Pumpkin Spiced Coffee Cake with Brown Butter Glaze
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Spiced coffee cake with pumpkin and walnuts, drizzled in a spiced brown butter glaze. The perfect way to start a fall morning!
Pumpkin, my friend, I am so happy that you have made your triumphant return!
You can’t enjoy pumpkin spice all day if you don’t start early! How about breakfast? Pumpkin Spiced Coffee Cake with Brown Butter Glaze is the perfect way to start a fall morning.
As much as I adore summer — and all of it’s relaxing ways, fall has always and forever been my favorite. The scents, the clothes, the sports, the crunching leaves on my brisk morning walks, all of these are just the beginning of what I love about it. For those of you who aren’t fans of pumpkin, or roll your eyes at the constant Pumpkin Spice EVERYTHING, I am sorry — but here is one more to add to the books. Of course, if you aren’t a fan, you probably aren’t reading this anyway.
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This cake starts with a spice cake box mix, but then you add in some pumpkin puree and a little extra flour to help absorb some of that extra moisture.
The original recipe that I found was made in a 9×13, and the traditional recipe calls for a crumble topping. I was wanting to use my bundt pan, because I love the look of it so much more. So I skipped the crumb topping and added some chopped walnuts to the mix. I drizzled it with the brown butter glaze, but I added some more fall spice to it. This coffee cake was a hit!
I took it to my in laws new house the day we were moving them in. It was in instant hit! So much so, that I made another the next day!
Pumpkin Recipes that Start with a Cake Mix:
- Cinderella Cake – Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Two Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins
- Pumpkin Dump Cake
- 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Cake with Creme Fraiche Frosting
These types of recipes are always nice to have on hand during the week to add as a lunchbox treat, or even an on the go breakfast. I know my kids loved it!
Let’s get our day started, and get to this fabulous fall recipe for Pumpkin Spiced Coffee Cake with Browned Butter Glaze!
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Pumpkin Spiced Coffee Cake with Brown Butter Glaze
Equipment
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 1 spice cake mix I used Duncan Hines
- 6 Tablespoons flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup water
- 1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
- 1/2-2/3 cup chopped walnuts
- For the Brown Butter Spice Glaze:
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar I added a little more to thicken mine up a bit
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350, spray your bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Mix cake ingredients together (minus the walnuts) on low in your mixer until combined, then on high for two minutes. Fold in chopped walnuts.
- Pour into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove cake a cool slightly.
- To prepare glaze: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, stirring constantly. Butter will begin to brown and become fragrant and amber in color. It's done, be careful not to let it burn. Remove from heat and add in vanilla. Whisk in powdered sugar, spices and milk, adding more sugar if you want it a little thicker. Drizzle over warm (not hot) cake.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe comes from Our Good Life, a blog written by Terri Steffes. The first time I made it, I was assigned her blog for an August themed round up for The Secret Recipe Club. Our theme for this special round was “Back to School.” The range of options was a wide one, easy breakfasts, lunch ideas or one pot or 30 minute meal ideas.
This is the perfect fall dessert! Love all of the spices with the pumpkin! So delicious!
Looks great–I am going to try it using King Arthur’s special flour blend -measure to measure-gluten free. My daughter cannot tolerate regular flour blends.
Hope you love it!
Hi there…can I omit the walnuts as my partner and I are not fussy on them. I was thinking of replacing with raisins instead. Thoughts?
Absolutely! I think raisins would be delicious!
Do you use self rising or plain flour?
Just all purpose!
I’m the director/baker at our local senior center. Each Tuesday we have bingo and serve coffee along with baked goods. This will definitely be a recipe I try for our seniors. They love bingo, Folgers coffee and sweets!
Aw!! I love that!! This is a yummy cake, I hope that you ALL enjoy it! 🙂
What can you use in place of pumpkin?
Without completely changing the taste? I am not sure. You could try applesauce?
I have early pumpkins ? from my garden and I made the cake today! It is great, and it was easy to make.
Tom on SC
Happy that you liked it, Tom!
Could this cake be made in a 1/4 or 1/2 (by doubling the recipe) sheet cake? I feed the homeless and wanted to try to get a lot of slices. What are your thoughts?
Well, I know that the batter used for a bundt and a 9×13 is the same — so I would go off of that size for your sheet pan? What a cool thing you do!! Kudos to nice people like YOU!
This was amazing. Just wondering how you prepared the glaze so it didn’t all soak in or run to the bottom?
I have never had that problem? Make sure your cake isn’t HOT when you glaze it, and you can always add a little bit more powdered sugar to the glaze to thicken it if you think it needs it. Add a Tablespoon or so at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
I just made this yesterday. It’s pretty good but perhaps I read it wrong? Do you prepare the spice cake ingredients with the rest in this recipe? I found it to be lacking in flavor. I think a dash of clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon would be good within the batter. Also, my glaze still tasted pretty buttery. But it’s still good! I think I’m going to play around with this recipe to bring out that nice pumpkin flavor. By the way, this cake is 5 yr old approved! Lol
That is the beauty of baking – you can make it your own!
could you make a spiced cake from scratch and add the pumpkin to it cuz if don’t have use a cake mix I won’t
I am sure it’s possible – but I don’t have a specific recipe for you. Please let me know if you try it.
I have a recipe for Pumpkin Bread (all from scratch) that I brought back from Vermont in 1976 when I was 19. I discovered an alternative to the vanilla extract in the glaze is to swap it out and use orange extract………..turned out this is delicious as we all know how good Orange Spice is. I like how this recipe is so simple and am going to make this for our Fall pot luck this month. I, too, make mine in a pretty bundt pan. Thank you for sharing this easy recipe!
That sounds yummy, Ellen!! I will give that a try sometime!
I made this today but the glaze looked nothing like the one pictured. How much more powdered sugar do you suggest I use as “adding more” tells me nothing. The butter was cooked until it was amber but the sugar did not whisk in very well. It did thicken as it cooled but still very pourable. I opted to pour it on the individual slices because I could tell it was just going to disappear into the cake. I’m used to glazes having 1/2 cup or more of powdered sugar so when I saw 1 1/2 Tablespoons I didn’t think it was going to set up right. More liquids than solids.
Basically, you can add a little more sugar bit by bit whisking until it is your desired consistency. This is a glaze, not a frosting, so it does need to be pourable. It won’t be thick like frosting.
I love the combination of flavors in this coffee cake, sounds fantastic. Can’t wait to try this for my family.
So this cake doesn’t take any oil or butter?
No – the pumpkin takes the place of that. Making it healthier, too!
The cake was terribly bitter! We couldn’t eat it. Was sugar omitted from recipe?
This cake has been made by hundreds and hundreds of people and nobody has ever said that. I am wondered what cake mix that you used? The sweetness of the cake is from the mix itself and there is plenty of sugar in the glaze — so I am not sure why you feel that way?
Thanks for this great easy recipe. I love the added walnuts & that brown butter glaze is the bomb! Great anytime snack or dessert and it’s pretty enough to serve when entertaining.
So happy that you love it, Rhonda!