Pumpkin Spice Crumb Cake

The best New York–style crumb cake is nearly as much crumb as it is cake. This recipe follows that formula, just with one seasonal swap: Instead of vanilla cake on the bottom, plush pumpkin cake hops in. The result is infinitely cozy, especially with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves add fireplace-level warmth, while freshly grated ginger adds an enlivening zing. If you’re out of stock, ground ginger works too. (I store whole, unpeeled knobs in the freezer so they last longer, and finely grate them on a Microplane like Parmesan.) When your timer approaches the 35-minute mark, skip the tester or toothpick to check for doneness and opt instead for a thin knife, which offers more surface area and, in turn, more intel. A few crumbs from the streusel are welcome, while any raw pumpkin batter mandates a few more minutes in the oven. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool—go for a walk and try to catch a falling leaf?—but your patience will be rewarded. If you’re grumbling about only using half a can of pumpkin, I get it. But the solution is simple: Transfer the purée to an airtight container and pop in the fridge, where it’ll keep for up to a week, then use it in any of our other pumpkin recipes. Or just bake another crumb cake. Tightly wrapped, it can hang out at room temperature for a couple of days.