Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with a strip of parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the two long sides to help lift the loaf out later.

Make the streusel. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt for the streusel. Add the cold cubed butter and chopped pecans, then rub the butter in with your fingers until the mixture looks like coarse, clumpy sand. Refrigerate while you make the batter.

Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.

Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth with no streaks of egg remaining.

Combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula just until combined. A few streaks of flour are fine. Overmixing is what makes a pumpkin loaf turn tough and gummy instead of tender.

Fill and top. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with the spatula. Scatter the chilled streusel evenly over the surface, pressing it very lightly so it holds on during baking.

Bake. Bake for 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs (not wet batter) and the streusel is deep golden. Tent loosely with foil after 40 minutes if the top is browning faster than the inside is cooking.

Cool. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift it out using the parchment overhang onto a wire rack to cool completely, about 45 minutes. Don't drizzle a warm loaf. The honey will just run straight off.

Make the hot honey. Once the loaf is nearly cool, warm the honey in a small saucepan over low heat with the cayenne for about a minute, just until it's thin and pourable. Taste and add more heat if you want a bigger kick.

Finish. Drizzle the warm hot honey over the cooled loaf and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Slice and serve.