Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Coffee Cake

Savor sweet fall flavor with this Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Coffee Cake. Moist pumpkin cake is layered with a caramelized pumpkin spice filling with a brown sugar streusel topping.

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Is it just me, or are baked goods extra special on a cool, crisp fall day? After a long, hot summer, it’s so nice to spend some time in a cozy kitchen baking up some delicious fall flavors.

This Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Coffee Cake is full of those nostalgic fall flavors. Pumpkin, brown sugar, and of course, pumpkin spice, are the stars of this recipe.

The caramelized brown sugar and pumpkin spice filling is sandwiched in between soft and moist pumpkin cake, and topped with a brown sugar topping. The perfect combination of sweetness and spice for a delicious fall treat.

Baking with Sourdough Discard

Baked goods are a great way to use up sourdough discard. New to sourdough and wondering what the heck sourdough discard is? It’s basically just sourdough starter that is past its prime. It is no longer active enough to leaven a recipe, but that doesn’t mean it has to actually be discarded!

Sourdough discard can be incorporated into pretty much any recipe that has another leavening agent, such as baking powder or dry yeast. Check out our other discard recipes for more delicious ideas!

When baking with sourdough discard, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, don’t overmix the recipe. In almost all of my discard recipes, I add the sourdough discard last and mix until just combined. This prevents any toughness or chewiness.

Second, I’ve found that the less active the discard is, the better the discard recipe turns out. If I have freshly discarded starter, I like to leave it out an extra day, or even half day, before refrigerating it. This way it’s more watery and less stretchy, so it incorporates into the recipe better and there’s less chance of toughness or chewiness.

Tools to Make Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Coffee Cake

Mixing bowls

Measuring cups and spoons

8in x 8in baking dish

Kitchen scale (optional, but sometimes more convenient than measuring everything in cups)

Ingredients for Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Coffee Cake

For the cake:

• All purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Cinnamon
• Pumpkin pie spice (store-bought or homemade)
• Coconut oil or butter, melted
• Brown sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Sourdough discard
• Canned pumpkin puree

For the filling:

• Brown sugar
• Pumpkin pie spice
• Cinnamon

For the streusel topping:

• Butter
• All purpose flour
• Brown sugar
• Pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8×8 baking dish.

To make the cake:

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice together in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the oil or butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Add the sourdough discard and pumpkin puree and mix well.

Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until combined. The batter will be pretty thick.

To make the filling:

In a small bowl, stir the brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon.

To make the streusel topping:

Melt butter and set aside to cool until just warm. Whisk the flour, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl. Drizzle the melted butter over the mixture, then toss with a fork until combined but still crumbly.

Assemble and bake:

Spread half the cake batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle filling mixture evenly over the top. Then spread the remaining cake batter over the top of the filling. Top the coffee cake with the streusel topping, sprinkling it evenly over the top.

Bake the coffee cake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.