Pumpkin Crunch Cake (with Yellow Cake Mix)

This Pumpkin Crunch Dessert is easy and absolutely delicious! The amazing and decadent cream cheese and whipped cream frosting take this recipe over the top of delicious and everyone will devour it! Even the people in your life that proclaim to not like pumpkin will love this dessert! (Oh, and spoiler alert… This Pumpkin Crunch Cake is made with a yellow cake mix!!)

‘Tis the season for pumpkin-flavored everything! And what a glorious season it is!! I make this dessert every Fall, usually around Thanksgiving. It’s the perfect Fall dessert! Not only is it a scrumptious pumpkin dessert, but believe it or not, people that don’t even like pumpkin love this dessert! It’s refreshing and light with its layers and fluffy frosting. It’s the perfect dessert after a big Fall meal! And the best part? It’s incredibly easy to make but so very impressive at the same time! This recipe is essentially like a pumpkin dump cake recipe met a pumpkin cheesecake!

Recipe Source

This is my version of an old, old, old Paula Deen recipe that you can find HERE. Over the years I’ve tweaked it some and made it my own, but this is the original if you want to see where it started. (Mine is yummier! It’s all about the candied pecans!!!!)

Ingredients:

Cake Base:

• 1 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree – For the pumpkin puree, make sure it’s not pumpkin pie filling. The pumpkin filling is already sweetened and we don’t want that. We just want a can of plain pumpkin puree.
• 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk – You can find this in a can in the baking goods aisle. Don’t confuse this with condensed milk. It’s not the same thing, nor is it interchangeable. You want evaporated milk.
• 1 tsp cinnamon – Ground cinnamon is perfect here! You could use pumpkin pie spice or pumpkin spice if you wanted to amp up the pumpkin flavor. That would bring in more of the ground clove flavor if you like that.
• 1 cup granulated sugar – Also known as white sugar. This is what makes the cake sweet and delicious!
• 3 eggs, beaten – large size eggs are perfect here. Extra large can be a little too much, so stick with large size.
• 1 box yellow cake mix – just your regular old box of yellow cake mix. Any brand will do!
• 1 cup chopped pecans – Give them a rough chop, but don’t make them too small. Personally, I love bigger chunks of pecans in my desserts.
• 2 sticks butter, cut into small pieces – together, that’s one cup of butter. And it is a triumph!

Frosting:

• 1 8-oz package of cream cheese – let this soften to room temperature for easy mixing.
• 1 cup heavy cream – Don’t substitute here — you need the heavy cream to “whip up” the frosting and make it fluffy.
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar – Also called confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon – This goes beautifully with the cinnamon that’s already in the cake layers.

Brown Sugar Pecans (OPTIONAL TOPPING)

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 1 cup chopped pecan halves

Recommended Equipment:

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• 9×13 baking dish with lid – The lid makes it so convenient to store the leftover dessert later! I have this set and I love it.
• Electric hand mixer – Sometimes an electric hand mixer is super convenient, and this is one of those times! I have this mixer at home and I use it often! And I love that it’s got built in storage for the beaters!
• Mixing bowl set – This recipe does take several bowls at one time. I have this set and I use them nearly daily.
• Non-Stick Baking Mat – These little mats are SO wonderful! I use them for everything! Easy clean up and no sticking! Perfect for the brown sugar pecans in this recipe!
• Non-Stick Skillet – Also for the brown sugar pecans. Or really great eggs! I have this skillet and it’s my favorite I’ve ever had.

Baking Instructions:

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350*.

Step 2

Grease a 9×13 baking dish with either butter or cooking spray.

Step 3

In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, whisk the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, ground cinnamon, and sugar until well combined.

Step 4

Add in the eggs and mix well.

Step 5

Pour the pumpkin mixture into the prepared 9×13 pan and spread the mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan.

Step 6

Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over the top of the pumpkin-sugar-butter mixture.

Step 7

Sprinkle pecans over the top of the cake mix.

Step 8

Cut butter into small pieces and sprinkle over the top of the pecans.

Step 9

Place dish in oven and bake at 350* for 50-60 minutes until golden and cake is set. Let cake cool completely before icing. I just sit the entire dish on a wire rack so that the bottom of the dish gets some air too. It will cool faster this way.

Step 10

When you are ready to make the cream cheese frosting, using your electric mixer, in a large bowl, mix the cream cheese until it is light and fluffy.

Step 11

Add in the heavy whipping cream and whip on low speed until well combined and thick and fluffy.

Step 12

Add in powdered sugar and cinnamon and whip together until smooth.

Step 13

Spread the icing evenly over the cake. You can serve now if you’d like. Go to the next step if you want to add on the brown sugar pecans:

Instructions (cont…) for Brown Sugar Pecans for Topping:

Step 14

In a large non-stick skillet, combine all ingredients except for pecans and bring to a boiling/bubble for 1-2 minutes until sugar dissolves.

Step 15

Add in the pecans to the mixture, coat them evenly, and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly to cover the pecans in the glaze.

Step 16

Spread the pecans on a sheet of parchment paper OR a non-stick silicone mat and let them cool completely.

Step 17

Break apart and sprinkle over the pumpkin cake! (You will have leftovers, you won’t want to use them all on the cake. And to be honest, I have usually snacked on half of them before they are even cooled. Cause they are that good!)

Leftovers and Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you don’t have a lid for your dish, a layer of plastic wrap will work fine.

Speaking of leftovers… Do you need a little help with what to do with all those other Thanksgiving leftovers? Check out my post on Thanksgiving Leftover Lovin’ HERE.

Additions and Substitutions:

Sauces:

This dessert doesn’t need one thing extra. BUT… if you wanted to really go for the gold, drizzle caramel sauce on top of the finished icing. It would be AMAZING.

Ice Cream

I don’t necessarily serve this dessert with anything else (except maybe a cup of coffee!), but I could see some vanilla ice cream on the side being a delicious addition!

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Pumpkin Desserts for Non-Pumpkin Pie folks:

Hey — I get it. Pumpkin isn’t for everyone. I’m not a pumpkin person. BUT — these desserts are awesome, and really don’t taste a lot like pumpkins!

• Pumpkin Roll – From Tastes Better from Scratch
• Or yummy cupcakes?? Pumpkin Cupcakes – From Sally’s Baking Addiction
• Pumpkin Muffins – from Once Upon a Chef – these are sooooo good with the crust!
• Want a more traditional cake? Pumpkin Pie Cake – from Betty Crocker

Wrap Up – Pumpkin Crunch Cake (with Yellow Cake Mix)

So, this definitely isn’t your traditional pumpkin pie, but this family favorite recipe is a simple pumpkin dessert that everyone will totally enjoy! Pumpkin Crunch Cake (with Yellow Cake Mix) was a game-changer to my pumpkin recipe collection!! I hope you try today’s recipe during this holiday season! This time of year calls for the sweet flavors of Fall and the cinnamon spice and boxed cake mix make an incredible flavor combination that I absolutely love.

Do you love this recipe? Try these other recipes from Supermom Shuffles Cooking:

• Christmas Thumbprint Cookies
• Christmas Hershey’s Kiss Cookies
• Lemon Pound Cake
• Cinnamon Sugar Sprinkle Cookies

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