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This easy Low-Fat Pumpkin Coffee Cake is moist, tender and full of warm pumpkin spice flavor, with a sweet cinnamon streusel topping that adds just the right amount of crunch.
It’s a delicious treat for breakfast, brunch or an afternoon cup of coffee. And at just 186 calories a slice, it’s a lighter way to enjoy a little homemade cake.
I’ve always had a soft spot for pumpkin recipes, and one fall I found myself digging through my cookbooks looking for yet another way to enjoy them. I’d even started making my own pumpkin puree in the pressure cooker, which turned out to be surprisingly easy.
When the idea of pumpkin coffee cake popped into my head, I couldn’t resist experimenting.
The result was this lighter pumpkin coffee cake, inspired by recipes from three of my favorite baking cookbooks.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- Moist and tender: Pumpkin puree and buttermilk keep the cake soft without needing lots of butter or oil.
- Warmly spiced: Pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon give it that familiar fall flavor.
- A lighter streusel: A little Grape-Nuts cereal adds crunch to the cinnamon topping.
- Perfect for sharing: It makes a lovely addition to a holiday breakfast or brunch.
- Even better the next day: The streusel softens slightly, and the flavors have time to settle.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Cinnamon Streusel Topping
- All-purpose flour: Helps create the crumbly topping.
- Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and a little caramel flavor.
- Ground cinnamon: Gives the streusel its warm spice.
- Cold butter and canola oil: Provide richness while keeping the topping lighter.
- Apple juice or milk: Just a teaspoon or so, if needed, to help the crumbs come together.
- Grape-Nuts cereal: My little trick for adding crunch without using lots of butter.
For the Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- All-purpose flour: Forms the base of the cake.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Help the cake rise.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Adds warm fall flavor.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness.
- Eggs: Give the cake structure.
- Pumpkin puree: Adds moisture and pumpkin flavor. Use plain canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Buttermilk: Helps keep the cake tender.
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar: Sweeten the cake.
- Canola oil: Adds moisture without making the cake heavy.
- Vanilla extract: Rounds out the flavor.
How to Make Low-Fat Pumpkin CoffeeCake with Streusel Topping
Step 1: Gather and prepare all ingredients. Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick spray.
Step 2: Make the streusel topping. In a small bowl (affiliate link), combine 3 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, butter and canola oil with a fork or clean fingers until the mixture is crumbly. Add about a teaspoon of apple juice or milk if you need a little more moisture to achieve a crumbly consistency. Stir in the GrapeNuts and set aside.
Step 3: Make the coffeecake. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt until well combined.
Step 4: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, buttermilk, 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, sugar, 3 tablespoons canola oil and vanilla until well blended. Gradually add the dry flour mixture and stir, just until combined.
Step 5: Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top of the coffeecake.
Step 6: Bake in the preheated oven until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.
Step 7: Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes and Tips
I created this coffee cake by combining ideas from three cookbooks: Libby’s Home-Baked Goodness, Perfect Light Desserts by Nick Malgieri and David Joachim, and Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too (affiliate link) by Susan Purdy.
The Grape-Nuts streusel was a fun way to give the cake a little crunch without using a traditional butter-heavy crumb topping.
Rod, who loves just about anything involving cake, enjoyed a slice with ice cream for dessert and gave it his full approval.
Personally, I think it’s even better the next day, when the crunchy Grape-Nuts have softened a bit.
A few helpful tips:
- Don’t overmix the batter. Stir just until the dry ingredients are incorporated for a tender cake.
- Use plain pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie filling contains added sugar and spices.
- Check for doneness. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Enjoy it warm or at room temperature. Both are delicious, and the texture changes slightly as the cake rests.n streusel coffeecake would be a nice addition to your holiday breakfast or brunch table.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Low Fat Pumpkin Streusel Coffeecake?
According to my calculations each slice has 186 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
5 PointsPlus (Old plan)
If you’ve made this Low-Fat Pumpkin Streusel Coffeecake, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Low-Fat Pumpkin Streusel Coffeecake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Streusel Topping:
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 1 or more teaspoons apple juice or milk, if additional moisture is needed to achieve crumbly consistency
- 2 tablespoons Grape-Nuts (crunchy nugget cereal)
Coffeecake:
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.
- To make the streusel topping, in a small bowl (affiliate link) combine the flour, brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, butter and canola oil with a fork or your fingers until the mixture is crumbly. (Add about a teaspoon of apple juice or milk if you need a little more moisture to achieve a crumbly consistency.) Stir in the Grapenuts and set aside.
- To make the cake, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt until well combined.
- In a large mixing bowl (affiliate link), whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, buttermilk, brown sugar, sugar, canola oil and vanilla until well blended. Add the flour mixture and stir just until combined.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top of the cake.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 5 PointsPlus (Old plan) I think it’s even better the next day when the crunchy Grape-Nuts in the streusel soften up a bit. This low fat pumpkin streusel coffeecake would be a nice addition to your holiday breakfast or brunch.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Sources:
- Libbys Home-Baked Goodness (affiliate link)
- Perfect Light Desserts: Fabulous Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and More Made with Real Butter, Sugar, Flour, and Eggs, All Under 300 Calories Per Generous Serving (affiliate link) by Nick Malgieri and David Joachim
- Have Your Cake and Eat it, Too (affiliate link) by Susan Purdy
More Easy Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love
- Healthy Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts – A lighter homemade alternative to fried doughnuts.
- 2-Ingredient Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins – An easy shortcut recipe when you’re craving chocolate and pumpkin.
- Low-Fat Cranberry Pumpkin Scones – A delicious addition to breakfast or afternoon tea.
- Pumpkin Spice English Muffin Cheese Danish – A quick, individual pumpkin treat.
- Easy Pumpkin Bread, Muffin and Scone Recipes – More pumpkin baking inspiration.
Hello Martha-made this coffee cake for our Sunday morning breakfast today. It was wonderful! Light texture, great flavor and easy to assemble. I’ll be freezing serving size pieces to add to our menu for the next few weeks. Thanks for the great recipe.
I have tried a lot of pumpkin muffin and cake recipes to use up some of the many butternut squash I grow. I often find them too dense and heavy. This is definitely the best recipe I found and I have also made 12 muffins which works great. A few small changes. I used some maple syrup for half the brown sugar and reduced the white sugar amount a bit. I added a bit more spice and used bran buds because that is what I had. Muffins cook 18 to 20 minutes. Great breakfast muffin.
Just saw your guest post on Danica’s Daily & I think I found my new favorite blog. Wow – this looks amazing!
Thanks, Lori. It was such a thrill to be able to guest post for Danica 🙂
Oh boy! Looks so light and tender. Where did you find the nutrition facts finder?
Thanks, Mireya. I use nutrition tool at about.com: http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
I love the addition of Grape Nuts! What a neat idea 🙂