Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Cheesecake Swirl

Table of Contents

1. You must make this coffee cake this fall.
2. Everything you’ll need to make this recipe.
3. Here’s how to make this recipe.
4. These pro tips will make this recipe a success.
5. Frequently asked questions about this recipe.
6. What other recipes
7. Watch how to make this recipe.
8. Have I convinced you to make this recipe?
9. Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Cheesecake Swirl Recipe

The great part of a coffee cake is that it’s simply an excuse to eat cake for breakfast! This pumpkin coffee cake is made with a cheesecake layer swirled right into the batter, topped with a streusel topping, with no special equipment needed. It’s super delicious and perfect for the fall season!

You must make this coffee cake this fall.

Everything is made with pumpkin in the fall. While it may seem overused, I think pumpkin creates an ideal texture in a cake. Pumpkin creates a moist texture in the finished cake. The coffee cake base uses both pumpkin and oil, and combining the two helps keep the finished cake moist for days at room temperature or months in the freezer. Pumpkin can be one note on its own, which is why this coffee cake has a cheesecake mixture swirled in. The sweet, tangy cheesecake with the soft spiced pumpkin are a perfect match. A streusel topping makes this a true coffee cake, it wasn’t needed, but at the same time, it was needed.

Everything you’ll need to make this recipe.

• Brown sugar is white sugar mixed with molasses. The result is moist sugar with caramel-like toffee flavors. These work well the spices and pumpkin.
• Neutral oil is used instead of butter. Neutral oil has no flavor but moistens the cake and allows the pumpkin to shine.
• Pumpkin purée can be store-purchased or homemade. If using homemade, make sure you drain the purée so it doesn’t have too much moisture.
• Cream cheese will mix best at room temperature. Do not use low-fat cream cheese, the full fat will have more flavor and give the correct finished texture.
• Cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, and nutmeg combined together are a homemade version of a pumpkin pie spice. I like to notice each spice and give certain amounts rather than use a premixed version.

Here’s how to make this recipe.

1. Prepare the wet ingredients. To a bowl, add the brown sugar, white sugar, pumpkin purée, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix all of the ingredients together until the mixture is fully combined.

2. Prepare the dry ingredients. To the bowl with the combined wet ingredients, add the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Mix the dry ingredients directly into the wet ingredients, making a homogenous mixture. Once mixture, pour the batter into a greased 8×8 baking dish and smooth it out into an even layer.

3. Prepare the cheesecake swirl. To a small bowl, add the room-temperature cream cheese. Using a spatula, smash the cream cheese to soften it even more. Once the cream cheese is loosened, add in the sugar,  vanilla extract, and egg yolk. Stir this mixture to combine all of the ingredients. Dollop a spoonful at a time of the cheesecake mixture on top of the pumpkin batter in the baking dish. Once all of the cheesecake mixture is on top, use a table knife to swirl the pumpkin batter with the cheesecake mixture.  

4. Prepare the streusel topping. In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Using a spatula or hands, mix together these three ingredients until well combined. Add the cubed butter pieces and work them into the flour and sugar mixture. Once fully mixed together, the mixture should look sandy. Pour the streusel topping on the batter.

5. Bake the coffee cake. Place the coffee cake in the 350°F preheated oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Once baked, puffed, and golden on top, remove the cake and let cool fully before slicing.

These pro tips will make this recipe a success.

• For the best flavor, freshly grate your nutmeg. Since nutmeg is a spice that does not get much use, it can tend to go stale when left in the spice cabinet. Thus, if you have a nutmeg seed readily available, you ensure that the spice has the most potency and the resulting coffee cake will be full of flavor.
• Do not over-mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Mixing too thoroughly will cause the coffee cake to be tough once baked, without the desired light texture. Simply mix until there are no longer dry streaks throughout the mixture. In fact, there may be some remaining lumps, which is completely fine.
• When mixing the cheesecake mixture into the pumpkin batter, do not be scared if the mixture looks messy. Once it is topped with the streusel topping and baked, the cheesecake layer will settle and look perfect on the cake.
• To test if the cake is finished, insert a wooden skewer into the middle of the cake. The cake can be considered fully baked and ready to remove if it comes out mostly clean.

What other recipes

Watch how to make this recipe.