Recipe: Spiced Pumpkin Pecan Streusel Cake

I love pumpkin!  I love sweets made with pumpkin and savory dishes with pumpkin.  Naturally, this is my favorite time of year because I get to eat a lot of pumpkin.  It was just the other day when I saw they had canned pumpkin and knew that fall had officially arrived!  I was super excited and decided to hoard about 4 cans because in Shanghai, one day you’ll see something you need at the grocery store and then the next day it’s gone. Sometimes it will be gone for weeks on end until the next shipment is imported.

I wanted to make a cake that wasn’t too unhealthy because to me one of the added bonuses of cooking or baking at home is knowing what goes into your food and I want to make it as healthy as possible.

I made this the other day.  It made the whole house smell like Christmas.  I’m ready for the holidays!

Serve with coffee or tea for breakfast or dessert!

Recipe:  Spiced Pumpkin Pecan Streusel Cake
Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Serves: 8

Adapted from Two Peas and their Pod

For the cinnamon streusel:

2/3 cup all-purpose Gold Medal flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1/2 cup chopped pecans

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose Gold Medal flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup light sour cream

For the glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan or a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray or butter. Set aside.

2. To make the streusel, in a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add in the butter, using a pastry cutter or 2 table knives, cut into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in chopped pecans.  Set aside.

3. To make the cake batter, in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and salt. In the bowl, use mixer to 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 in the vanilla extract. Add the pumpkin puree and sour cream and mix until just combined. Slowly add in the flour mixture. The batter will be thick.


5. Make the glaze while the cake is cooling. In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, cinnamon, milk and vanilla. Drizzle over the top of the cake (it’s ok if the cake is still warm).  Cut into wedges and serve.

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