crème fraîche, cornmeal, and pumpkin coffee cake with pepita streusel.

This cake, oh this cake, this cake is everything.  

It's perfection, it's fall, it's all I dream about and all I want to eat.  Did I mention that it tastes exactly like fall? It does which is why I plan on making it every weekend through the end of November (no shame).    

The strussel nestles itself just barely under the top of the cake so that each bite has a little crunchy element of surprise (crunchy salty pepitas are amazing here).  The cake itself is oh so spicy and oh so moist.  The coconut oil while at first seems like a strange addition, after one bite (or one lick of the paddle from the mixing bowl and I wont tell if you do this), you suddenly realize that coconut oil and pumpkin is the single greatest combination ever especially when paired with tangy buttermilk and rich creme friache.  

This cake makes you fall hard for crisp evenings, ankle boots, and plaid.  It's love at first bite.  

Crème Fraîche, Cornmeal, and Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Pepita Streusel

Recipe via Local Milk

Yield one 9 inch cake

A couple of notes - if you can't find roasted salted pepitas, no worries.  I used raw pepitas and just doubled the salt and all was great in this world.  If you can't find creme friache, I urge you to make your own which is just about the easiest thing in the world to do. The recipe to do so can be found here. Fresh pumpkin puree should be used which if you have an oven takes actually zero effort to make.  You will be amazed at how wonderfully different fresh pumpkin puree tastes vs. the canned stuff.  Roasting your own pumpkin recipe can be found here.  

Also the pictures of this cake on Local Milk's blog makes me embarrassed to show mine because her's are that good.  I suggest you take a look at her blog since it's breathtakingly beautiful.  

For the Cake

175 g (roughly 1 1/2 cups lightly packed) cake flour

75 g (roughly half a cup) cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of ground cloves

125 g (a heaping 1/2 cup) coconut oil

240 g (roughly 1 cup packed) brown sugar

2 large eggs

125 g (1/2 cup) crème fraîche

125 g (1/2 cup) homemade or high quality pumpkin puree

60 g (1/4 cup) buttermilk

For the Streusel

60 g brown sugar

50 g all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoon butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup roasted & salted pepitas (little green pumpkin seeds!)

For the Glaze

2 tbsp buttermilk

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350°f and grease a 9" cast iron skillet or cake pan.

In a mixing bowl sift or whisk together the first 9 ingredients. Set aside. 

In a second mixing bowl mix crème fraîche, pumpkin puree, and buttermilk. Set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream but coconut oil and the brown sugar until well combined.  With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each is incorporated.

In three additions add the dry and wet ingredients, starting with the dry and ending with the wet. mix to only just combine; don't over mix.

Pour batter into skillet and bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make the streusel. Combine all ingredients for the streusel except the pepitas using two knives (or your fingers) to create a crumbled, sandy mixture. Mix in the pepitas.

After 20 minutes remove the cake, sprinkle the streusel on top, and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the center come out clean save a few crumbs.

While cake cools, make the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar 1/4 cup at time into the buttermilk. You can add more sugar to make it thicker or more buttermilk to make it thinner as you please.

Drizzle glaze over cooled cake and serve with coffee or milk!