Sourdough Pumpkin Cake With Ginger & Apple Streusel

This cozy, moist sourdough pumpkin cake recipe features warm spices and an apple, ginger & pecan streusel for a perfect fall breakfast treat.

I’ve been on an apple kick this past month, the result of a big apple haul from my neighbor’s orchard and my ever strong craving for baked apple anything. And since pumpkin and apples are such perfect partners, I wanted to create a recipe that features both together. So here it is, sourdough pumpkin cake, a perfect fall, holiday, or anyday breakfast cake, coffee cake, or teatime cake that’s full of those fall spices with an extra dose of ginger and turmeric.

If you know me, you know that I really like to add anti-inflammatory spices when baking and cooking anything, because that’s so important for supporting the overall health and the immune system.

As usual, I kept the sweetener much more restrained than most recipes out there. And not only for health reasons, but because I think you can taste all those fantastic wholesome ingredients much better when you don’t overpower it all with sugar. This cake is subtly sweet, but sweet enough to satisfy a craving, to highlight the ingredients, and complement them. And the result is ultra delicious and guilt-free. Find out for yourself, and let’s do some baking!

If you are a fan of apples and healthy treats, you’ll love my Apple Pie Cheesecake Bars and the fabulous Ginger Spice Apple Crisp With Cranberries! For guilt-free dessert indulgence give my Lemon Cheesecake Mousse a try. And for more fruity and healthy recipes, check out my amazing Blueberry Cheesecake Bars and Blackberry Cobbler, a purely cozy comfort food. For more healthy fall treats I recommend Sweet Potato Bread and Spicy Lemon Tahini Cookies. 

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Sourdough Pumpkin Cake With Ginger & Apple Streusel

Fall has such a special vibe. The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting chilly and occasional blistery days are making their appearance. Deciduous trees are clothing themselves with their most festive multi-color coats that they don only once a year before they bare all. And meanwhile the iconic summer chorus of heat loving bugs has died down.

A kind of subdued and somber quietness has moved in along with fall mists and earthy mushroom scents that invite us out into the forest. It’s the time when fires start crackling in woodstoves and fireplaces, and the heavy lined flannel jackets and beanie hats are once again showing up on hooks in the entry way. 

I always loved this time of year. It’s not yet fiercely cold but refreshing, and bits of summer still linger and make themselves known here and there until they get chased away completely with the appearance of winter storms. It is also the time when we welcome the flavors and scents of fall into our kitchens. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg, and who doesn’t get that comfy and cozy feeling when the aroma of pumpkin bread and apple cake baking in the oven is perfuming the air. 

My Pumpkin Bread Gets An Overhaul

In this recipe I wanted to bring together some of my favorite fall flavors in a hearty, healthy cake that would be great for fall and winter breakfasts, coffee breaks, or just as a snack anytime. I have been wanting to dress up my long-loved pumpkin bread recipe and make it healthier too. And I love the result, which I’m sharing here today. 

This sourdough pumpkin cake with apple, ginger, and pecan streusel is delicious, with its subtle sweetness, and the pumpkin and apple flavors that partner up so well. It’s brimming with all those delicious fall spices with a bit of an extra healthy dose of ginger, one of my favorite spices any time, but especially in the fall and winter. Ginger is warming, packs a spicy kick, and really is a perfect companion to complement the apple and pumpkin in this recipe.

Why You’ll Love Sourdough Pumpkin Cake With Ginger & Apple Streusel

• It‘s like a warm hug on a chilly day. Cozy, comforting and deeply satisfying.

• It’s full of health supporting wholesome ingredients which is one of the reasons it has such a sophisticated, complex, and multi-dimensional flavor, that’s simply fantastic. Let’s make our food count for health by including health promoting ingredients and reducing those that could cause problems. The ingredients in this recipe are whole where possible, fresh, nutrient dense, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and free of pesticides and harmful chemicals. And you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise if you think healthy food can’t taste awesome!

