Lavender Pumpkin Crumb Cake

We recently made this New York Times Pumpkin Crumb Cake recipe and, of course, we added our Organic Culinary Lavender. It was everything a fall baked treat should be —  wonderfully pumpkin forward, warmed up with a bit of spice and accented with the sweet floral notes of lavender. 

Ingredients

For the Streusel

• 1/2 (packed) cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin spice blend (see tip below)
• Pinch of salt 
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

For the Cake

• 1 (packed) cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin purée
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup vegetable or similar neutral oil
• 1 tablespoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin spice blend (see tip below)
• 1 tablespoon ground Organic Culinary Lavender buds (see tip below)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the Glaze 

• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice blend
• Pinch of salt
• 3 to 5 teaspoons milk (any kind will do)
  
  

Preparation

Step 1

Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.

Step 2

Make the streusel: In a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour, pumpkin spice and salt. Add the butter, then pinch the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture forms pebble-size crumbs and is evenly moistened.

Step 3

Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin purée, melted butter, oil, pumpkin spice and salt; whisk until combined and smooth. Whisk in the baking powder, baking soda and lavender, then whisk in the flour.

Step 4

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smooth the top and tap on the counter a few times to release any large air bubbles. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top.

Step 5

Bake the cake until puffed and golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Set the cake in the pan on a rack to cool. After about 15 minutes remove the cake from the pan and set it on the rack to cool almost completely.

Step 6

When the cake is just slightly warm, make the glaze: Add the confectioners’ sugar, pumpkin spice, pinch of salt and 3 teaspoons of milk to a bowl. Whisk until smooth, adding a bit more milk as necessary to form a glaze that is very thick but can be drizzled.

Step 7

Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake.

Step 8 (The best one!)

Serve with a cup of coffee or tea and indulge in the coziness of fall flavors!

Tips