Melt-in-Your-Mouth Brown Butter Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Pecan Gingersnap Cookie Streusel

Name: Melt-in-Your-Mouth Brown Butter Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Pecan Gingersnap Cookie Streusel
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter; 3 cups flour; 3 teaspoons baking powder; 1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon; 1/2 tespoon ginger; 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; 1 cup almond milk (you can also use skim, 2% or whole); 2 eggs; 1 egg yolk; 1 tsp vanilla; 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin puree); 3 tablespoons plain greek yogurt or sour cream; For topping:; 2 cups gingersnap cookies; 1/2 cup of flour; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 2/3 cup brown sugar; 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks; pinch of salt; 1 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Incredible, melt-in-your-mouth brown butter pumpkin coffee cake with pecan gingersnap cookie streusel. Delicious for dessert or brunch with a cup of coffee!

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

40 mins

Total Time

50 mins

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Why is it that I feel like pumpkin recipes are only okay to post from October-December? It’s as though January is a big reset button, where we all go on juice cleanses seen on Dr. Oz.

Whatever! I’m a huge fan of pumpkin year round. So yes it’s January, but baking this pumpkin coffee cake won’t disappoint.

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This cake! Oh did it fill my home with a wonderful aroma that I’ve never experienced before. I wanted the inviting warmth of it to linger until someone special showed up and wondered what cozy concoction was in the oven. To which of course I would reply, “A melt-in-your-mouth brown butter pumpkin coffee cake… with a pecan gingersnap cookie streusel!”

Sounds dreamy… and I can assure you, it is.

The truth is, I wasn’t making this cake for anyone in particular, nor was I planning on inviting anyone in for coffee and cake for breakfast. In fact, this cake was made during the wee hours of the night. For some reason I had this intense urge to bake (this happens often), and the can of pumpkin was staring at me begging to be used. Coffee cake seemed simple enough — however I knew that adding the brown butter would make the cake richly sensational.

I think it should be noted that every time I brown my butter I’m giggling with excitement on the inside. I adore when the butter turns that gorgeous caramel color, and I love placing my nose almost into the saucepan to inhale that nutty delicious aroma. Between the pumpkin, spices, and the brown butter, the house really did smell a bit magical.

Truthfully, this is one of the best coffee cakes I’ve ever eaten because of the pecan gingersnap cookie streusel — it’s glorious and deserves to be devoured. The way each bite of coffee cake melts in your mouth is simple perfection and is certain to bring a warm smile to anyone’s face. Best served warm, with coffee, and good people.

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Melt-in-Your-Mouth Brown Butter Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Pecan Gingersnap Cookie Streusel

5 from 2 votes

Monique of AmbitiousKitchen.com

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

A melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin coffee cake with a delicious cookie streusel. Perfect with a cup of Joe!

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 tespoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup almond milk (you can also use skim, 2% or whole)
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin puree)
3 tablespoons plain greek yogurt or sour cream
For topping:
2 cups gingersnap cookies
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
pinch of salt
1 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 baking pan.
To make the streusel: In a blender or food processor, add the gingersnaps and pulse until they resemble fine crumbs; you should end up with about 3/4 cup of crumbs.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, crumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the cold butter pieces to the bowl and cut with a pastry cutter or rub together with your fingers until the mixture resembles a crumble texture. Stir in the pecans and set aside.
To make the batter: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
In a separate large bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, yolk, and vanilla together until combined. Whisk in the brown butter until combined. Fold in the pumpkin and yogurt. Gently stir in the flour mixture. The batter will be thick.
Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan. Generously sprinkle half of the streusel over the batter. Drop the remaining batter all over the streusel and gently spread it with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining streusel on top.
Bake about 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm with a big cup of Joe. Enjoy!