Micah A. Leal
Dump cakes are beloved because of their ease. However, most dump cakes are made with canned fruit pie fillings, requiring only a few store-bought ingredients to dump in a pan and bake. Pumpkin is a different story. Velvety in texture and both savory and sweet in flavor, pure pumpkin puree requires a few more ingredients to make it set into a delicious filling.
Our approach to this Pumpkin Dump Cake is essentially making the equivalent of a pumpkin pie filling and using that filling in the same way we would a canned fruit filling in another dump cake. We whisk together the pumpkin with half-and-half for richness, brown sugar for deep sweetness, several traditional spices for a classic pumpkin pie flavor, and eggs to form the structure of the filling. Then, just as you’d imagine, we dump a package of yellow cake mix across the filling and pour over some melted butter that soaks into the cake mix as it bakes. The outcome is a cake that’s buttery and flavorful with both the familiar tastes of a yellow cake and a spiced pumpkin pie. We recommend serving the cake with whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg for enhanced creaminess and spice.
How to Make It
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a metal 9- x- 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Step 2
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together half-and-half, sugar, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla until well combined. Add pumpkin and whisk to combine. Once fully incorporated, whisk in 1/4 cup of the melted butter. Evenly spread mixture in prepared baking dish.
Step 3
Sprinkle cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture. Drizzle remaining 3/4 cup melted butter on top of cake mix, and use a spoon to gently spread the butter around, encouraging the butter to soak into the cake mix. Bake until top is browned and fully cooked through, about 1 hour.
Step 4
Allow to cool to room temperature for filling to set completely. Serve with whipped cream and more nutmeg, if desired. Serve warm or chilled.
