Sweet and Salty, you’ll love this Pumpkin Dump Cake recipe. With layers of pumpkin pie filling, yellow cake mix, and pecans, this crunchy cake is a tried and true crowd pleaser!
Pumpkin and holidays go hand in hand! Some of my favorite pumpkin recipes include this easy Pumpkin Waffles recipe, as well as my Pumpkin Crumb Cake!
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The perfect Thanksgiving dessert
It’s almost Thanksgiving and I have one last pumpkin recipe to share this season.
If you’re like me, you bake pumpkin treats year round. From pumpkin scones to pumpkin cheesecake, you’ll love the sweet and salty flavor of today’s recipe.
I love that cozy, fall feeling with the sweet aroma of cinnamon and cloves in the air.
Today’s Pumpkin Crunch Cake recipe would be a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving celebration. Whether you enjoy it after your turkey dinner, or bake one up for weekend enjoyment, this cake will be loved by all.
If you’ve never had a dump cake, it’s seriously the easiest thing ever. And nobody will ever know that this recipe uses a dry cake mix!
You may remember seeing this Lemon Blueberry Skillet Dump Cake on my blog years ago. Today, we’ll be adding a pumpkin pie base! Much like our favorite apple dump cake!
Step by Step Instructions
Prepare the pan.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. You’ll need a greased and floured 13×9 baking dish. You can also use my homemade cake release if you prefer.
Make the cake.
To make the pumpkin base, in a large bowl, combine canned pumpkin, evaporated milk, spices, sugar, and eggs. Mix until well blended. Pour the pumpkin mixture into your prepared baking dish.
Next up, sprinkle a dry yellow cake mix over the top, spreading evenly. Top with chopped pecans and drizzle with melted butter. You can also skip melting the butter and just place cubes of butter on top.
Bake.
Bake for about 45-50 minutes. You can serve this cake warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
However, I love enjoying this cake cold with a little whipped topping and caramel sauce drizzled over the top!
Ingredient Notes
Pumpkin– choose pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling!
Spices- my recipe calls for ginger, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon, but you can swap these out for pumpkin pie spice if needed.
Yellow Cake Mix– just the dry mix, not the ingredients needed to make it.
More Fall Recipes
The best Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars recipe is here, packed with flavor and easy to make! You’ll love the moist pumpkin cake with sweet cheesecake piped throughout! The perfect fall dessert.
A new fall favorite, the Mini Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins may be small, but they are big with flavor! This recipe is freezer friendly too!
The classic Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffle just got a touch of Pumpkin! ‘Tis the season, friends!! You’ll want to add these Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles to your holiday menu!
Bake (yes bake!) up a batch of these Pumpkin Streusel Donuts for Thanksgiving day breakfast! All the delicious flavors of fall in one breakfast treat!
Recipe FAQs
YES! I love to serve this cake cold, so making it the night before works out perfectly. You can also heat up slices of cake in the microwave for people who prefer this warm.
Yes! I prefer to cover this cake with foil then freeze the entire cake after baking. To thaw, refrigerate overnight and serve chilled. You can also microwave slices of cake if you prefer them warmed up.
Yes. Once you’ve baked this cake you’ll either serve it warm immediately, or store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More Easy Dessert Recipes
Pumpkin Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 1 can pure pumpkin puree 15 ounce
- 1 can evaporated milk 12 ounce
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 3 large eggs
- 1 package dry yellow cake mix
- 1 cup chopped Pecans
- ¾ cup unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. You'll need a greased and floured 13×9 baking dish. I like to use baking spray for this cake.
- To make the pumpkin base, in a large bowl, combine canned pumpkin, evaporated milk, spices, sugar, and eggs. Mix until well blended. Pour the pumpkin mixture into your prepared baking dish.
- Next up, sprinkle a package of dry yellow cake mix over the top, spreading evenly. Top with chopped pecans and drizzle with melted butter. You can also skip melting the butter and just place cubes of butter on top.
- Bake for about 45-50 minutes. You can serve this cake warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. However, I love enjoying this cake cold with a little whipped topping and caramel sauce drizzled over the top!
Notes
- Can this dump cake be made in advance? Yes! I love to serve this cake cold, so making it the night before works out perfectly. You can also heat up slices of cake in the microwave for people who prefer this warm.
- Can you freeze pumpkin crunch cake? Yes! I prefer to cover this cake with foil then freeze the entire cake after baking. To thaw, refrigerate overnight and serve chilled. You can also microwave slices of cake if you prefer them warmed up.
- Does Pumpkin Crunch Cake need to be refrigerated? Yes. Once you’ve baked this cake you’ll either serve it warm immediately, or store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
This is definitely a new family favorite
I have been making this for years I got the recipe from my daughter I use finely chopped walnuts on half and no nuts on the other half some family members don’t like nuts either way it is delicious!
Just a thought,, you could top with a crunchlike on apple pie in place of nuts if allergic.
This cake is so easy to make and tastes amazing! My entire family love it. It has the righ texture combinations along with the perfect balance of salty and sweet. I will make this cake every year during the fall. It is comforting when eaten warm or fully enjoyable when eaten cold as all the flavors have really had time to meld together. You can’t go wrong with this cake!
Can this cake be topped with cream cheese frosting?
It can. But it really doesn’t need it.
LOVE this easy dump cake. Just like pumpkin pie but so next-level!!
Amazing dump cake, especially if you like pumpkin!
Amazing dump cake, especially if you like pumpkin!
I’m making the dessert for our annual Family Thanksgiving diner this year. This cake sounds like the perfect dessert. Easy & delicious! Thanks for this recipe!
I only have pumpkin pie spice; can you tell me how much to use in place of the other spices please & thanks!
It was delicious but the pumpkin based did not get firm. I used dark brown sugar because I didn’t have light. That’s the only thing I changed. What do you think I did wrong?
this cake get’s rave reviews everytime I make it! I’m back today to print the recipe for a friend!
So dang good! Give me all the pumpkin
This thing is crazy delicious, no joke. I love easy it is to make, for sure going to serve it up for thanksgiving!
Hands down one of our favorite desserts to make! So good!
This was so delicious and so easy to make. I’m making it for Thanksgiving dinner for sure.
Why did it come out with cake mix still powdery ?
How much pumpkin pie spice would you use as an as an alternative of the clove, ginger, cinnamon, ?
How much pumpkin pie spice do I use? Instead of the other
I have the same question about using pumpkin pie spice in this dessert, but I don’t see an answer. I’m going to use the same amount of pumpkin pie spice as I do for plain pumpkin pie, and see how that works.