• Sourdough is not added for leavening. It is the ingredient that gives it a bit of delicious tang and extra moisture. But if you do not have a sourdough you can still make this just as delicious by substituting sour cream, greek yogurt, or cultured soft cheese like quark or clabber cheese. This is a quick bread and does not require fermentation, however you can long ferment it for even more health benefits with a few tweaks as outlined below. However, I encourage you to give making sourdough a serious thought. It’s such an awesome creature that can really transform your cooking and your health. Check out my article on how to make sourdough starter to learn more and get the recipe for making your own.

• We all know about the many health benefits of apples and the importance of getting your apple a day. They support cardiovascular, brain, and digestive health, as well as the immune system. They are high in phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals, as well as fiber and antioxidants. And some studies link them with protection from certain cancers, lowering blood sugar levels, and more (source). Apples rock, no doubt about that! 

• Pumpkins are known for being high in nutrients like beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, which are all linked to promoting a strong eyesight as we age. These nutrients are powerful antioxidants, immune boosting, and may lower the risk for developing cancer. Pumpkins are thought to be beneficial for heart health and they can help promote healthy skin. (source)

• Einkorn, Kamut, And Spelt Flours add a delicious nutty flavor, vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and they can be tolerated by many who are sensitive to gluten. These ancient grains are easier to digest and more useful for the body than modern wheat. Einkorn especially is lower in phytic acid compared with modern wheat, which makes the nutrients in the einkorn more bioavailable. It also contains higher levels of the phytase enzyme, which helps break down the phytic acid, and it lacks the D-chromosome that is so irritating for many people. So even without soaking or culturing, einkorn can be a super healthy, easy to digest substitute for modern wheat.

• Milling your own flour, fresh at the point of use, ensures that it retains all the fiber, nutrients and vitamins to benefit your health. I highly recommend grinding your own flour at home! Fresh milled whole grain has so many health benefits that are mostly stripped away when you buy pre-ground flour, even if it says whole wheat on the package.  

• Ginger is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. It is often used as a digestive aid and to help with stomach sickness. It is also a warming spice, which can be helpful during the cold season. Find more benefits of ginger in my articles Health Benefits Of Ginger Beer and Fermented Ginger Honey.

• Turmeric and pumpkin pie spices are all antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. I try to add these spices whenever possible to keep my inflammation down. A recent blood test I had done, showed low inflammation markers and I feel that taking ginger, turmeric tincture, and other anti-inflammatory spices are the key reasons for that. So I’ll continue to include them in recipes and my daily health routine. Learn more about the health benefits of turmeric in my posts fermented turmeric and how to make turmeric tincture.

• This healty pumpkin cake uses less unrefined sweeteners! For years I have been cutting sugar in half when making old recipes and found that most recipes taste really just as good with half the sugar. In fact, they often taste even better if I also replaced the white flour with fresh milled and the white sugar with wholesome unrefined sweeteners such as panela sugar, coconut sugar, honey, or maple syrup. Suddenly these recipes became deeper, more flavorful, and more satisfying. And I can’t go back to the old sugary, empty refined flavors. I like every bite to count for better flavor, to satisfy, and for its healthfulness.

• Maple syrup is one of my favorite fall sweeteners. It just really goes perfectly with pumpkin, fall spices and pecans or walnuts. So naturally, I had to include it in my pumpkin cake recipe. Maple syrup contains minerals and antioxidants and it is a healthier alternative to empty sugars.

• Panela sugar is an unrefined sweetener and is also known as jaggery, sucanat, and piloncillo. I will only use the organic version, since sugar gets its fair share of pesticide applications at the point of harvest. And I try my best to keep those out of my diet. But panela sugar is made just like maple syrup, the unrefined sugar cane sap that gets dried with all its complex flavors and nothing is taken away.
  
