Pumpkin Coffee Cake With Maple Glaze

Photo: Ty Mecham

My first experience with coffee cake was a slice of Wolferman’s Bakery cinnamon sour cream version—I, an elementary school-aged child, was hesitant to consume a baked good made with coffee, as this pre-dated my now-caffeine-fueled morning routine and years as a college barista. But my parents insisted I’d try it and perhaps, even like it. So they cut me a skeptical sliver and I dug in.

People say that when you win the lottery, your life changes in the blink of an eye. The same can be said for me and Wolferman’s cinnamon–sour cream coffee cake. I had never tasted anything so moist, so buttery, and so artificially delicious as this mail-order baked good. Ever since the aughts, I’ve morphed into a devoted coffee cake consumer. Whenever I have it, I cut myself a wedge, not a slice, and then another.

To celebrate the changing of the leaves, I developed an autumnal version of that Wolferman’s wonder: It features pumpkin purée, a bevy of warm ground spices, an oat-based streusel, and a subtle maple-infused glaze. I’m quick to scoff at a dry baked good (Wolferman’s would never be dry), so I made sure that this one was plenty moist—pure pumpkin purée, plus sour cream, eggs, canola oil, and milk make that happen. Best of all, there are no surprises here. With the exception of oat flour, you should have everything on hand already, meaning that you can make the coffee cake in far less time than it would take for one from Wolferman’s to arrive (though I might order one anyway).