Pumpkin Coffee Cake

by Christiane Matey
Easy Recipes, Healthy Recipes

The smell of Pumpkin Coffee Cake immediately signals fall. This one-bowl Pumpkin Coffee Cake with a crumbly cinnamon-sugar topping comes together with Greek yogurt and avocado oil for a healthier profile. Did I mention it’s a one-bowl wonder?

The Flavor of Fall

Pumpkin Spice is Everything Nice

Pumpkin spice doesn’t actually contain pumpkin but its ingredients — cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove — perfectly complement pumpkin in all forms and trigger feelings of well-being. Make your own or buy a high-quality blend.

Cinnamon reduces inflammation and cholesterol.
Ginger relieves pain and improves gut health.
Nutmeg contains antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds.
Clove prevents gum disease.

Pumpkin — Delicious and Healthy!

Pumpkin is a seasonal superfood. It’s thought of as a fruit, but it’s actually a vegetable and, when roasted and puréed, has many health benefits:

Pumpkin is rich in vitamin A, so it’s great for your eyes. Just one serving (about a cup) provides more than 200 percent of the RDA of vitamin A.
Its high potassium content (16 percent of the RDA) makes it heart-healthy.
With one-fifth of the RDA of Vitamin C, it’s a powerful immune booster.
Like other orange, red, and yellow foods, it’s high in carotenoids that fend off the free radicals that have been shown to cause cancer.
It’s low in calories (50 per serving) yet high in fiber to keep you full.

Keep It in the Can

Most people are familiar with canned pumpkin purée, which I recommend for my Pumpkin Coffee Cake because its low water content holds up better in baked goods. You’ll get the same flavor if you purée pie pumpkins by hand — just be aware your cake might shrink a bit as the water in the hand-puréed pumpkin evaporates.

Bonus Content!

Whether you purée pumpkin by hand or you’re carving a jack o’ lantern, don’t throw out the seeds! Separate them from the stringy flesh, air dry them, and toss them with olive oil. Then, slow-roast at 250 degrees for about an hour. Roasted pumpkin seeds are a healthy and delicious snack.

Ingredients for Pumpkin Coffee Cake:

2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin purée (canned or puréed by hand)
½ cup 2% Greek yogurt
¼ cup avocado oil (I recommend Primal Kitchen)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup turbinado sugar
2 cups 00 flour or all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Ingredients for Cinnamon-Sugar Topping:

¼ cup almond flour
¼ cup 00 flour or all-purpose flour
½ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup softened butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×9-inch baking pan or line with parchment paper.
Combine all of the wet ingredients in a large bowl and add the sugar. Whisk until fully incorporated.
Add all of the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and pumpkin pie spice) to the bowl. Mix well until smooth, like the consistency of cake dough.
Spread the dough evenly in the pan and set aside.
Make the crumb topping: In a small to medium bowl, mix the topping ingredients and combine with a fork until crumbly. Spread evenly over the cake batter.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Make sure there is no batter sticking to the toothpick! Place on a rack to cool.
Once the cake has cooled, cut into 12 squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Looking for other easy, healthy recipes from MINT Nutrition?

As a certified integrative and functional dietitian, it’s my job to come up with tasty, healthy recipes and meal plans for individuals (neat, I know). Start here, and follow MINT Nutrition on Instagram for more recipes, tips, and insights. To learn more about how our meal plans and nutrition services can best serve you, schedule a 15-minute consultation call today.