  Panela sugar is usually available in crystallized form or in a block. Coconut sugar is very similar in flavor but lacks that distinct molasses flavor and adds coconut flavor instead. Both are totally interchangeable in my opinion, but I prefer the dried cane sugar with the deep molasses flavor (much like dark brown sugar, but more complex and natural). As with maple syrup, it should be consumed in moderation when a healthy diet is your goal, but it’s by far preferable to refined sugar.

• Pecans or any tree nuts are so delicious and it’s hard to imagine fall and Christmas without pecans in one form or another. I love this recipe with pecans, but if I didn’t have any on hand, I would love it just as much with walnuts.
  
  Pecans are packed with dense nutrition, antioxidants, and have anti-inflammatory properties. They are a good source of calcium, magnesium and potassium, which support heart health and they have a low glycemic index. In fact, according to studies, eating pecans can even offset the effects of higher glycemic index foods when eaten as part of the same meal!
  
  Pecans contain omega-3 fats, which can help lower inflammation and help with arthritis pain. And they include vitamins A and E and zinc, which can also work against inflammation. The nutrients in nuts can protect from cell damage and contain folate which can protect the DNA to prevent cancer. (source). 

• Most of all, you’ll love this pumpkin cake for its awesome taste and moist, tender texture!

Disclaimer: The material and nutritional notes on this site are intended to be for general informational use and are not intended to constitute medical advice, medical diagnosis, or medical treatment. You should consult your physician or other health care professional before making any changes in your diet. All health claims are not to be used as facts and I am not responsible for misuse of this information. 

Tips, Advice, And Substitutions For The Best Sourdough Pumpkin Cake With Ginger & Apple Streusel

• When mixing your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, do it right before you are ready to bake and gently fold it in without mixing too hard. It’s ok if you see a little dry flour in a few spots. Overmixing at this point will make your cake tough because it will start to develop the gluten. 

• It’s always best to start with room temperature ingredients.

• If you’re using salted butter, don’t add extra salt to the dough or streusel. 

• You can use honey in place of maple syrup or try using just panela sugar. This will add more molasses flavor and you’ll find the taste much like gingerbread. 

• Add dried cranberries, raisins, or zante currants to your batter, or, if you love chocolate, add some bittersweet chocolate chips. 

• Use any nuts you like in place of the pecans. If you have an allergy toward nuts, you can surely omit them, or substitute with sunflower seeds, hemp hearts, or pepitas. I always use pumpkin seeds to top my pumpkin breads and I think that’s the most appropriate fit. 

• I made mine in a 5×9 loaf pan plus a 6 cup muffin tins, because I wanted to make a few muffins too. So you can do that instead of using an 8×10 or 9×9 inch pan. Or make only muffins, the same way. You’ll get about 18 of them.

• If you love the drizzle to taste like molasses, you can use panela sugar instead of the evaporated cane juice. I think it’s delicious, but it may be too much of a good thing for more sensitive palates. 

• You can use cultured dairy or sour cream in place of the sourdough 1:1. If you’re a cheese maker, add some quark cheese instead, or chevre, clabber cheese, kefir cheese, or Greek or strained yogurt. They will achieve a similar effect, but add ¼ cup of flour to the recipe as it’s written to make up for the flour that would be in the sourdough. I was going to try whey, but haven’t yet. My thought is that it’s too watery and might make the dough too wet. If I get to try it, I’ll update this.

Long Fermentation Instructions:

Long fermentation breaks down gluten, activates phytase to neutralize phytic acid, which makes grain products easier to digest, and it increases bioavailability of the nutrients in your body. It also helps those who have a sensitivity towards gluten or wheat products. It is the best thing to do for your health. (Alternatively you could use sprouted grains or flour).

Do note, however, that long fermentation will alter the flavor and texture of this cake.

Long fermentation can be achieved with either sourdough, or cultured sour cream, yogurt, or soft cheese. Just mix everything except the leavening (baking powder and baking soda). Then place it into the fridge. After at least 12 hours or up to 3 days, remove it from the fridge and add the leavening (baking soda and baking powder) by sprinkling it over the top and mixing it in but don’t overmix. Now it’s ready to bake. 

