie
Seattle, WA
1/7/2023
Great fall treat!
Anonymous
NY
11/8/2022
I loved this simple to make cake.It was very moist and flavorful. The extra generous strusel topping was wonderful. The perfect dessert with a cup of tea. Will definitely make this again.
Barbara C
Tarrytown, NY
11/8/2022