Super moist and perfectly spiced pumpkin coffee cake, in small batch form.
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small batch pumpkin coffee cake
If you love coffee cake but don’t need enough to feed a party, this recipe is perfect for you. This small batch pumpkin coffee cake is super moist, super delicious, and is made in a loaf pan – yielding 8 small squares or 6 bars of cake for you to enjoy. It starts out with a super moist, lightly spiced pumpkin cake, and is topped with a thick layer of dark brown sugar pumpkin spice streusel and a simple maple glaze. So let’s get into it! ☺︎
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before starting the recipe.
Mix the cake batter carefully:
It is super important to not overmix the cake batter or you end up with a tough and chewy cake rather than a light and moist cake. When alternating between adding the wet and dry ingredients, be sure to only mix just until the ingredient is fully combined and no more.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for small batch pumpkin coffee cake
pumpkin spice streusel:
- Unsalted butter: the base of the streusel, really what makes it buttery and delicious. You can use salted butter here as well!
- Dark brown sugar: sweetens and adds flavor to the streusel. You can also use light brown sugar here in a pinch.
- All purpose flour: adds structure to the streusel.
- Pumpkin pie spice: for flavor!
pumpkin spice cake:
- Vegetable oil: for tenderizing the cake – any neutral oil, like canola oil, will also work here.
- Dark brown sugar: for sweetening, flavor, and for moisture. In a pinch light brown sugar will work here as well.
- Egg: for moisture, structure, and binding the batter together.
- Vanilla: extract or vanilla bean paste, for flavor.
- Pumpkin puree: for flavor and moisture! Make sure the ingredients on the can only say “pumpkin”, and that you are not using pumpkin pie filling.
- Whole milk: for moisture and for keeping the cake tender. You can substitute in buttermilk or greek yogurt if needed.
- All purpose flour: for structure.
- Baking powder: for helping the cake rise.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the cake.
- Pumpkin pie spice: for flavor! You can replace it with cinnamon, or omit it all together if you’re not a fan.
Maple Glaze:
- Powdered sugar: the base of the glaze.
- Maple extract: for maple flavor! You could also use vanilla extract here for a vanilla glaze.
- Whole milk: or your favorite non-dairy milk, for thinning out the glaze.
how to make small batch pumpkin coffee cake
Here’s a little bit of what the process of making this cake looks like. The full recipe is at the end of this blog post!
- Make the streusel by mixing together all of the streusel ingredients until you have little clumps of dough.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients for the pumpkin cake.
- Then gently fold in the dry ingredients.
- Layer the pumpkin cake and streusel into a loaf pan, then bake, serve, and enjoy!
small batch pumpkin coffee cake recipe q&a
is there coffee in coffee cake?
Nope! I know the name is a bit contradictory, but coffee cake is referred to as coffee cake because it’s meant to be enjoyed WITH coffee!
can I double this recipe?
Of course! I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results. Once you’ve doubled the batter, simply divide it up into two loaf pans to bake – or pour it into an 8″ square or 8″ circle pan.
what size loaf pan do I need?
I used an 8×4″ loaf pan for this cake. If all you have on hand is a 9×5″ pan then you can definitely use it – just note that the cake will be a tad bit shorter and will probably bake a bit faster. Also please note that I always use and recommend metal baking pans, and if you choose to use ceramic or glass, the baking time will likely be longer.
How to store this cake
Keep the cake stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It will taste the best on the day it’s baked, but will keep well for up to 3 days.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Small Batch Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice Streusel
- 56 g unsalted butter (4 tbsp.)
- 100 g dark brown sugar (½ c.)
- 75 g all purpose flour (½ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- 65 g vegetable oil (⅓ c.)
- 80 g dark brown sugar (⅓ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 140 g pumpkin puree (½ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 30 g whole milk (2 tbsp.) room temperature
- ¾ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 90 g all purpose flour (¾ c.)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
Maple Glaze
- 40 g powdered sugar (⅓ c.)
- ½ tsp. maple extract
- 1 tbsp. whole milk
Instructions
Pumpkin Spice Streusel
- Butter an 8×4" loaf pan, then line it with parchment paper to form a sort of hammock, where there are two sides with parchment paper sticking up. This will make it easy to pull the loaf out of the pan when it's done baking.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
- In a medium sized bowl, melt the butter. Add in the flour, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Use a fork to mix the ingredients together until you have formed little clumps of dough. Set the mixture aside in the fridge while you work on the cake batter.
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- To a small mixing bowl, add in the oil, sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin puree, milk, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is cohesive.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until no flour streaks remain.
- Pour the cake batter into your prepared loaf pan and smooth the batter out into an even layer. Use your fingers to crumble the streusel into an even layer on top of the cake batter.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the coffee cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple extract, and milk. If you'd like a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar. If you'd like a thinner glaze, add more milk.
- Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, top it off with the glaze, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
Wow! The streusel to cake ratio is 10/10 and the flavor is fall. Best small batch coffee cake! Will be making again <3
Amazing recipe! I love how it was in grams, and perfect ratios! Will definitely make again
Hey are your temperatures for a conventional or fan oven please?? UK reader 🙂
Hi Charlotte! My oven temperatures are for a conventional oven – for a convection oven you’ll want to lower the temp by 25F/15C and start checking on the cake earlier since it will cook faster with a convection oven. 🙂