Your kids want dessert for breakfast? Why not—morning treats are easier to burn off than late-night sweets. Coffee cakes are the perfect reason to enjoy cake at breakfast: they’re moist, often topped with a glaze or crumb topping, and aren’t overloaded with buttercream. My whole family adores them. This Pumpkin Cream Cheese Coffee Cake captures the same cozy flavors as classic pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting—who doesn’t love those?
I first found this recipe on Taste of Home and adjusted it for our tastes. I’m not from the South, but this coffee cake is amazing. Trust me.
With three distinct layers, this pumpkin coffee cake was a fun project for Wes. It uses a variety of skills and techniques that make it a great baking activity for kids.
It was Wes’s first time marbling cream cheese into batter. Because the swirl gets covered by the topping, kids can freely experiment and have fun with the pattern.
Watching his progress in the kitchen has been delightful. At four years old he could spread the crumb topping evenly—something I might have needed to guide him on a year earlier. It’s so rewarding to see them improve.
The smell of this coffee cake baking drew my other two boys into the kitchen—who can resist? It’s a warm, cozy scent that promises fall in every bite.
We enjoyed it straight from the oven the first day. It was so good my eight-year-old, Warren, asked for it as his birthday cake—surprising because he usually isn’t a huge cream cheese fan.
The coconut-pecan crumb topping truly makes this cake stand out, adding a pleasant crunch and extra flavor.
I kept leftovers in the fridge and couldn’t decide whether I preferred it warm or chilled. If you like cold pumpkin bars, you’ll enjoy this coffee cake straight from the refrigerator—the flavors settle and the cream cheese becomes more pronounced overnight.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Breakfast/Dessert
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1-1/2 cups canned pumpkin
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- FILLING:
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- TOPPING:
- 2/3 cup flaked coconut
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, beat sugar, eggs, pumpkin, oil and vanilla until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and beat well.
- Pour batter into a greased 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
- In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, egg and sugar until completely smooth (cream cheese should be at room temperature for easy mixing).
- Drop tablespoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture over the batter.
- Use a butter knife to gently swirl the cream cheese into the pumpkin batter.
- In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients (coconut, pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon) and sprinkle evenly over the top.
- Bake at 350° for 35–40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before serving.
- Serve warm or cold. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Hope you love this Pumpkin Cream Cheese Coffee Cake as much as we do!
What have you been up to with your Mini Chefs?
I am hosting Mini Chef Mondays with five fabulous bloggers—find out more about the Mini Chef Mondays Team!
- Pinterest: Check out our Mini Chef Mondays board
- Instagram: Use the hashtag #MiniChefMondays so we can repost your mini chef
- Twitter: We retweet posts using #MiniChefMondays
Be sure to check out each of their Mini Chef posts as well!
- Deviled Egg Pasta Salad // Courtney’s Sweets
- Pumpkin Shaped Sugar Cookies Without a Cookie Cutter // Eating Richly
- Semi-Homemade Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
- Applesauce Overnight Oats // Vegging at the Shore
- Veggie Jack-o-Lantern Halloween Snacks // My Mini Adventurer
