Pumpkin Coffee Cake.

I have to admit, I went a bit pumpkin crazy last week.  I saw a 3-pack of pumpkin at the warehouse store and I grabbed it.  I now have 4 30-ounce cans and 2 15-ounce cans sitting in my cupboard - even after making this coffee cake.  I'm not admitting that I won't be able to use it all yet :)

This is a great, spicy, warming coffee cake during these colder months and it just so happens to be light as well.  I was pretty appalled by the calorie counts in most pumpkin coffee cake recipes out there on the 'net (pumpkin recipes in general - 1 cup of oil in a 9x5'' quick bread, seriously?!), so of course I checked to see what Cooking Light had to offer and they didn't let me down.  I didn't make any changes to this recipe except increase the spices and I never keep buttermilk in the house so I used skim milk plus a teaspoon or so of lemon juice to substitute for it.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Adapted from Cooking Light
1 teaspoon butter
1/4 cup quick-cooking or rolled oats
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons chopped pecans
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and melt the 1 teaspoon butter in the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan.  Combine the oats, brown sugar and pecans in a small bowl and sprinkle on the bottom of the cake pan.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together.  In a larger bowl, cream the 3 tablespoons butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the egg and beat well.  Add the flour, pumpkin and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Scrape the batter over the toppings in the cake pan and smooth the top.  Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 to 40 minutes.  The cake will be done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is domed and just slightly golden around the edges.

Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate and serve with coffee or tea :)