Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Want to know a secret? I tried out this recipe one time before committing to it, because that’s how good it turned out. It didn’t need any tweaking or adjustments; it was perfect just the way it was. With strong fall flavors and pumpkin puree, this coffee cake can be eaten at any time of the day, all season long.

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❤️ Why You’ll Love Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Coffee Cake

I think the best part of this cake is the texture, it’s both rich and fluffy. It’s sweet, but not too sweet. There’s a perfect blend of fall and pumpkin flavor working perfectly together to create a staple autumn cake.

🍲 Ingredients

Sourdough Discard – your unfed, inactive sourdough starter. Sourdough discard is, essentially, equal parts flour and water.

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Flour–

👩‍🍳 How to Make Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Whisk together your dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.
Brown your butter and pour into a stand mixer or large mixing bowl.
On low, mix together brown butter and sugar for 1 minute. Add beaten eggs, yogurt and sourdough discard until there are no streaks. Add pumpkin purée and mix until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients until there are no dry bits of flour.
In a small saucepan, melt butter then add brown sugar, flour and walnuts. Mix until fully combined.
In a parchment lined 8×8 baking dish, pour half of your batter in and smooth out. Sprinkle half of the crumble topping across the batter. Cover that with the second half of your batter. Sprinkle the second half of the crumble all over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
Let cool and drizzle with maple glaze.

🪄 Tips and Tricks

Use pure pumpkin puree for the best flavor and texture; avoid pumpkin pie filling, which contains added sugars and spices.
If you don’t have sourdough discard, add 1/4 cup of flour with 1/4 cup of milk.
You can substitute walnuts out for pecans or almonds.
Crumble: Feel free to customize the streusel topping by adding oats for texture, or experimenting with different nuts or seeds.

🗒 Variations

If you don’t like pumpkin flavor, but still want to try this sourdough discard coffee cake. You can withhold the pumpkin all together. But if you do like pumpkin, try some of these other fun fall recipes!

🗒 Substitutions

If you don’t have any sourdough discard, you can substitute discard for 1/4 cup of flour + 1/4 cup of milk. If you only have active sourdough starter, you can stir that down so it’s more less bubbly and add 1/2 cup to the batter just like the recipe calls for.

Sourdough discard – 1/4 cup flour + 1/4 cup milk.
The crumble topping can be made with oats, almonds, walnuts, any crunchy flavor you like or have on hand!

🗒 Best Served With

Morning coffee
Autumn Brunch

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Put your leftover pumpkin coffee cake in an airtight container, and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

🤔 Common Questions

What if I don’t like pumpkin?

You can take the pumpkin out entirely and add more maple if you like. Or leave it as it is.

What if I don’t have any sourdough discard?

Sourdough discard is essentially equal parts flour and water, so to substitute discard out of recipes just add equal parts flour and water so it equals the measurements that the recipe calls for.

5 from 2 votes