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Winter Squash Coffee Cake With A Ginger Caramel Sauce

This warmly spiced coffee cake blends tender roasted winter squash with a buttery streusel topping and a silky ginger caramel sauce for a cozy dessert perfect for fall mornings.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes
Servings 5 people
Calories 420 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Mixing bowl for streusel and batter
  • 1 8-inch cake pan greased and floured
  • 1 Food processor or blender for pureeing squash
  • 1 Saucepan for caramel sauce

Ingredients
  

Coffee Cake Batter

  • 1 small winter squash about 1-2 pounds (Gold Nugget, Buttercup, or Red Kuri)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar for roasting squash
  • 2 ½ cups flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon cloves
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Streusel Topping

  • ¼ cup brown sugar packed
  • ½ cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoon unsalted butter cold and cut into pea-sized pieces

Ginger Caramel Sauce

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 ½ tsp freshly grated ginger root
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions
 

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut squash in half, remove seeds. Rub with olive oil and brown sugar. Roast face-up for 45 minutes or until fork tender. Cool and puree.
  • Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl. Set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F. In a mixer, cream softened butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in sour cream, ¾ cup squash puree, and vanilla. Add flour mix until just combined.
  • In a separate bowl, make streusel by combining brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and cold butter. Pinch together until crumbly.
  • Grease and flour an 8-inch cake pan. Pour in half the batter, sprinkle ⅔ cup streusel, add remaining batter, top with remaining streusel.
  • Bake at 350°F for 60 to 75 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
  • In a saucepan, combine cream and fresh ginger. Simmer then let steep 20–30 min. Strain and set aside.
  • In a second saucepan, boil sugar and water until amber caramel forms (9–12 min). Carefully add steeped cream. Stir in butter and salt. Whisk till smooth and glossy. Let cool.
  • Once cake is baked, cool for 10 min, remove from pan, cool completely on wire rack.
  • Drizzle cooled cake with ginger caramel sauce before serving.

Notes

You can prep the squash and streusel a day ahead. Use leftovers for breakfast with coffee or freeze slices for later treats. Ginger caramel keeps well refrigerated for several days—reheat gently before serving.