Pumpkin Crumb Cake

For some reason, I only allow myself to cook with pumpkin during the fall. Which is really quite a shame, because I really love pumpkin. But for some reason, it has been dedicated to my baking season from October to November. I would start in September, but its still very hot here in the South, so it technically cannot be considered fall if it is still in the 90's :) So, this last month, I have been baking this great Pumpkin Crumb Cake recipe. Its pretty versatile as you could add mini chocolate chips and/or pecans. It just gets me in the Fall mood! Very moist with a nice subtle pumpkin flavor and soft notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. This recipe makes a large amount of pumpkin loaves, but it freezes very well after baking. It would make a great christmas gift for teachers or co workers. Last night when I baked this, I ended up with 4 mini loaves, 24 mini muffins (only bake 9 min) and 6 mini bunt cakes (bake same amount as mini loaves). My husband was asking if I was trying to work something out through my baking because there were so many pumpkin loaves covering my counters :) Baking=My perfect stress relief!!

Pumpkin Crumb Cake

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup water

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup pecans and/or mini chocolate chips (optional)

Crumb Topping:

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. flour (all purpose)

1 stick butter, cold, cubed

Mix all ingredients together with fork until it resembles crumbs.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees . In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, pumpkin and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts/chocolate (if using) and fold in. Sprinkle tops with crumb topping (this is not the time to be stingy :) Bake in 2 standard loaf pans for about 1 hour, or 8 mini loaves (45-50 min) and extra mini muffins (9 min). Enjoy!