I still can’t believe it’s already the end of October. Halloween is just around the corner. Growing up in Brooklyn, I always looked forward to dressing up and going trick-or-treating around my neighborhood in Brooklyn on Halloween night. The pace in Brooklyn was much quicker and made it difficult to navigate around all of the people at times. Living in Ohio has helped me slow down my pace and really enjoy the change in environment around me. This weekend, I wanted to make a treat to celebrate fall. I noticed many supermarkets were selling pumpkins, apple cider, and spice cakes. Some of my favorite flavors associated with fall are pumpkin spice, maple syrup, and caramel apple. I love to combine different fall flavors into main dishes, desserts, and drinks. The weather in Ohio has been closer to winter than fall lately, but the warm, rich colors of the leaves on the trees and the fresh smells of spices, coffee beans, and chai tea in coffee shops remind me not to look too far ahead for winter yet. There is still a lot more of fall to enjoy before winter rolls around. Cold weather is also a wonderful excuse for baking. I love to turn on the oven and spend my days baking treats when I have free time on the weekends. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with incorporating different fall flavor combinations into both savory and sweet dishes. One of those experiments led to my pumpkin spice crumb cake. I had a can of pumpkin pie filling, some pumpkin pie spice blend and used both ingredients in my crumb cake. The pumpkin spice crumb cake turned out to be the perfect treat for an extra cold fall day. Even Kevin, who usually isn’t a fan of anything pumpkin, enjoyed the crumb cake. The cake is also a nod to fall, pumpkins, and Halloween. Try it and see for yourself.
Cake
· 1½ cups all-purpose flour
· 1½ teaspoons baking powder
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
· ½ stick unsalted butter, room temperature
· ¾ cup granulated sugar
· 1 large egg, room temperature
· ¾ cup canned pumpkin puree
· ¼ cup whole milk, room temperature
Crumb Topping
· 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
· ½ cup all-purpose flour
· ¼ cup granulated sugar
· ¼ cup light brown sugar
· ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a glass baking dish. Set aside.
2) In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin spice. Set aside.
3) In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until combined. Add the egg. Mix until incorporated. Add the flour mixture. Fold in the pumpkin puree and milk. Combine all ingredients until batter is smooth.
4) Pour the batter into the baking dish pan. Use a spatula to smooth out the top of the batter.
5) To make the crumb topping, cut all of the ingredients together using a pastry cutter (or your fingers). Sprinkle the crumb topping generously over the top of the cake batter.
6) Place the baking dish into the oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Test doneness of cake by inserting a knife in the center and checking to see if the knife comes out clean.
Takeaways: The crumb cake taste best once it’s fresh out of the oven. The crumb topping tends to soften over time and becomes soft once the cake is stored in the refrigerator. I usually consume the cake within 2-3 days for the best flavor and texture. I still had half a can of pumpkin pie filling left after making the crumb cake and ended up using it to make some pumpkin spice pancakes.
12/1/2018 - UPDATE
I made my pumpkin spice crumb cake again for Friendsgiving 2018 at our friend, Court’s home. This time around, instead of one egg, I used two eggs. The pumpkin spice cake turned out even fluffier than the first time around. When making the crumb topping, I worked it a little bit more than I did the first time around. I made sure the butter, flour, and sugar mixture were combined very well until different sized buttery crumbs were formed. I also made sure the crumb topping was evenly distributed all over the cake before baking it. Our friends liked the cake quite a bit and took a few extra pieces with them to enjoy at home.
