In honor of the arrival of Fall (and the arrival of Pumpkin Spice Latte’s at the coffee shop!), I created a cake that is going to be top of your baking list for years to come! Get ready for it…Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake With Pecan Topping! OMG, when you make this your friends and family are not going to know what hit them!
An added bonus is Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake is SO versatile! You can easily serve it at breakfast as a streusel, or at dinner as a decadent dessert. You can serve it with the brown butter cinnamon glaze, or you can leave it off altogether. Dress it up at breakfast with a spoonful of vanilla yogurt. Dress it up at dinner with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. See what I mean?! This recipe is going to become your go-to every Fall!
Equipment:
When you cut into your cake it should be moist and dense and shouldn’t resemble those dry coffee cakes you sometimes get. The top should be golden brown, but nothing should be dark brown or black. The heating core elements help to make sure the inside of the cake cooks more quickly and evenly, so the outside doesn’t get overdone waiting for the middle to cook. I highly recommend them!
The one other thing I will note is the pan I use in this recipe is a tube pan. It works great, gives the cake a flat top for the pecan topping to sit on, and also has a flat bottom where the heat cores can sit. I have never tried this recipe in any other type of pan, so I don’t know if it would work, but let me know if you try it!
Freezing:
When it comes to making dishes ahead and freezing them, I am a reluctant participant. It doesn’t see to matter what I do, the dish never seems quite the same as when I make it fresh. This cake is an exception and every year I make at least one ahead and freeze it to serve on Thanksgiving morning for breakfast. I start early because inevitably the first one does not last long enough to make it to the freezer!
To make ahead and freeze your Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake, let it cool completely and don’t glaze it. Wrap it securely in several layers of plastic wrap, making sure the cake is completely encased. Then wrap it in a couple of layers of aluminum foil and seal it tightly. It will be good for a couple of months, providing it is well sealed. When you are ready to use the cake, thaw it and glaze it.
If you make this recipe, please let me know how you like it! I hope it will become your go-to cake recipe for Fall just like it is for me!
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake With Pecan Topping
Equipment
- 10' Tube Pan
- Electric Mixer, hand mixer or stand mixer
- Heating Cores for Cake Baking
- Several Mixing Bowls
Materials
Ingredients For The Cake
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 2-1/4 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
- 1-1/4 cups Brown Sugar Packed
- 4 Eggs Room temperature
- 1 15 oz Can of Pumpkin Puree No sugar, no spices added
- 3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1/2 up Half and Half or Whole Milk
- 1 tsp Instant Coffee Optional to add more if you want a stronger coffee flavor
Ingredients for the Filling
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar Packed
- 1-1/2 Tbsp Cinnamon Yes, this is Tablespoons!
- 1 tsp Instant Coffee
Ingredients for the Pecan Topping
- 6 Tbsp Butter Melted
- 1/2 cup Flour
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar Packed
- 1 Tbsp Cinnamon Tablespoon!
- 1/2 cup Pecans Chopped
Ingredients for the Glaze
- 6 Tbsp Butter
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
Instructions
Step 1: Make The Filling
- In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and instant coffee. Set aside.
Step 2: Make The Topping
- Melt the butter in the microwave in a glass mixing bowl. Don't let the butter get too hot, it just needs to barely melt. Stir in the sugar and mix until it is well combined. Add the flour, cinnamon and pecans and stir until the mixture is thick and clumping together.
Step 3: Make The Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 10" tube pan. Place 4 heat core elements on the bottom of the pan, spacing them equal distance apart and centered. Give each core a quick squirt of nonstick cooking spray. Heat cores are optional, but I won't bake cakes without them.
- In a medium mixing bowl stir together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and instant coffee. Set aside.
- In a small, glass pyrex heat the half and half (or whole milk) in the microwave until it is very warm, but not bubbling. Add the 1 tsp of instant coffee and stir until combined. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl use an electric mixer to beat the brown sugar and eggs at medium-high speed until fully combined and frothy. Beat in the oil and then the pumpkin puree.
- Retrieve your bowl of dry ingredients and your latte (milk and coffee). Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the latte into the large bowl with the brown sugar and eggs, blending well before adding more. Do this in 3 batches.
- Gently pour half of the cake batter into your greased and floured tube pan, making sure you distribute the batter evenly over the heat cores.
- With a spoon, carefully heap the filling on top of the cake batter, taking care to keep it away from the sides of the tube pan.
- Pour the remaining half of the cake batter on top of the filling, making sure all of the filling is covered with batter.
- Using your fingers, spread the pecan topping over the surface of the cake batter. You may have to break up some clumps and spread the pieces around to make sure the topping is placed evenly around the cake. Again, do your best to avoid the sides of the pan.
Step 4: Bake The Cake
- Bake the cake in your preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until a wooden toothpick or skewer poked into the middle of the cake comes out clean.NOTE: WHEN USING HEAT CORES REDUCE YOUR BAKING TIME AND CHECK THE CAKE EARLIER. My cake is usually done at 45-50 minutes. Heat cores make the inside of the cake bake evenly and more quickly. The benefit is the top and sides of the cake don't get overdone waiting for the raw interior to catch up. I don't bake cakes without them.
Step 5: Make The Glaze
- While the cake is baking, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Swirl the butter in the pan, place it back on the heat, wait a few seconds and swirl it again. Repeat this until the butter turns a nutty brown. Be careful not to let it burn or get too dark…this happens very quickly once the butter starts to brown. Once the butter is brown, remove from the heat, but keep swirling or stirring until it cools a little bit.
- Add the powdered sugar and cinnamon to the butter and stir it in until combined. The consistency should be such that when you hold up a spoonful of glaze it drizzles slowly back into the pan. You want to be able to drizzle the glaze over the cake, but not have it so runny it absorbs into the cake. If the glaze is too thin, add powdered sugar and if it is too thick add one drop of milk at a time until you get it where you want it.
Step 6: Remove The Cake
- When the cake is done, take it from the oven and set it aside. About 5-10 minutes later run a thin, sharp knife between the cake and the sides of the pan and let it cool further. The cake will be ready to remove when the bottom of the cake pan is comfortable to handle…not hot but not completely cool.
- Grab a large cutting board and the cake plate you plan to use. Place the cutting board on top of the cake pan. Now carefully tip the cake pan upside down, pecan topping side facing down onto the board. Carefully remove the cake pan from the cake and take the heat cores out of the bottom. Now take your cake plate and carefully put it face down onto the bottom of the cake. Quickly and carefully invert the whole thing (board, cake, plate), so the cake plate is on the bottom and the cutting board is on top. Remove the cutting board. The cake should be sitting pecan side up on the cake plate, pretty as can be!
Step 7: Glaze The Cake
- Finally, drizzle the brown butter cinnamon glaze over the top and sides of the completely cooled cake. ENJOY!
Notes
