Last Updated on January 10, 2022 by Aaron von Frank
Enjoy fall harvest coffee cake with apples and pumpkins for a delicious seasonal breakfast on a cool late summer or fall morning!
Seasonal meals and apple-pumpkin coffee cake
Each month brings new, seasonally-fresh produce in our gardens and at the market. Once Asian persimmons and pumpkins start going into our garden harvest baskets, we know fall is getting close — even if it’s still 95°F outside here in South Carolina.
Eating lots of home-grown and local produce is a good way to connect to the seasons, and to our little blue ball’s annual journey around the sun.
Pumpkins, apples, and walnuts combine to make this delicious fall harvest coffee cake.
Easy to grow: pumpkins. Hard to grow: apples
Unfortunately, with our hot humid climate, plant diseases, and pest insect loads, it’s very difficult to grow organic apples where we live.
Instead, we just buy organic apples at the store. Usually, these come from east of the Rocky Mountains or from the Northeast where growing organic apples is much easier, due to fewer pests and diseases.
However, it’s quite easy for us to grow organic pumpkins/winter squash in our garden. In fact, our problem is usually having too many pumpkins, not too few.
That means we eat a LOT of pumpkin, which then means we have to come up with lots of pumpkin recipes. The only thing that tastes more like fall than apples + pumpkins? Apples + pumpkins + walnuts. (Or pecans).
And that’s what this fall harvest coffee cake recipe is all about: the most delicious tastes of fall all combined into one baking dish.
Slices of delicious fall harvest coffee cake – the perfect seasonal breakfast on a cool late summer or fall morning.
Fall harvest coffee cake with apples and pumpkins
This is a fairly simple recipe to make – especially once you’ve made it a couple times. While it’s great fresh out of the oven, it actually seems to get better after it’s come together for a day or so.
Make it on the weekend, then enjoy an easy homemade breakfast throughout the week!
Is this fall harvest coffee cake healthy?
We wouldn’t recommend eating this coffee cake every day, but it’s perfectly fine to indulge in a breakfast like this from time-to-time, especially if you’re using healthy whole ingredients… And especially if you’re exercising regularly and NOT snacking constantly throughout the day.
Moderation, people!
In this recipe you’ll be making the coffee cake and streusel topping separately before combining them right before putting it in the oven. Here you can see the streusel topping (bowl on left) being sprinkled over the top of the coffee cake batter (baking dish on right).
Recipe: Fall harvest coffee cake made with apples, pumpkins, and walnuts (or pecans)
Fall harvest coffee cake with apples and pumpkins
A delicious breakfast coffee cake recipe inspired by the bests flavors of fall: pumpkins, apples, and nuts (walnuts or pecans).
Ingredients
For the streusel topping
- 1 cup organic whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup organic old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
- 1/2 cup organic brown sugar
- 1/4 cup organic granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup melted grass butter
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- splash of vanilla extract
For the coffee cake
- 1 large organic apple, grated (we used a cheese grater) Honey crisp, Gala, or Fuji all work
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 cups organic whole wheat flour
- 2/3 cup almond flour
- 2 tbsp chopped candied ginger (link to our recipe) this is optional but makes it AWESOME! See our candied ginger recipe to make your own
- 1 stick unsalted organic grass butter set out beforehand and use soft at room temp
- 1/4 cup organic coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
- 3 duck eggs or large chicken eggs
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the coffee cake
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Preheat your oven to 350F and butter an 8x10 baking pan/dish.
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Put butter and sugar into mixing bowl/stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy.
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Add vanilla, then add eggs one at a time continuing to beat.
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Place all dry ingredients (flours and spices) into separate bowl from wet ingredients. Stir dry ingredients until evenly combined.
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Slowly add the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredient mixing bowl until fully incorporated.
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Add in the apples and pumpkin and beat until all ingredients are evenly mixed. Optional: The Tyrant also likes nuts in her coffee cake base (not just the streusel topping). Feel free to add another half cup of chopped nuts to your batter here as well!
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Pour batter into bottom of buttered 8x10 baking dish and spread evenly with spatula.
For streusel topping
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The streusel topping is super easy to make! Just combine all ingredients (except for nuts) in a bowl and use a large spoon to stir and smush them together until it has the consistency of wet sand. Then mix in the chopped nuts.
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Using a spoon, evenly sprinkle the streusel topping over the batter.
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Bake on 350F for about 50 minutes until golden brown and a fork or toothpick pulls out of the center clean.
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Serve when cooled down to room temperature. You can store this coffee cake recipe in a covered dish at room temp for 2-3 days or in your fridge for up to a week. It actually tastes better with age than it does fresh out of the oven!
Out of the oven and cooled – fall harvest coffee cake with pumpkins and apples. Notice the darkened edges which help tell you when it’s ready. Stick a fork or toothpick in the middle after about 50 minutes. If it comes out with batter stuck on it, put it back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Be careful not to overcook it or you’ll make your coffee cake too dry!
We hope this fall harvest coffee cake with apples, pumpkins, and nuts puts a big happy smile on your face on a cool late summer or fall morning!
Mmm, fall harvest coffee cake – delicious to the last piece of crumbly goodness.
If you’re a pumpkin fanatic like we are, be sure to also read our other pumpkin articles and recipes:
- How to process and eat your incredible edible pumpkin (and jack-o-lantern)
- The history and folklore of pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns
- Disappearing whole wheat spiced pumpkin pancakes
- Recipe: How to make Tony & Andrea’s pumpkin champagne
- Mom’s pumpkin chili with turkey and black beans
KIGI,
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