Lightly sweetened and moist aromatic pumpkin cake is topped with cinnamon crumbs topping is so good and can be easily made in no time using your air-fryer or baked in the oven.
Pumpkin season is here and this is a great recipe to use up some of those pumpkin stashes you have in your freezer. I love the bright natural color pumpkin has to offer in baking and cooking. This pumpkin cinnamon cake is moist and topped with the cinnamon crumbs are so good!
WHY YOU’LL LIKE THIS RECIPE
1. NO MIXER
I can be lazy when it comes to making a cake that needs me to cream butter and sugar ha..ha..! seriously! Most of the cakes I’ve made so far used cooking oil instead of butter so I really don’t need to use a mixer to cream the butter
2. I USE OIL INSTEAD OF BUTTER
Yes, butter provides a great flavor. You are welcome to use butter if you prefer (I included that in the recipe below). But I like cake with oil because they don’t get harden in the fridge because oil doesn’t solidify in the fridge and I can use healthier cooking oil too
3. VERY EASY TO PUT TOGETHER
Even if you have never made a cake before, you should be able to whip this one up and be pretty proud of it 🙂
4. CAKE IS NOT OVERLY SWEETENED
Perhaps it may not be sweet enough for some of you and you feel free to increase the amount of the sugar but I think the amount of brown sugar stated in the recipe is perfect without overdoing it. Remember that we still have the cinnamon crumbs
INGREDIENTS
1. All-purpose flour
I have tried making this with cake flour and it makes the cake too crumbly. So all-purpose flour is more appropriate for the cake and I use it to make the cinnamon crumbs too.
2. Baking powder
The cake counts on baking powder to leaven, so definitely do not skip this one
3. Brown sugar
I love the combination of pumpkin, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Brown sugar has a nice aroma to it. I use light brown sugar. You can use coconut sugar too and the cake color will be much darker
4. Cooking oil
I used neutral-tasting oil like grape seeds oil. You can also use canola, corn, vegetable, or avocado oil
5. Butter (if you choose to use this instead of oil)
Use unsalted butter
6. Egg
I use a large chicken egg, that weighs about 50 grams without the shell
7. Pumpkin
You can use up your mashed pumpkin stash or use canned pumpkin puree, which was what I used
8. Cinnamon powder
HOW TO MAKE AIR-FRYER PUMPKIN CINNAMON CRUMB CAKE
1. Combine all the ingredients, except for butter, and mix well.
After you mix it well, add the melted butter and stir to form crumbles. Chill in the fridge while you are preparing other things
2. Mix all the wet ingredients
3. Sift in the dry ingredients
4. Gently fold the dry ingredients until you get a thick batter. Some lumps are okay as long as you don’t see any more loose flour. Don’t over mix it or the cake will be dense later
5. Line the bottom of the pan with a parchment paper. Pour the cake batter in and smooth with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the cinnamon crumbs on top
6. Put a metal trivet inside the air fryer and put the cake pan on top. Bake for 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean
7. Remove the cake from the air fryer or oven and let it cools down for at least 20 minutes before you try to slice the cake. If you slice the cake when it’s just out from the oven, the cake will crumble
WHAT TO EXPECT
This is not a high-riser cake. It is moist and light and not supposed to be dense. If the cake turns out dense, there could be few possibilities: you may have overmixed the cake batter, the cake may not be thoroughly cooked yet, or the baking powder you use may have expired.
IMPORTANT TIPS
1. Check your baking powder to make sure it is still fresh. Simply add a small amount of baking powder into a hot water and if it sizzles, you are good to go
2. Don’t overmix the batter. It’s okay to see some lumps as long as you don’t see any more flour
3. Remember to preheat the air fryer
4. Using a trivet to put the cake on top gives better air circulation and cooks the cake more evenly
DID YOU MAKE THIS AIR FRYER PUMPKIN WALNUT CINNAMON CRUMB CAKE RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Easy Air-Fryer Pumpkin Cinnamon Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 125 gr cake flour 1 cup
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
Wet ingredients:
- 80 gr brown sugar 6 1/3 Tbsp
- 80 gr butter 5 1/2 Tbsp, unsalted (softened) - omit if you use oil
- 60 gr cooking oil 4 1/2 Tbsp, omit if you use butter
- 1 large egg about 50 grams without the shell
- 150 gr mashed pumpkin (or pumpkin puree) 5.3 oz or 2/3 cups
Cinnamon crumbs:
- 30 gr all-purpose flour 3 Tbsp
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 50 gr brown sugar 10 teaspoons
- 20 gr cooking oil 1 1/2 Tbsp, or use melted butter
Instructions
Prepare the topping:
- Preheat air fryer without the basket at 320 F (160 C) for 5 minutes. If using oven, preheat oven at 350 F (180 C)Combine all the ingredients, except for butter, and mix well. After you mix it well, add the melted butter and stir to form crumbles. Chill in the fridge while you are preparing other things
Prepare cake batter:
- If you choose to use butter, beat butter and sugar until creamy using a hand mixer or whisk by hands. Add the egg and beat until combined then sift in the dry ingredients
- If you use cooking oil, like I did, mix all the wet ingredients and then sift in the dry ingredients
- Gently fold the dry ingredients until you get a thick batter. Some lumps are okay as long as you don't see any more loose flour. Don't over mix it or the cake will be dense later
Baking:
- Line the bottom of the pan with a parchment paper. Pour the cake batter in and smooth with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the cinnamon crumbs on top
- Put a metal trivet inside the air fryer and put the cake pan on top. Bake for 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean
- If you bake in the oven, put on the middle rack and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean
Cool down the cake:
- Remove the cake from the air fryer or oven and let it cools down for at least 20 minutes before you try to slice the cake. If you slice the cake when it's just out from the oven, the cake will crumble
Storing leftover:
- The leftover can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. After that, store them in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to a week. The longer you keep in the fridge, the drier the cake will be.
- If you use butter, the cake will harden in the fridge, which is normal, because butter solidifies when it's cold. Simply take the cake out and set them at room temperature for 30 minutes or so before serving
4 comments
An egg…without the shell?? Whaaaaaat??
It’s the weight of the egg without the shell.
you mentioned walnut in the begining of your story
“8. Walnut
I use unsalted walnut and chop them up into smaller pieces”
but there is no mention of the amount used in your recipe
Sorry for the confusion. I didn’t use walnut in this recipe. I actually prepared two different cakes (one of them with walnut) on the same day and my mind somehow stuck with the “walnut” when I typed this recipe 🙂 Of course, you are welcome to add walnuts too if you like, but I didn’t for this cake. Hope that helps to clarify.