Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

Streusel Topping:

· 1 cup brown sugar

· 1 cup pecans

· 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

· ½ cup all-purpose flour

· ¾ teaspoon baking powder

· 1/8 teaspoon salt

· 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces

(Note: ½ cup self-rising flour can be substituted for the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt.)

Cake:

· 1 spice cake mix

· 1/3 cup buttermilk

· 3 eggs, room temperature

· 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

· 1 teaspoon baking soda

· 2 teaspoons vanilla

· 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.

With a food processor, pulse all the topping ingredients until moist and crumbly. Set aside.

Place all cake ingredients in the mixing bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds to combine, then beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Spread half the cake batter in the pan; sprinkle with half the streusel topping. Spread the rest of the cake batter on top of the topping, and sprinkle with the remainder of the topping. (Note: the easiest way to spread the batter on top of the first layer of topping is to place dollops of batter all over the topping, then pull them together with a spatula to spread evenly.)

Bake for 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for a about an hour and serve warm, or at room temperature.

Serve each piece with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. A little warm caramel wouldn’t hurt either!