How To Make The Best Sourdough Pumpkin Cake With Ginger & Apple Streusel

Tools You May Need

Grain mill – You’ll need a grain mill if you want to make fresh milled flour. If you don’t own one yet, I highly recommend the Mockmill. It can grind superfine to coarse flour and the flour does not get overheated in the process. It takes up little room on your counter and gets the job done quickly. Plus it’s made to last! In a pinch you could use your blender.

A Few Bowls – a smaller one for mixing the flour and spices, a medium to large one for mixing the batter, and a large one for mixing the streusel.

Wire Whisk or Hand mixer – For mixing the batter

Fork– for mixing the crumble

Baking pan – This recipe is for a 8 x 10 inch rectangular cake pan, or a 9 x 9 inch square pan. Alternatively you can use a 10 inch round spring form. I used a 5 x 9″ loaf pan today plus a 6-cup muffin pan. Or you can make up to 18 muffins with this recipe.

Cooling rack – to fit your cake pan. This will help cool your cake quicker so it will not continue baking in the pan.

Apple peeler (optional) – You can peel your apples or leave the skin on. I peel mine when the skin looks less than perfect from storage, but if it looks good I don’t peel them. I love this Linden peeler. For bigger apples and when I have a large amount to peel, I like to use my apple peeler slicer corer.

Paring knife – for cutting out bad spots and coring the apples. I like my small victorinox paring knife for all of it.

Parchment Paper – use this for lining the pan. You can also just butter and flour the pan. Lining it makes it easier to take the cake out later if you want to do that.

Knife + Cutting Board – for chopping the apples.

Ingredients

I choose organic ingredients in my cooking and baking for health reasons. Organic ensures that my ingredients aren’t irradiated, full of pesticides, chemicals, and other toxic additives that can likely cause inflammation and other health problems.

Growing your own food is the best way to assure clean food, and if that’s not possible, choosing organic whole foods, and especially produce from regenerative farming operations, will go a long way towards keeping us healthy and thriving. Conventionally grown apples have been tested for pesticides and chemicals and are on the EWG’s dirty dozen list for 2025!

For The Crumble

Butter – Melted butter will give your cake a rich, buttery flavor and makes the crumble quick and easy to mix.

Fresh Milled Einkorn Flour – I highly recommend using fresh milled flour! It’s just out of this world delicious. More depth in flavor and just wonderfully fresh tasting with a little bit of crunch. In this crumble I’m using fresh milled einkorn berries. You can also purchase einkorn flour, or use all-purpose flour, but it will change the flavor and texture.

Cinnamon – adds a warm, sweet flavor to baked goods. I prefer Ceylon cinnamon because it is low in coumarin. Cassia cinnamon (Korintje) is high in coumarin, which can be harmful in large doses. (source)

Sea salt – I like to use Redmond’s Real Salt or Himalayan pink salt.

Panela sugar – Panela sugar (sucanat) is my favorite natural and unrefined granular sweetener with nothing taken away. I’m using it in this recipe because it has a great depth of flavor that I don’t get from other sugars and it works so perfectly well in this recipe. But you could also use coconut sugar for a similar deep flavor, or use the partially refined natural evaporated cane juice crystals or turbinado sugar, which have a lighter flavor.

Pecans – Use raw pecan halves and chop them yourself for best quality (or even better, crack some yourself for best freshness). To reduce phytic acid in nuts, they should be soaked for 24 hours in salt water or whey, and then dried. So if you’d like to do that, be sure to plan ahead.

Apples, diced – With or without skin. Do peel them if they have been sprayed or waxed.

