Buttery pumpkin cake with crunchy pecans makes for an incredibly easy Fall dessert recipe everyone loves! Pumpkin crunch cake is one of the easiest desserts for a family meal or entertaining.
Plus, you can easily make this pumpkin dump cake in one pan for easy prep and clean up!
If you’ve ever tried Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, you know how amazingly delicious that gooey middle is. Imagine an Ooey Gooey Pumpkin Cake… we’ve got your new favorite Fall recipe right here!
Hands up if you’re ready for Fall! One of the things I look forward to the most about the holiday season (aside from cooler weather, of course) is everything pumpkin! Can you feel the pumpkin love over here?
I always look forward to pumpkin recipes as soon as September rolls around! Fall is the best time of year for entertaining, too, and with Thanksgiving coming up, it’s never too soon to start thinking about holiday menu ideas.
A pumpkin cake recipe like this pumpkin dump cake is perfect for Fall entertaining because it is so simple to make! It’s one of our personal favorite easy dessert recipes with few ingredients, and once you give it a try, we know you’ll agree.
Easy Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe Ingredients
The basis for pumpkin crunch dessert is a mix of pumpkin puree, eggs, spices, and evaporated milk, which you mix in with boxed yellow cake mix and top off with unsalted butter and pecans for crunch. Sounds simple, right? Well, it is! Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this pumpkin crunch cake recipe:
- 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
- 12 oz. can evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 cups sugar (granulated)
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 15.25 oz. box Yellow Cake Mix
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Pumpkin Crunch Cake Recipe Tips: Finding the Ingredients
Pumpkin puree and evaporated milk come by the can and are easy to find in the baking aisle of the supermarket.
As far as spices go, I prefer to make up my own pumpkin spice mix, according to the ingredients above. If you prefer, however, you can easily just buy ready-made pumpkin pie spice from the supermarket.
How to Make Dump Cake with Pumpkin and Pecans
Pumpkin crunch dessert is one of the easiest dessert recipes to make, whether you’re feeding your family or a crowd of people. With just one pan and a handful of simple ingredients, this easy pumpkin dump cake recipe comes together in no time.
Follow these instructions to make your pumpkin cake:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Combine pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs and spices in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Grease a 9×13″ oven proof deep baking pan with a little butter.
- Pour in pumpkin mixture into prepared tray.
- Sprinkle the yellow cake mix over the pumpkin mixture. Spread it as evenly as possible over the top.
- Pour the melted butter over the yellow cake, covering the cake mix as much as you can.
- Top with chopped pecans.
- Bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until the cake is firm and cooked through. The cake should be a nice brown color but still gooey in the middle. It is a dense gooey cake – this is what makes it so delicious.
- Remove from oven, and serve hot or cold with ice cream or whipped cream.
How to Make Easy Pumpkin Whipped Cream
Want to take this recipe over the top? We have just the thing!
- Add 1 cup of either homemade whipped cream or Cool Whip
- Add 1 tablespoon of Pumpkin Spice
- Mix well and refrigerate for approximately 1 hour
- Top the Pumpkin Cake with the Pumpkin Whipped Cream either with a spoon or get fancy with a piping bag.
- Top with sprinkles (optional)
Pumpkin Crunch Recipe Tips: Baking the Cake
There are a few things to note when it comes to adding the final touches to this recipe.
- When you sprinkle the boxed cake mix over the pumpkin puree mixture, make sure it’s as even as possible so it can expand evenly over the cake.
- IMPORTANT TIP: Use unsalted butter to finish off the cake, and make sure all the boxed cake mix is covered in butter to ensure even baking. You may want to use a pastry brush to ensure the butter is spread evenly. If it is not completely covered, you may need to melt a little more butter.
- Cooking time for this pumpkin crunch recipe will vary depending on your oven. I baked mine at 375°F in the middle rack, and it took around 50 minutes.
- If you find the cake is getting too brown and it still isn’t cooked, place some tin foil over the cake for the final 10 minutes of baking. To gauge whether it’s ready, use a sharp knife or skewer to poke various parts of the cake. If the skewer comes out clean and crumby, it is cooked. The cake should be firm enough to cut into pieces.
📌 Pin our Pumpkin Crunch Cake to save for later!
If you’re looking for the perfect Fall dessert recipe to feed a hungry crowd, pumpkin crunch cake is for you. This pumpkin crunch recipe has everything you could want in a dessert: it’s slightly sweet, buttery, and soft in the middle with a golden, crunchy pecan topping.
Serve this incredibly easy Fall dessert recipe with ice cream, and it’s a guarantee everyone will be asking you for the recipe.
Must-Try Pumpkin Desserts
Love sweet pumpkin recipes? Try these easy dessert recipes this Fall!
- Pumpkin Empanadas
- Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Balls
- No Bake Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe with Spiced Pumpkin Frosting
- Pumpkin Cobbler with Spiced Butter Toffee
- Easy Pumpkin Muffin Recipe
- Starbucks Pumpkin Bread
Other Favorite Pumpkin Recipes
What about savory pumpkin recipes? Try cooking with pumpkin in these easy recipes!
- Pumpkin Waffle Recipe
- Simple Pumpkin Recipes
- Harry Potter Pumpkin Juice Recipe
- Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
Pumpkin Crunch Recipe
🥘 Ingredients
- 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 cups sugar (granulated)
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 15.25 oz box Yellow Cake Mix
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- 1 cup whipped cream homemade or Cool Whip (optional)
- 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (optional)
🔪 Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Combine pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs and spices in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Grease a 9"x13" baking dish with a little butter.
- Pour in pumpkin mixture into buttered baking dish.
- Sprinkle the yellow cake mix over the pumpkin mixture, trying to get it as evenly spread as possible.
- Pour the melted butter over the cake mix, covering all the cake mix as much as you can.
- Top with chopped pecans spread out over the entire cake
- Bake 50 minutes to 55 minutes, or until the cake is firm, and cooked through. The cake should be a nice browned color and but the middle is still ooey and gooey.
- Remove from oven, and serve hot or cold with ice cream or cream.
- Optional – add Pumpkin Whipped Cream Mix 1 cup of ready made or homemade whipped cream with 1 tablespoon of pumpkin spice and mix well.
- Refrigerate and serve with on top of the pumpkin cake.
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