Pumpkin Crunch Cake

I am soooo loving this October & November!  The weather has been gorgeous here in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and the local pumpkin crop is stellar.  That may be the reason that my family and I seem to be having a pumpkin something almost daily.  Or maybe its just because we look forward all year to Fall and the pumpkin delicacies we can enjoy!

I had been thinking about a cake or pound cake flavored with pumpkin for a couple of weeks and the word ‘crunch” was popping into my head whenever I thought about it.  So I tinkered and tinkered until I got it where I wanted it.  In my first attempt, I grabbed a bundt pan.  I’m not sure what I was thinking since the crunch was on top, so getting that cake out of the pan, then flipping it was a feat for sure…not so smart especially since this cake is so moist and heavy from all of the pumpkin. Miraculously it didn’t break apart, but I knew that was not the way to go!

This cake is SO moist and explodes with pumpkin flavor, it reminds me of something but what that something is, I just can’t figure out.  I can vaguely remember a boxed cake when I was a kid that said it had pudding in it, that might be what this reminds me of, its so moist and dense.  My husband and my sister especially were crazy for this cake, they begged me to stop making it (since I made it 3 days in a row to get it right) so they could stop eating it, they couldn’t control themselves!

If you are into nuts, feel free to add some chopped pecans in for extra crunch, my kids are allergic so no nuts for us. Initially, I envisioned a pumpkin flavored drizzle over-top the cake but trust me, it doesn’t need it.

Cake
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 oz butter, room temp
2 cups )16 oz) fresh roasted pumpkin or pumpkin puree (not pie) from a can
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1 TBS vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 1/2 TBS pumpkin pie spice
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Crunch Mix
3/4 cup toffee bits
3/4 cup cinnamon chips
1/2 cup Quaker Oats Oatmeal
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 TBS butter

In your mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter, pumpkin, yogurt & vanilla and mix until blended.  Add in the eggs and mix until incorporated.  In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, then pour them into your wet mixture and mix until fully incorporated.  Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, combine toffee bits (made by Heath), cinnamon chips (made by Hershey’s), oatmeal and brown sugar.  Work it together with your fingertips, then add in the butter and mix it in with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until its crumbly and worked in.

Spray/grease a springform pan and place half the batter in it, scatter 1/2 of the crunch mixture over-top.  Place the rest of the batter in and repeat with the remaining crumb mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees 45-50 minutes or until a tester inserted comes out clean and dry.  Cover your cake lightly with foil after 30 minutes.

Colleen’s Notes:  My favorite way to make the topping was by using 2 packets of an organic snicker doodle oatmeal I had on-hand instead of straight up oatmeal.  Feel free to try something like that if you have packets of some sort you feel will go well in your pantry.  If not the oatmeal works just fine.

If you want a less dense cake (however I think this is what makes this cake so good), only use 8 oz of pumpkin.  If you need to make Pumpkin Pie Spice, my Little Chef shows you how to here.  If you need to know how to roast a pumpkin, again my 9 year old has your back!

If you’re looking for more pumpkin love, here are some of my favorites:

Pumpkin Pie Shooters
Thanksgiving  Pumpkin Parfait Dessert Bar
Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Spiced Pumpkin Bread Pudding With Maple Glaze
Easy Baked Pumpkin Donuts

Enjoy!!