Crystallized ginger pieces – I love ginger and crystallized ginger is a bit of a weakness of mine. And they are so delicious in baking! The ones I’m linking to are organic and are sweetened with cane sugar. If you make your own, use that! You can also just chop fresh ginger if it’s young and tender, or grate older ginger for a great flavor. If you have fermented ginger paste, you can also stir 2 tablespoons of that into the filling instead. Add a couple of tablespoons of sweetener to the crumble when substituting the sweet ginger bits.

For The Batter

Butter – Lends rich butter flavor. I like to use Kerry gold, a butter from pastured dairy cows.

Avocado oil – helps to make the cake more moist and to retain moisture.

Sourdough – Use discard or active sourdough. Go by weight, or stir it well if it’s bubbly when measuring with a cup.

Pumpkin puree – use the 100 percent pumpkin if you’re buying a can. Or use your homemade roasted and pureed pumpkin and drain it well.

Panela sugar – This gives my pumpkin cake a distinct and complex flavor, which is hard to duplicate. But you could try coconut sugar for a similar deep flavor, or use the partially refined natural evaporated cane juice crystals for a lighter flavor

Maple syrup – I like maple syrup best in this recipe but you could substitute the same amount with honey, or other unrefined sweeteners such as coconut sugar or panela sugar (sucanat) or, for a more neutral flavor, natural evaporated cane juice crystals.

Eggs – I raise my own, but when I have to purchase them, if I like to pick pasture raised organic eggs.

Vanilla extract – I prefer to use organic vanilla. You can get it in bulk from Azure Standard for a good price, or make your own, here is a great recipe.

Fresh Milled Flour – In this recipe I prefer fresh milled flour made with a mix of half spelt or Kamut® berries and half einkorn berries. The spelt or Kamut flour gives the cake a bit more strength and absorbs some of the moisture better. The einkorn flour is unmatched in flavor in my opinion and I love to bake anything with it. They are all considered to be ancient grains and are generally much easier to digest and use by our bodies than modern grains. Many people with wheat intolerances report having no issues with einkorn, Kamut, and other ancient grains.

Baking powder – This adds leavening. The sourdough will not contribute to the rise since this is a quick bread, so we need the baking powder for this.

Baking soda – This is another leavening agent that will work together with baking powder to achieve a good rise for a fluffier cake.

Sea salt – I like to use Redmond’s Real Salt or Himalayan pink salt to add essential trace minerals to my diet.

Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Cloves, Ginger – These will give that traditional pumpkin spice flavor that we all have come to associate with fall and holiday baking. Cardamom is not so common in America, but it’s well-loved in Europe and I prefer using it for its great flavor and its powerful health benefits.

Turmeric & white pepper – I add turmeric to my spiced recipes most of the time for its powerful health benefits. It lends little flavor, but a big healthy punch and a lot of color to your baked goods. I always pair it with pepper for better absorbancy and because white pepper is also used in German holiday baking. Pepper tends to increase absorbancy of all the potent nutrients that live in all the spices we use here, and so your health benefits are increased just by adding a little pepper. Pepper should be fresh ground for this benefit. I am linking to whole peppercorn here.

Optional Maple Drizzle

Butter

Maple syrup

Evaporated cane juice or turbinado sugar powdered – It helps to dissolve the sugar if you give it a whirl in your coffee grinder to powder it prior to adding.

Vanilla – Make your own or use ready made vanilla.

Sea salt

Instructions For Sourdough Pumpkin Cake With Ginger & Apple Streusel

Preheat the oven to 350℉

Prepare your baking pan: Butter your baking pan and flour it or line it with parchment that includes ‘handles’ if you want to take it out of the pan later.

For The Crumble

Chop the pecans (or smash them with a mallet).

Chop your apples.

Dump the flour, salt, sugar, smashed pecans and cinnamon into a large bowl and mix well.

Pour in the melted butter.

Mix till it to evenly moisten. 

Add the apples and ginger, give it a stir to incorporate, and set aside.

For The Batter

In a small bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices with a fork or spoon. Set aside. 

Place the butter and sugar in a medium bowl and beat with a wire whisk or a hand blender.  

