Sweet and Salty, you’ll love this Pumpkin Dump Cake recipe. With layers of pumpkin pie, yellow cake mix, and pecans, this crunchy cake is a tried and true crowd pleaser!
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!
Step by Step
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!
FAQ
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
Sweet and Salty, you'll love this Pumpkin Crunch Cake recipe. With layers of pumpkin pie, yellow cake mix, and pecans, this pumpkin dump cake is a tried and true crowd pleaser!
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin puree
- 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3 large eggs
- 1 package dry yellow cake mix
- 1 cup Fisher Nuts Chopped Pecans
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. You'll need a greased and floured 13x9 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 Fisher Nuts 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.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
15Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 395Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 305mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 2gSugar: 29gProtein: 6g
*Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.
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?
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, ?
My mouth started watering as soon as I saw that first image! These looks so delicious and will definitely take care of my fall cravings! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
One of the best!! Love pumpkin desserts & the crunch in it!! My family requests this every fall!
My husband and I enjoyed this very much. Next time we make it, we’ll put it in the fridge (covered) for two days before we plan on serving it so the top gets a little more crunchy. Quite tasty!
This pumpkin dessert is one of my all time favorites!!!
Um, do you think this would work without the nuts? Sorry because obviously the nuts are kind of the star here, and I do love them, but my sister is allergic.
Absolutely fine to leave them out 🙂
YUM, this needs to become an annual tradition!
This is one of my favorite desserts for this time of year so easy and soooo good!
This cake is so easy and delicious – yum!
Oh my goodness! This cake looks so yummy!
The sweet and salty flavor sounds really cool. I have made brownies with that combination but not a cake. Can’t wait to try this for Thanksgiving!
Loving the sweet and salty flavors in this recipe! Perfect fall dessert!