Every year, I tell myself I’m going to whip up something impressive for Thanksgiving dessert—but usually, I run out of time, energy, and oven space. If you’re like me, Pumpkin Dump Cake is a total lifesaver. It’s ridiculously easy (we’re talking five minutes to assemble), uses simple ingredients, and bakes into a golden, cozy dessert that tastes like fall in a dish. No pie crust, no stress—just dump, cook, and dig in.
The Magic of Pumpkin Dump Cake
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
Dump cakes are simple desserts that are prepared by “dumping” ingredients into a pan. This pumpkin dump cake features pumpkin pie filling, spice cake mix, and pecans layered in a 9×13 pan. Drizzled with plenty of butter and baked, the result is a cross between a pumpkin pie and a spice cake. Serve it with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or on its own.
“I love pumpkin dump cake,” says Allrecipes community member Carolyn Busch, who submitted the recipe. “There are lots of different variations of this popular recipe out there; but I think this is the easiest one to remember and make! Sprinkle the butter over the cake mix evenly for the crunchiest topping. Delicious served cool with whipped cream.”
How to Make the Easy Recipe
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
- Prep the filling. Mix the pumpkin purée with the evaporated milk, eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
- Layer the components. Spread the pumpkin filling on the bottom of a greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the spice cake mix evenly on top, then follow with a layer of chopped pecans.
- Drizzle and bake. Pour the melted butter evenly over the prepared cake mixture and bake for 50 to 60 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F. You’ll know it’s done when the edges are lightly browned.
Tips, Tricks, Variations
Like most dump cake recipes, this one is easy to make your own.
- Tweak the butter. To help the cake bake more evenly with less of a powdery top, several reviewers recommend doubling the amount of melted butter—or using frozen butter. “The only way to get the butter even over the cake mix is to freeze it then use a cheese grater to shred it then you won’t get any dry cake patches,” says GoldPeel9451.
- Switch out the cake mix. One reviewer likes to use yellow cake mix—and drizzle pure maple syrup over the top of the dessert as soon as it comes out of the oven. “My family likes this better than pumpkin pie and it’s so easy to make!” Sarah says.
- Throw some chips on top. “I added a few butterscotch, vanilla, and chocolate chips on top,” says Joni Thurber. “Not a lot, but maybe a quarter cup total. I used pecans, and also sprinkled just a tiny amount of cardamom. It’s so good!”
- Upgrade the nut topping with a streusel. “We all loved it but thought it needed something more than just nuts on top,” says SillyCocoa6714. “Just made it again this afternoon and loaded the top with streusel. The streusel had the extra butter in it to help with the dry spots of cake mix. Yummy!”
Get the recipe: Pumpkin Dump Cake