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Simple and delicious pumpkin dump cake preps in minutes. With so many spices and sweet flavors, it’s perfect all fall long!
We love dump cakes—because of the simplicity, but also the TASTE! Our favorite flavors include peach and cherry, but in the fall, this pumpkin dump cake is the only cake we need!
A Perfect Fall Dessert!
It’s PUMPKIN time!! It’s that time of year when pumpkin and soup recipes start popping up everywhere and fall is on its way!
Today’s pumpkin recipe was shared by a family member. We stopped by on Thanksgiving to say hi and after they fed us this fall dessert, we fell in love and had to give it a try!
It’s called pumpkin dump cake, because you literally dump it, bake it, and enjoy it! It is so simple, and literally is the BEST fall cake.
making a Dump Cake
“Dump” cakes are as easy as they sound! Just mix and dump layers in a pan. Hence the name. Dump cakes are similar to cobblers, but a cobbler uses a biscuit or pie crust as the topping.
PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F.
BATTER. Mix pumpkin, milk, ginger, cloves, sugar, eggs, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Pour into a greased and floured 9×13 pan.
TOPPING. Sprinkle cake mix and chopped pecans on top. Cut butter very thin and cover all over the cake mix.
BAKE + ENJOY! Bake for 1 hour. Serve warm topped with Whipped Cream or Vanilla Ice Cream, and even a caramel drizzle if you’re feeling extra fancy.
Additional Topping Ideas
The pecans are totally optional on this easy pumpkin dump cake, but if you aren’t a fan of pecans try:
- crushed graham crackers
- toffee bits
- substitute for another type of chopped nut
recipe tips
Although we love this dessert as is, you can change up this pumpkin pie dump cake with a few of these suggestions.
Cake mix alternative. You are only using the dry cake mix, and not making it into a cake batter. If you don’t have yellow cake mix, use a pumpkin spice cake mix, or make a homemade mix.
Here’s how:
- Whisk together 2¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1½ cups granulated sugar, 3½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt plus 4 tbsp butter (½ stick).
- Use a pastry cutter to blend in the butter, and you’ve got a homemade yellow cake mix.
Variations.
- Replace the ginger, cloves, and cinnamon with an equal amount of Pumpkin Pie Spice.
- Forgo the Whipped Cream and add a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.
- Drizzle with Caramel Sauce.
- Sprinkle on mini chocolate chips.
Pumpkin puree. Note that this pumpkin cake with yellow cake mix calls for a can of pumpkin puree and NOT canned pumpkin pie filling. The pie filling already has spices and other ingredients mixed into it. Whereas pumpkin puree is only pumpkin.
Storing Info
STORE. We like to serve this pumpkin dump cake recipe warm, but you can store leftovers, covered, in the fridge. It should last for at least 2 days.
Reheat a slice by microwaving in 30-second intervals until it is the desired temperature.
FREEZE. To freeze a whole baked cake, wrap the entire pan with plastic wrap and again with foil.
For the leftover cake, divide it into individual freezer containers. Thaw overnight in the fridge and serve chilled or reheat the slices in the microwave.
Recipe FAQ
The bottom layer of this cake will be a bit gooey, but it should still be set enough to hold its shape when cut. The top section will have a more cake-like texture.
Canned pumpkin is pumpkin puree combined with sugar and extra spices. Pumpkin puree is pure pumpkin. Be sure to use pumpkin puree in the pumpkin dump cake recipe.
For More Pumpkin Recipes, Check Out:
- Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Magic Pumpkin Cake
- Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Bars
- No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecakes
- Libby’s Pumpkin Roll
Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix pumpkin, milk, ginger, cloves, sugar, eggs, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Pour into a greased and floured 9×13 pan.
- Sprinkle cake mix and chopped pecans on top.
- Cut butter very thin and cover all over the cake mix.
- Bake for 1 hour and serve warm with whipped cream. ENJOY!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made a sugar free version of this for my son’s birthday! It went very fast everyone loved it!
Oh that’s awesome to hear. Thanks for giving it a try!
This recipe is great! Even if you mess it up a little lol I didn’t have any canned milk, and ended up only having about 13oz of 2% for the pumpkin custard. I figured it’d be OK cause I really wanted a firmer texture anyways, and it’s perfect. Made the yellow cake mix you gave the recipe for in the notes to go on top and it’s also really good. I typically use a little extra salt in my recipes, so it was perfectly balanced. My fiance and I were both pleasantly surprised by this one; thank you!
You’re welcome! Thanks for sharing what you did. I’m glad to hear it turned out delicious!!
Delicious. Very popular with the husband. I made mine with salted butter and it was the perfect amount to counter the sweetness.
What to do if some of the powdered cake mix is still powder on top after the hour baking? The rest of cake is browned
This has good flavors. I agree with others that a bit of salt would be welcome. For me, it’s not 5 stars because it’s fairly firm instead of being slightly gooey on the bottom half, and the top doesn’t make the crust you normally get on a dump cake. Thank you for the recipe, though.
Thanks for the feedback and giving the recipe a try!!
Just got done making pumpkin dump cake. I thought about adding a bit of salt. Wanted to try recipe like it reads. Used a spice cake mix. Carnahan ur in evaporated does indeed come in 16oz containers. It’s not a can but it is in the same area of your grocery. THAT RECIPE CAME OUT JUST THE WAY IT SHOULD. I’M A RETIRED PROFESSIONAL BAKER.
Not that great. Evaporated milk doesn’t come in 16 oz so if you open a 2nd can, the rest can go to waste. The recipe needs salt. Maybe 1/2 tap in with the spices. Also needs maybe brown sugar I won’t make again
Thanks for the feedback and for giving the recipe a try. Sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy the cake.
I used the one 12oz. can, and thought consistency was still great. My sister loved it and asked for
recipe.
I am a well-seasoned lifetime cook. This recipe needs at least one half teaspoon of salt! Condensed canned milk comes in 5 oz and 12 oz cans not 16 oz. If the recipe does require 16 oz and this was not a typo, it needs to read one can plus 4 oz. This could be very confusing for a beginning cook.
Thanks for the feedback and for giving the recipe a try!
Dear happy camper, re-read the ingredient list. the recipe calls for EVAPORATED milk not condensed.
Evaporated milk comes in 12 or 5oz cans (per my pantry and a google search lol)
Agree the directions should be clarified because anyone not paying attention – or – just learning could easily make a mistake and ruin this dessert. 🙁
I the inclusion of a recipe for homemade cake mix. Many, like myself, don’t eat boxed mixes/prepared foods. Hopefully this will encourage folks to “taste the difference” 🙂
Thanks for your feedback!
Make like directions! Melt the butter
You’ll love it
I still have this in the oven so cannot comment on the taste. I did NOT use yellow cake mix, I used Cinnamon Toast Crunch cake mix & used walnuts! Also, the pumpkin mixture was not very sweet so I added another half cup of sugar. Hope it is good!! Thanks!