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This 8 ingredient pumpkin dump cake has 1 million views and counting, which is no surprise since it’s equally easy and delicious.
Just mix, dump and bake – in under 1 hour you’ll have a family favorite pumpkin dessert that will have guests begging for more!
This was absolutely fabulous!! I will be making this for our thanksgiving dinner. Much better than a plain pumpkin pie, hands down. Thanks!
-Betty
This recipe for Pumpkin Dump Cake is sure to be a family favorite!
Pumpkin dump cake is a straightforward dessert that combines pumpkin puree and spices with a cake mix topping. It’s an easy option for gatherings, and many people say my pumpkin dump cake could replace pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.
The key to my recipe is using canned pumpkin puree instead of pumpkin pie filling for a more authentic flavor. I recommend using a spice cake mix for added warmth, and it’s okay if the melted butter doesn’t cover all the cake mix; this creates a nice, crumbly topping. I’ve also had success using a gluten-free yellow cake mix, making it accessible for various dietary needs.
With several rounds of testing, I’ve ensured this recipe delivers reliable results. Just a tip: if you’re using a smaller pan, you’ll need to increase the baking time. My pumpkin dump cake is a simple, tasty dessert that’s sure to be a hit.
So easy (I have four kids and made this with them all home!) and absolutely delicious! Saving this one for years to come!
-Kristina
You Will Love This Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe
Our easy dump cake recipe will become a family favorite, you might even like it more than traditional pumpkin pie! Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or even add toffee bits and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
It’s an easy fall dessert to make because it only requires a handful of ingredients. It has classic pumpkin pie vibes and will leave pumpkin fans wanting more!
Oh my is this delicious! Made this today and wow! Buttery rich delicious goodness.. i would eat this any time of the year and will def make it again! Thank you for the recipe.
-Hope
What is Pumpkin Dump Cake?
A dump cake is known for ease because you dump ingredients into the cake pan. Most dump cake recipes are made in a 9×13 inch baking dish.
Most dump cakes use either canned, frozen, or fresh fruit, fruit filling or canned pumpkin.
Dump cakes are known for sprinkling a box of dry cake mix over the ingredients in the pan and then adding melted butter on top of the cake mix.
It’s magical what happens inside the oven. Even I was like “Is this going to work??”
The result is a cobbler like dessert with pumpkin filling and cake mixed together! It’s not the type of cake you cut into neat squares, just scoop it onto your plate and eat!
You can eat it warm, at room temperature, or even cold… when it comes to this tasty dessert I’m not picky about the temperature!
Easy Pumpkin Dump Cake Ingredients
- pumpkin puree – not pumpkin pie filling
- evaporated milk
- light brown sugar
- eggs
- pumpkin pie spice
- yellow cake mix
- butter
- chopped pecans, optional
Easy Pumpkin Dump Cake Variations
Switch up the box of cake mix. In place of the yellow cake mix, use a box of white cake mix, vanilla, butter pecan, or french vanilla. For chocolate lovers, try chocolate fudge, devil’s food cake, or milk chocolate cake mix for a chocolate pumpkin dump cake!
Add chocolate chips. To add a chocolate twist, sprinkle 1 cup of chocolate chips over the cake before baking.
How to Make Pumpkin Dump Cake with Yellow Cake Mix
- In a large bowl combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, evaporated milk, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well with a fork, spatula, or electric mixer.
- Pour the pumpkin mixture into a well buttered pan.
- Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over the pumpkin layer in the baking pan.
- Sprinkle pecans evenly on top of the cake mix.
- Drizzle the melted butter evenly on top of everything.
- Ta da! You’ll only have 3 items to clean – the mixing bowl, the cake pan, and a bowl or pot you used to melt the butter in.
How to Know When My Pumpkin Dump Cake is Done
Unlike traditional cakes, the toothpick method won’t work for a pumpkin dump cake recipe.
The top of the dump cake should look golden in color and look and feel like a “crust”, but once you break the the crust, the cake will be moist because of the pumpkin.
Rule of thumb: look for the top of the cake to be golden in color.
This Pumpkin Dump Cake recipe is Ryan’s favorite dessert in just about the whole wide world, so I made sure to save him an extra big piece before bringing it to bible study and pawning it off on neighbors and friends.
And some of you might be skeptical, but trust me there is nothing ‘dumpy’ about this cake, haha.. get it?
