very autumn, as piles of pumpkins appear on porches, I start adding pumpkin purée to every recipe I can. I happily trade basic drip coffee for a pumpkin spice latte, and there’s often a Dutch oven filled with creamy pumpkin soup simmering on the stove for dinner. My favorite way to feature pumpkin in the fall is with a treat that’s just for me. 

Pumpkin mug cake is the most delicious combination of pumpkin bread and coffee cake, and it’s made right in my favorite mug. The batter uses canned pumpkin purée for a moist texture, and the warm flavors in pumpkin pie spice of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. The cake is topped with a buttery streusel that’s made from a portion of the batter. The best part is that the cake is made right in a coffee mug and baked in the microwave. From start to finish, this pumpkin mug cake is ready in just 15 minutes — ready for you to enjoy at any time of the day. 

Why You’ll Love It

• It tastes like fall. This single-serve pumpkin mug cake is moist, warmly spiced, and topped with a sweet and crumbly streusel. 
• Make it right in the mug. The cake batter is mixed right in the mug, and the spiced streusel topping is made from the same batter, which means it’s super simple to make.

Key Ingredients in Pumpkin Mug Cake

• Pumpkin purée: Canned pumpkin purée gives this mug cake its fall flavor. Make sure to use pumpkin purée and not pumpkin pie mix.
• Pumpkin pie spice: This spice blend is a mix of warm spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger. It’s easy to make pumpkin pie spice at home, use a store-bought spice blend, or add just ground cinnamon to the batter. 
• All-purpose flour: This ingredient gives the cake and its crumble topping structure. 
• Baking powder: This is the leavening agent that gives the batter its lift in the microwave. Baking powder and baking soda are not the same thing, so make sure you measure from the correct package. 

The Kitchn