Enjoy this ultimate fall dessert: Pumpkin Spice Dump Cake! A simple recipe filled with pumpkin spice flavors and a delicious chopped pecan topping!
A while back I told y’all about the amazing Slow Cooker Apple Butter that I found over on JustaPinch.com. Well, this recipe for Pumpkin-Spice Dump Cake also caught my eye while I was over there browsing. I mean, I just love the ease of a dump cake and can surely appreciate a delicious fall dessert!
Now, I have a Pumpkin Cream Cheese Crunch Cake that’s similar but wanted to test this out as well. Boy, I’m glad I did! It’s super easy and so delicious! It’s got tons of warm, spice flavor while also being very dense and moist. You can actually see the dense pumpkin layer and the lighter, almost crunchy yellow cake layer in the photos.
If you’re looking for a super easy and delicious pumpkin dessert, this is it! Y’all enjoy!
What is a dump cake?
While I don’t exactly love the name, I do love the efficiency of a dump cake. It is basically as its name suggests… a cake where you just “dump” your ingredients into a baking dish with minimal prep. Then, sprinkle cake mix on top and add melted or sliced butter. After that, you bake it until the cake is done and the top is brown and crispy. It’s that simple!
Dump cakes are easy to make and taste great, so you will commonly find these on the dessert table at parties and picnics because they’re so simple and delicious. You can really be creative with your fruit ingredients, spices, and toppings.
How to serve a dump cake:
I tried serving this pumpkin-spice dump cake several different ways and found that slightly warm with a big ol’ scoop of vanilla ice cream was my favorite! I also found that this was better on the second day. Like so many desserts (pound cake, especially), giving it a little time to rest makes it even better.
You could also top it with whipped cream. Or, you might even consider using it as a breakfast dish like a coffee cake of sorts. This would be absolutely divine in the morning, slightly warmed with a cup of black coffee! Yum!
Other Pumpkin Spice Dessert Ideas
The Internet is overflowing with delicious pumpkin spice desserts, especially in the fall. And I get it… something about those spices and flavors really gets you in the fall mood, even when the weather is still steamy like it is around here. Try out some of my other popular pumpkin spice recipes below:
- Butter Toasted Pumpkin Spice Pecans – These pecans make for a delicious appetizer or dessert! You could even gift them to your neighbors, friends, and family for a little happy mail or front porch, drop-off treat.
- Ooey Gooey Autumn Spice Cake – If you think the name sounds mouthwatering, wait until you try this rich and delicious spice cake. While it doesn’t necessarily include “pumpkin” spice, it is filled with all those same cozy, fall flavors, so I just had to add this one to my list of recommendations.
- Praline Pumpkin Bread – This tried-and-true pumpkin bread is a safe bet when it comes to the perfect dessert bread for fall. Throw in the delicious glaze and this dessert never lasts long.
Recipe Card
Pumpkin Spice Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 1 (15-ounce) can canned plain pumpkin
- 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 (15.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, milk, and eggs together until smooth. Add the sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Mix well. Add about 1/2 of the dry yellow cake mix to the batter and mix well.
- Pour the batter into the greased dish. Sprinkle with the remaining dry cake mix over the batter. Sprinkled with the chopped pecans. Drizzle the melted butter over.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until the edges are brown and the cake is set. (The toothpick test won’t work well with a cake that’s this dense.) Allow to cool before serving. Served at room temperature or just warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Nutrition
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
Christine Pearl
I must have done something wrong . . . my cake turned out with powdery dry cake mix on top. I was thinking it would be more like a streusel topping. Suggestions / ideas?
Let’s see… Did you only use 1/2 of the cake mix on the top? Did you drizzle it with the butter?
Sharlene Beale
Recipe is outstanding. I had pumpkin left over from making a pie and decided to look for a recipe to use it up. I had all the other ingredients on hand to make this recipe. Glad I did. I put walnuts on top. Very good. I sent the recipe to my cousin. She has company over every Saturday for dessert after dinning out. She is always looking for
new ideas. Thank you.
Thanks, Sharlene! So glad it turned out great for you!
Rob
Excellent recipe!! My son is allergic to all tree nuts and peanuts, so I use pretzels crumbled to the size of pecans for recipes calling for nuts like this. It really tastes great. They even taste great for mock pecan pie !
Great tip! Thanks, Rob!