Can this recipe for Pumpkin Dump Cake be made ahead of time?
Most people prefer a warm dump cake, since it does resemble a cobbler. So with that in mind, yes, you can make apple spice dump cake ahead of time, but I would recommend not making it more than 1 day in advance. You can re-heat the entire pan in the oven.
How to store Pumpkin Dump Cake
To store leftovers, cover the pan with a lid, plastic wrap or scoop the leftovers into an airtight container.
To reheat the whole pan of dump cake, cover the dish with tin foil and warm at 350º F for 15 minutes or until warmed through.
To freeze, bake the cake in a freezer safe container. Allow it to cool completely then wrap the pan well in plastic then again in foil. Label and place in the freezer. To thaw place in the fridge overnight
Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe Pro Tips
- Use canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- It’s okay if the melted butter doesn’t cover all of the cake mix!
- Use a spice cake mix instead of yellow cake mix.
- This recipe turned out great using a box of gluten free yellow cake mix.
- If you bake this in a smaller pan, the baking time will need to be increased.
Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe FAQs
It’s important to remember that a dump cake isn’t like a traditional cake in terms of a light, fluffy texture. A dump cake is a mash up between a cake and a cobbler, where the layers separate into a filling and a crust. Because they contain a lot of moisture from the added fruit, the bottom layer (the filling) of the dump cake will be moist.
Even though it might seem odd, arranging ingredients in layers instead of mixing them is the secret to achieving a perfect dump cake that is crispy, crumbly, buttery on top with a soft, gooey inside.
If your dump cake has a powdery texture, it’s probably because the cake mix or butter wasn’t evenly spread. If you notice this happening while baking, you can use a spoon to spoon juice from the corners onto the dry spots and put it back in the oven.
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Easy Pumpkin Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 15 oz canned pumpkin puree
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 15.25 oz yellow cake mix
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Butter the bottom and sides of a 9×13 inch cake pan.
- In a large bowl combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, brown sugar, eggs and pumpkin pie spice.
- Whisk until combined. Pour this mixture into the buttered pan.
- Sprinkle the cake mix powder on top of the batter as evenly as possible.
- Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the batter.
- Pour the melted butter evenly over the top of the cake.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the edges are browned and the center is set. A knife inserted in the middle should come out clean.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Hey there! Would it be possible to omit the pecans? I am allergic to nuts. I know sometimes omitting nuts changes the consistency and you need to alter ingredients. Any ideas? I love making pineapple dump cake (just crushed pineapples, apple pie filling, white cake mix, and butter). This sounds delicious! Thanks!
Hey Brandi! You could definitely omit the pecans, it just wouldn’t have a crunchy texture but I am sure it will still be delicious!
Does the brown sugar go in the batter or on top?
Great question, when I wrote “sugar” in the directions that when you add the brown sugar. I’ll go back and clarify that part.
This is a wonderful dessert! I have made it many times, but this year will try the gluten free cake mix as so many are now GF at our Thanksgiving table. (I do make it with sweetened condensed milk and no brown sugar however)
Hi Lorrie! That’s awesome that you are going to make it gluten free – then I would be able to eat it too!!
Do you think this would work with a gluten free cake mix? I eat a gluten-free diet and was just wondering.
Hi Kindra! I do think substituting a gluten free cake mix would work just fine. I hope you enjoy it!
Does this cake freeze well? Also wondered if anyone tried substituting toffee bits for the nuts?
I’m not sure about the freezing – our never lasts that long! But the toffee bits for nuts – I say yes!
I made this pumpkin dump cake for Thanksgiving. It was very good but I had to bake it 1 hr and 10 minuets and it still didn’t look done in the center. It looked like the cake mix part was gueey but it still tasted good.
Did you use a dark or light colored baking pan? That could have made a difference in the baking, but I am glad it tasted good!
Yum and can we please just pumpkin all the things? PINNED!
YES! Thanks for pinning :)
I was just thinking about pumpkin today and how I need to start making recipes ASAP. This looks wonderful and definitely a great way to use pumpkin. I have to try it out! Love that topping!
Thanks Julia! I’m giving this circa 2013 recipe a much needed update!!
I am pumpkin crazy too! And this looks like my kind of cake!
Easy peasy lemon squeezy :)
Dump cakes are seriously the best and this one is just perfect for fall :)
I’m glad you’re on board!!