Pumpkin Coffee Cake

I'm my best when I am baking.  My soul has been a little sad these days.  Perhaps it's just the crazy busyness, perhaps it's the fall creeping up on us, the loss of light...I don't know but there is a little blue.

I didn't realize it so much but it's reflected in my baking.  I don't know why but I realized it looking at this coffee cake.  This is my favorite coffee cake of all time.  I can make it anytime since the recipe calls for canned pumpkin but I love to make it in the fall.

I had a little brunch get together this past weekend and it's there I served it.  Please enjoy.

This recipe comes Bakerella.com blog.  I tweaked it a little bit by adding cardamon and a tip from America's Best Kitchen.  They recommend when using canned pumpkin, to cook it a bit with the spices of the recipe.  It suppose to get rid of the slight metallic taste.  Not sure if I noticed the difference but the cake was good.

Streusel
1/3 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
6 tbsp of cold unsalted butter cut into dice size
1 cup of toasted pecans salted

In a bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Toss in the butter and using a pastry cutter, cut it into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like course crumbs.  Stir in pecans. Set aside.

Glaze
1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar sifted
1 tsp of whole milk
1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla.  Add drops of more milk if too thick.  Let it sit covered while making the cake.

Batter
1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of cardamon
1 tsp of ginger
1/4 tsp of nutmeg

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1/2 tsp of kosher salt
1/2 cup or 1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup of sour cream

Heat oven to 350 degree and position the rack in the middle of the oven.  
Butter and flour a 9 inch cake pan with 3-inch sides or a bundt pan with straight sides.
In a small sauce pan over low heat, place the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, and nutmeg and cook over medium heat until it thickens and most of the moisture is cooked away, about 10 min.  Set aside.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  
In a different bowl or your stand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar on medium-high speed until well combined.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Add the pumpkin mixture and the sour cream with a spatula. Stir in the flour mixture.  The batter will be thick.
Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle half of the streusel over the batter.  Dollop the remaining batter over the streusel and even out the batter.  Top with remaining streusel.  Put in oven and bake for about 50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  
Cool about 15 minutes and remove from pan. 
Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake. 

Must eat with hot coffee or tea!