Pumpkin Dump Cake (The Easiest Pumpkin Dessert!)

Fall baking! Is there anything better?! Say hello to this easy, flavorful Pumpkin Dump Cake recipe. This easy cake recipe features a boxed spice cake mix with a creamy pumpkin layer (we use canned pumpkin puree), warm spices, and lots of chopped pecans and chocolate. It is a pumpkin lovers dream come true, and would be perfect for any fall gathering!

But first, what is a dump cake?

It’s exactly what it sounds like: Take all the ingredients for the cake, dump them together into a pan or dish, then bake with melted butter. In our other dump cake recipes, we put fruit on the bottom, which becomes soft and sweet. For this pumpkin version, we’re making a creamy pumpkin pie-like layer for the bottom. It’s almost too good to eat!

Here’s why we love it so much:

• Tastes like pumpkin pie, but with way less effort! Did we mention the base of the dump cake is an actual boxed cake mix?! The best.
• Isn’t too sweet! You read that correctly! The sweetened condensed milk adds juuuust the right amount of sugar, making this dessert recipe sweet, but not cloyingly so.
• It’s a showstopper! This is the type of dessert that folks will gather around the kitchen and simply eat straight out of the pan. And, like a good host, you won’t judge them…

This is hands down going to become a staple in your house! We are SO excited for you to give this dump cake recipe a try!

Ingredients Notes (Trust Us, It’s Simple!)

• Pumpkin Purée is a cooked pumpkin that is mashed to create a smooth pulp. Make your life simple and buy canned! Note: do NOT buy a can of pumpkin pie filling!
• Sweetened Condensed Milk gives it a concentrated creaminess and sweetens the flavor.
• Eggs add body and structure to the creamy pumpkin layer.
• Vanilla Extract to enhance all of the flavors.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice is a combination of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg. You can make your own if you like!
• Kosher Salt to season everything!
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate has a good balance of sweetness and bitterness. Plus, who doesn’t love chocolate and pumpkin together?!
• Chopped Pecans add a nutty taste as well as a crunchy texture — do not skip these! You can substitute with other nuts, such as chopped walnuts, if you prefer.
• Spice Cake Mix is a mix made up of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. You can substitute with a Yellow Cake Mix or Carrot Cake Mix, but it won’t have that same familiar pumpkin pie flavor.
• Unsalted Butter, melted

Is this pumpkin dessert calling your name, yet?! The hardest part will be waiting for it to come out of the oven!

How To Make Pumpkin Dump Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease your baking dish with cooking spray, and then in a large bowl, use an electric mixer (or whisk) to mix together canned pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. The pumpkin mixture should have a smooth, creamy consistency.
2. Pour ingredients into the baking dish. Spread pumpkin mixture evenly in a baking dish and sprinkle chopped chocolate and/or chopped pecans on top. Don’t be shy!
3. Pour cake mix on top. Pour the cake mix on top evenly. Then pour on the melted butter, and if necessary, melt additional butter and pour on top. Essentially, you want to make sure the top of the cake mix is almost entirely covered with butter. Otherwise, you’ll be left with drop spots where the bits of free cake mix are.
4. Bake your cake. Bake in preheated oven until the top of the cake mix has browned and puffed up. Cool slightly to room temperature, or leave it warm and serve!

While not necessary, we 100% recommend serving this with homemade cinnamon whipped cream. The best!

Expert Tips

• Completely cover the dried box cake mix with melted butter. If you look above at the photo, there are some dry spots. You’ll just want to take a spoon and pour some of the melted butter on top of those. If you need to melt a little more butter, do so!
• Can be made with white or yellow cake mix, but spice cake mix will give this more of a traditional pumpkin spice flavor.
• Serve warm with homemade whipped cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or caramel drizzle to make it even more delicious.
• Do not substitute canned pumpkin puree for a can of pumpkin pie filling — not the same!

Other Dump Cake Recipes To Try!

This is hands down our favorite dump cake for the fall season (it’s so perfect as an easy Thanksgiving dessert!), but we also have a Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake and a Blueberry Dump Cake — both of which are fantastic! — that taste just as delicious and are even easier to make!

Try them all!

Once you work through all our dump cake recipes, be sure to try our unbelievably comforting rice pudding recipe — it’s a year round staple!