Hobbinator
Absolutely delicious. Easy to make. One of our favorites! Thanks for the recipe!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Angela Cardinale
This is fabulous! Made with gluten-free cake mix, it’s a keeper and repeater!
So glad it worked for you!
Sandie Boyd
My husband is highly allergic to all nuts except almonds, brazil nuts and cashews. I know, weird! Do you think any of those would be a good replacement for the pecans, or should I just leave them out? I really want to try this, sounds delicious!
I think you could certainly just leave them out, but any of those you mentioned, specially almonds and cashews, should work well, too! Enjoy!
Sheli
I’ve never liked “pumpkin spice” or pumpkin flavored ANYTHING….until now!! This is the best dessert I’ve had, Im in shock. I made it for my parents, and gave it a try. I’m not sure they will get any, Lol. Thanks for sharing!!
Oh wow! Thanks Sheli! I agree that I’m not the biggest pumpkin spice person either but love this cake!
Carol
Hey Stacey, I’ve been making this recipe since 1984, but my recipe (from my mother-in-law) is a bit different. You need to try it…you might be surprised!!! Here are the ingredients…note–more pumpkin & better spices:
4 eggs
1 large (29 oz) can 100% pure pumpkin (NOT the pie filling)
1 ¼ cups white granulated sugar
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon ground allspice {
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon { DO NOT use ready-made
1 teaspoon ground cloves { Pumpkin Pie Spice!
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg {
1 (15.25 oz) box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter, melted Let me know what you think of it, please!
Judy
Carol: When you have after 1 tsp allspice {: what do you mean? Also are you saying to put 1 tsp ground cloves and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice when you have the {after you listed 1 teaspoon ground cloves? What about the 1 tsp ground nutmeg? Are you putting nutmeg in also? I want to try you from scratch recipe too but unsure what you mean by the {?
Carol
Judy, it’s 1 teaspoon of each of the 4 spices.
Do NOT use ready-made pumpkin spice cake.
Hope this clears it up for you. You’re gonna LOVE it!
~Carol
Judy
Thanks, Carol! Will Try It!
The Better Baker
It’s absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks so much!!
Angie
Does it need to be refrigerated?
It’s good on the counter for a day or so, longer than that you might want to refrigerate it.
Kristi Clenney
Sounds yummy! Could you freeze half of this for later? Would you freeze it before or after baking?
Yep! You’d want to bake it, then I’d recommend a few layers of plastic wrap and aluminum foil before freezing.
Tess
Yum!! Will be trying soon… 🙂 I have made one similar to this one but it calls for putting the entire cake mix on top. I like the sounds and LOOKS of your recipe better !! Love Pumpkin anything!! Thanks for the recipe… 🙂
Sure hope you’ll enjoy it!
Bobbie
This is very similar to a family favorite of ours, however, we never put part of the cake mix IN with the pumpkin mixture. I’m excited to try it this way, and see if my family will notice!
Love your site so much! Thank you!!
Thanks, Bobbie! I appreciate the kind words and hope you’ll enjoy this version!
Jane Bortz
What about using sweetened condense milk and omitting the sugar, spice & salt?
Hmm.. I’m just not sure how that would work without try it.
Merrie Joyner
Stacey,
Do you think it would be possible to use the pumpkin pie filling in the can instead? If I try this, what ingredients would I leave out?
Sure! You’ll still use the milk and eggs, but you’ll leave out the sugar, spices, and salt.
Twyla
I am in love with this recipe. The first time I made it following the recipe. Wonderful! But….I prefer sweet potatoes to pumpkin…..so the next time I made it l mashed canned sweet potatoe instead of pumpkin and as I live alone and don’t need a 9×13 pan of anything I split the recipe in half and used a good ole yellow Jiffy cake mix. Baked in a 8×8 pan. Really great using the sweet potatoes!
Sounds amazing and I’m a HUGE fan of Jiffy Golden Yellow Cake mix!! So glad you’ve enjoyed it!
DeDe
What do you think about omitting the pecans? My family will not eat any kind of nuts, no allergy, they are just crazy 🙂 I mean, who doesn’t like pecans?? Does it need the crunch of the nuts? Thanks for your opinion.
What?!?! LOL! I think it will be fine, though I do thing the recipe benefits form the crunch.
Lady Michigan
Instead of yellow cake I use a spice. Kicks it up a notch
I’ve tried it both ways and like them both.