pumpkin streusel coffeecake

pumpkin streusel coffeecake

we woke up to a cloudy and chilly late fall day. i turned up the thermostat, but it was still pretty shivery in the house. dinah and i pulled on warm socks and wrapped ourselves in a blanket as we rubbed our eyes and began waking up. charlie, however, seemed totally unfazed by the chill and kept ripping off his socks and padding around on the cold wood floors barefoot while dinah and i cuddled in her bed reading about all the children killed in the "amphigorey" abc book (dinah's choice...her granny tonda would be so proud). 

anyway, i love cold weather, so does dinah. this is just how the last few weeks of fall should feel. we even had a few snow flurries this morning. the chill in the air makes me feel nostalgic for my youth growing up in western montana. such a comfy cozy feeling. the cold weather also gives me a good excuse to stay home and do nothing but cuddle my babies and really savor this special time in my life when i get to be at home with my two little ones. and, of course, it also puts me in the mood for baking! 

dinah and i decided to make a cake, but it was still very early in the morning, so we needed to make something appropriate for breakfast. so, we decided on a coffeecake. and since it's still fall, we made a pumpkin coffeecake. because duh, we are, in dinah's words: "super-duper crazy for pumpkin" this time of year. 

dinah adding in the pumpkin

charlie has figured out this is the best part of baking

i tried a recipe from king arthur flour and it turned out perfect. fluffy and delicious, but not too sweet, probably because i changed a few things. i'm sure it's fine with all the sugar called for, but i don't really like super sweet coffeecakes, so i used way less sugar than the recipe calls for, i used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, and halfed the streusel topping ingredients. also, i should add, the quality of butter makes a big difference in a good streusel topping. we use kerrygold. yummm.

buttery streusel topping

after i took the coffeecake out of the oven, we decided to have an impromptu tea party, with fancy hats. dinah even invited mr. bear.

tea party

now, as I write this entry, both dinah and charlie are squealing and laughing and dancing like crazy to really loud christmas music in the living room. sometimes, those two make me so happy. so full and complete. mornings like this reaffirm just how much i love being the mama to these two wonderful little humans.

pumpkin streusel coffeecake

topping:

1/3 c white sugar

6 TBS all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 TBS melted butter

filling:

3 TBS brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cocoa powder

cake:

1/3 c melted coconut oil

2 large eggs

1/4 c sugar

1 c pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9 inch round pan (i used coconut oil cooking spray). 

topping:

whisk together sugar, flour, spice, and nuts if you're using them. add melted butter, stirring just until well combined. set aside.

filling:

in a small bowl, whisk together sugar, spice, and cocoa powder. set aside.

cake:

in a mixing bowl, beat together oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth. add flour and mix until smooth. pour half the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it to the edges. sprinkle the filling evenly on top of the first layer of batter. spread the remaining batter on top of the filling (carefully, it's very sticky). use a butter knife to gently swirl the filling into the batter, just like you would for a marble cake. then sprinkle the topping over the swirled batter. bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. allow cake to cool for about 20 minutes before serving.

cake layers