Pumpkin Custard Cake with Brown Butter Crumb Topping

Fall is coming to an end and before I start baking Christmas desserts I want to use up as much pumpkin as I can. You can't imagine how much pumpkin I have! First I wanted to make a simple pumpkin coffee cake but when I started making it I couldn't resist experimenting a little. What I'm the happiest about is that I decided to brown the butter for the crumb topping. Oh my!! It turned out fantastic! I've never tasted a better crumb topping. And luckily there was a generous amount of it. The cake batter was super moist, probably because of the pumpkin custard layer on top. The general outcome was amazing. The whole cake was very moist, creamy and that crumb topping made it perfect. It's not overly sweet what I liked too. Come on! I know you want that crumb topping.

Pumpkin Custard Cake with Brown Butter Crumb Topping

Crumb topping

70g butter, browned
100g light brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
115g flour

 

Cake Batter

160g pumpkin puree
250g flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100g white sugar
100g sour cream
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp oil

Filling 
600g pumpkin puree
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ginger
60g white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten

1) First, make the crumb topping. Melt 70g of butter in a pan over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the butter turns its colour to brown. Be careful not to burn it. In a medium bowl, mix together light brown sugar, salt, flour and cinnamon. Stir in the browned butter and mix with your fingertips to make crumbs. Set aside.

2) Make the cake batter: In a bowl, mix together flour, white sugar, ginger, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. In another bowl, stir together pumpkin puree, eggs, sour cream and oil. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and stir to combine. Set aside.

3) For the filling, mix together all the ingredients until combined.

4) Preheat oven to 180C/350F and prepare a 20x20cm silicone baking dish. Spread half of the cake batter mixture. Spread the pumpkin filling on top. Cover with remaining cake batter mixture and sprinkle with crumbs. Bake for approximately one hour. Let cool completely before cutting.

Recipe by collecting memories