Add the eggs one at a time and whisk after each addition until they are well blended and the mixture is getting thick. 

Dump in the pumpkin and mix it in.

Add all the other wet ingredients, the sourdough, vanilla, oil, and maple syrup, as well as the salt if you used unsalted butter. Whisk together till smooth and creamy. 

Dump the flour mix on top of the wet ingredients and fold them in gently and just until incorporated. I like to use a stiff silicone spatula for this. Do not overmix!

Pour half of the batter into your prepared pan.

Cover with half of the streusel mix. 

Place the rest of the batter on top of the streusel and smooth the surface and cover with the rest of the streusel. 

You could swirl it a little if you want streusel throughout the cake. I just used it as a topping. 

Place the baking dish into the oven and bake until a toothpick or knife inserted, comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Be sure to bake it through, but don’t over bake. 

Take the cake out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack.

Serve after it has cooled for about 10-15 minutes. It is best warm or at room temperature.

Prepare the Optional Maple Drizzle

While the cake is cooling, prepare the drizzle if you want to use it.

Heat the butter, sugar and syrup on the stove on low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. You can either drizzle it over your cake as is after the cake has cooled, or whip the glaze after it’s cooled for a thicker consistency.

After whipping, the glaze will be pretty thick and needs to be piped on.

I rolled up a piece of parchment into a tube, and secured it with a piece of tape right near the tip to keep it from unraveling. Filled it and cut a hole for piping. You could also use a plastic bag and cut a corner, but I prefer the parchment I find that often the plastic bag rips, and I try not to use so much plastic. Or you can use a purchased piping kit too. 

Storage

This cake is really best on day one or two. After that you’ll want to refrigerate it for storage for up to 3 days. Or you can freeze it, whole or in portions. Defrost on the counter and eat or try heating it before you eat it to renew the fresh taste.

I like to make muffins to freeze, but I like the cake for fresh eating. 

Your Questions Answered

Enjoy This Delicious Sourdough Pumpkin Cake With Ginger & Apple Streusel!

Oh, just writing about this makes me want to bake up another batch already. I finished eating the batch I made for this post a couple of weeks ago, since I didn’t get around to writing until now. And here I sit, pining for more while writing about it.

I really hope you give this wonderful cake a try and I am sure you’ll love it as much as I do. It’s moist, full of delicious fall flavors, wholesome, nutty, fruity, and spicy and totally perfect for breakfast, coffee break, or a holiday brunch with a cuppa Joe or a big glass of raw goats milk. Enjoy!

Have you made this recipe? I’d love to get your feedback and your ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating! And I’d love to hear your favorite ways to use apples and pumpkins in fall baking. And please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments if you have any questions! 

Join the Food For Life Garden Community for more great recipes and homestead tips and ideas. I’m always adding new content. Don’t miss any new posts and learn more about my off-grid farm life.

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Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars – Creamy, with a buttery crust, this cheesecake dessert is bright, tangy, easy, and perfect for summer gatherings, or any sweet cravings!

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Probiotic Ginger Paste – A convenient way to have ginger on hand when you need some, either as seasoning in cooking or baking, or to use this powerful ally in your daily health routine.

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Lemon Tahini Cookies – Delicious, healthy spice cookies with lemon and honey. These spicy cookies are radical, especially if you love bold, complex flavors and healthy treats.

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Grain mill
8×10″ baking dish
Paring knife
Linden peeler
Peeler slicer corer
Parchment Paper
Knife
Cutting Board
Panela sugar
Evaporated cane juice
Coconut sugar
Redmond’s real salt
Himalayan pink salt
Celtic sea salt
Spelt berries
Kamut® berries
Kamut® flour
Einkorn berries
Einkorn flour
Ceylon cinnamon
Nutmeg
Cardamom
Cloves
Ginger
Turmeric
White pepper
Pecans
Crystallized ginger pieces
Organic vanilla. You can get it in bulk from Azure Standard