Pumpkin Chocolate Crumb Cake

Prep time
Cook time
Total time
A spicy pumpkin cake with a rich chocolate crumble layered in the middle and sprinkled generously over the top.
Author: Cindy
Serves: 8 large slices
Ingredients
- Crumble:
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup chopped, dark chocolate
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- Batter:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1¾ cup sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch round springform pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.
- Make the crumble by whisking the sugar, flour, cocoa, chopped chocolate, and salt together in a bowl. Work the cubed butter into the cocoa mixture, using either your fingers or a pastry blender, until the mixture is moist but crumbly–like wet sand. Set aside.
- To make the batter, whisk the flour, baking powder, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, cayenne, and kosher salt together in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl whisk the whisk the butter, sugar, and pumpkin together. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until well mixed. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and fold until combined–just until no streaks of flour remain. Spread half of the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan, sprinkle about half of the crumble over the batter. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the top of the previous layers and sprinkle the rest of the crumble over the surface. Bake in the center of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes.
Notes
Adapted from my Hazelnut Crunch Pumpkin Cake and a Martha Stewart recipe.
Chocolate crumb?!?! AHH!!! You just changed the way I see and feel about pumpkin cake. I need this!
The chocolate crumb is worth it by itself!
After seeing these on snapchat, I couldn’t wait to see this cake in all of its glory today!!! It looks incredible. I’m definitely adding this to my list of things to bake this fall without question. THAT CRUMB.
Ah! It was quite the journey, ha!
YESSS! This is reminding me so much of the Entennmanns crumb cake…only better with chocolate and pumpkin! Sorry that it took so many test recipes, but I’m glad you finally got it perfected. This pumpkin party is amazing! Sara is the best for organizing this.
My mom would sometimes buy that cake!
Oh my god, stop it. This looks so good! It’s making me want to push my morning smoothie aside and just go all in with a slice of cake + coffee ๐
I forced myself to have a smoothie instead of more cake this morning, ha!
Dude. I am so in love with these. The different layers and the contrasting colors!?! Pinning the crap out of it.
Thanks, girl! I’m really happy about the colors, haha!
I think this is the prettiest crumb cake I have ever seen!!!
Thanks, Meg!!
THIS is everything I want in a pumpkin cake! So gorgeous and delicious looking! I’m gonna have to join snap chat just so I can follow along behind the scenes! Happy pumpkin party day!
Thank you! Snapchat is totally addicting, I hate to even admit it!
Gosh, this cake looks perfect! I am swooning over that chocolate crumb topping! Genius.
Thanks, Amanda!
YAY! I’m so glad it finally worked! Looks taaasty! xo
Thanks, girl! 6th times the charm!
um that chocolate crumb is GENIUSSS
THANKS! I wanna sprinkle it on everything.
You make an unfrosted cake look super sexy. I want all of it!! Especially with that chocolate and pumpkin combo. Totally winning.
Ha! Thanks!
I love chocolate & pumpkin together, so good! Happy #virtualpumpkinparty!!
Thank you!
I’m so glad your cake turned out! I was really pulling for you! I wanted to participate in the party, but life has just been BANANAS lately. I’ll just admire all the baked goods, especially this gorg cake!
I hope it’s good bananas, not rotten bananas!! Thanks, lady!
Glorious, glorious cake! It looks totally moist and dense and the kind of cake that coats your mouth with love. Hehe ๐ Also, I am thoroughly impressed you caught this all on snapchat because I have tried and I don’t have enough brain capacity to do both!!
I mostly just recorded myself cursing on snapchat, ha!
This looks totally divine, Cindy!! I love the dark chocolate crumble topping, such a fantastic idea to go with a pumpkin cake!
Thanks, Hannah!!
You know… I’ve never seen a chocolate crumb topping before. It looks SO good. Especially when paired with pumpkin cake. Happy Pumpkin Day!!
Thanks, Brandon! The chocolate crumb makes it!
This cake looks beyond words incredible! Drool!!!
Thanks, Tori!!
I mean, it doesn’t matter how long you took to get it right when the final recipe looks that amazing! I 100% would want in on this at our virtual party!
Thanks, Aida! I was determined to make it happen ๐
That chocolate crumb is genius!! And you know a cake is going to be good when a blogger has spent so long perfecting it, getting the proportions and ingredients just right – so glad it is here now though because I need it in my life! Just gorgeous.
Thanks, Claudia!! The chocolate crumb is worth making over and over again, in itself!
I freaking love this cake!!!
Thanks, Alice!!
So glad you perfected this recipe because I NEED this in my life like yesterday, YUM!
Thanks, Phi!!
This is pretty much the most perfect crumb cake there ever was, and those colors!! Nailed it lady!!
Thank you, Alana!!
I would like to dive face first into this chocolate pumpkin deliciousness. YUM!!!
So I am pretty much in love with the idea of a pumpkin chocolate crumb cake. And I’m starting to think we need to coordinate for things like this so we can taste each others stuff…maybe next link up we swap extras?! (Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes…) ๐
Yes! I would so be down for a swap!
This sounds amazing, Cindy!!!! Thanks so much for participating in this crazy event. xoxo
Cindy, this is GORG!!!!
Thanks, Sherrie!!
Oh my GOSH, this is AMAZING. Chocolate and a touch of cayenne? GENIUS. LOVE!!
The cayenne really makes it special (and the chocolate, obvs)!
Made it this past week – Amazing cake with the perfect texture or two crumb layers!!! I needed to bake it for 15 minutes longer as the center was still wet.