This easy Sourdough Pumpkin Coffee Cake recipe is full of warm fall spices, subtle sourdough tang, rich pumpkin flavor, and topped with an irresistible brown sugar crumb topping! This coffee cake is my favorite fall brunch go-to! Nothing compares to this delightful fall cake.
This is definitely the very best coffee cake there is. Nothing to date has lived up to how good sourdough coffee cake is. I highly highly recommend trying it out for yourself, you will not be disappointed!
Have you been wondering how to use up your sourdough starter? Since I’ve gotten back into sourdough baking, it’s all that’s on my mind! This Sourdough Pumpkin Coffee Cake is slightly tangy and and filled with warm fall spices. It has the most perfect streusel topping and a little bit of glaze. So you know, it's perfect with or without the glaze.
I know personally that either glazed or not that it is great! You see we were invited to a big Italian party this past weekend. Not one party, but two! So the first party was sort of a belated birthday dinner for me and a dear Sicilian friend.
I baked us a delightful chocolate cake. While the first party was a smaller dinner, the next night was more of a big Sicilian barbecue/dinner. Of course there was plenty of pasta, pizza and even a gigantic Stromboli! Nonno Sal used to own a very popular local pizzeria and he has still got it! He cooked all day for us and made so many delicious dishes!
Because I couldn’t decide what to bake and my mom suggested to bring something pumpkin! My son was begging me to bring this Pumpkin Pudding Cake. Another cake I considered bringing was this pumpkin Bundt cake (it's INCREDIBLE!). I brought wine and settled on this Sourdough Pumpkin Streusel Cake! Great idea, mom! Besides being a massive hit, it was a great way to use my sourdough discard.
How to bake sourdough cake without starter?
Not a silly question at all! I know you may not be a sourdough baker and you still want to bake this awesome cake! Simply sub in your favorite plain yogurt (I love to bake with plain coconut milk yogurt) or you could sub in buttermilk if you don't have a sourdough starter to use. Either way, it will also make the cake nice and moist. But if you do have sourdough starter on hand, use it for this!
This sourdough coffee cake recipe is a simple way to use sourdough discard, and simply superb for breakfast! The subtle sourdough flavor, pumpkin puree, and fall spices come together to make the most the most moist and tender cake.
How do you make a sourdough coffee cake?
It all starts out with a little magic from your sourdough starter! All you need is whatever you were discarding from your starter. Look at the magical bubbles! Those sweet bubbles give the coffee cake just a slight sourdough flavor (it's truly slight and not overwhelming at all!)and give it extra moisture.
First thing to do is gather up the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, eggs, oil, pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!). And all you'll need for the streusel topping and glaze. As I mentioned, IF you don't happen to have any sourdough starter around, just use an unflavored yogurt or buttermilk. You could make this vegan by using non-dairy butter for the topping and non-dairy milk. Also, just make flax eggs to replace the 2 eggs.
Secondly, whisk the dry ingredients together. In another bowl you will mix all the wet ingredients.
The last thing to do is combine the wet into the dry ingredients. You will have a nice and thick batter. If you are using the sourdough starter and it doesn't seem moist enough, you could add a tablespoon or two of buttermilk or your favorite non-diary milk.
Finally, spread the cake batter into your prepped pan and then sprinkle that gorgeous streusel on top.
Isn't it pretty even before it's baked?
Finally, as I mentioned, with glaze or without, it is a super lovely cake!
When I bake a pumpkin cake it just automatically drops 15 degrees outside. Well, in my imagination it does! Most of us are experiencing super hot summer-like days. Bake this comforting cake full of warm spices to be transformed to cooler fall days. You’ll want to curl up under a blanket with a hot cup of tea or coffee and your Netflix!
Pin for later!!
*Here is my original post from some years ago when I first made a starter.
If you’ve tried this Sourdough Pumpkin Coffee Cake or any other recipe on Savoring Italy, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. It makes my day hearing from my readers and I do respond to every comment!
More sourdough recipes:
Originally published October 2019. Updated and republished October 2021
Sourdough Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- STREUSEL
- 1/2 cup flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 6 Tbsp butter cold
- CAKE
- 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 nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or coconut oil
- 2 eggs use 2 flax eggs to make vegan
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter fed and active
- GLAZE
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar sifted
- 1 tsp. whole milk I used coconut milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan or a 9-inch cake pan. You could also use baking spray to prep the cake pan. Set aside.
- CRUMB TOPPING
- In a bowl, combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter, and mix until the topping looks like coarse crumbs. Set aside.
- CAKE
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, the spies and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk pumpkin and brown sugar together until combined. Add in oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. Add the sourdough starter and mix again.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir until all ingredients are well incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the pan. Spread the crumb topping evenly over the batter.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool a bit before removing cake from baking pan to your dish.
- GLAZE
- Once cake is cooled, whisk together the remaining milk and the powdered sugar. If you need your glaze to be thicker, add more powdered sugar. If you like it thinner, adjust with more milk. Drizzle glaze on top of the streusel. Enjoy!
Nutrition Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
Julia says
Wonderful way to use up my discard! Love the streusel topping! Smells so nice baking.