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Pumpkin crunch cake is a perfect fall treat! It’s loaded with pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, and crunchy pecans. This recipe uses a cake mix to keep things so easy!
Let’s talk about something that’s real important, k?
Pumpkin season.
Lately, it seems super cool to be all anti-pumpkin.
I mean, it also seems super cool to be obsessed with pumpkin, which is why the anti-pumpkin people are coming out in full force to say “no, we will not stand for pumpkin spice macaroni and pumpkin spice shoelaces.”
But, guys. I’m getting nervous.
I feel like we’re about to have a full on Grease-style feud between two rival gangs and it’s stressing me out.
Can’t we all just get along? Can’t we all just eat or not eat our pumpkin in peace, like respectable adults?
I’m clearly on Team Pumpkin and I even converted my mother-in-law over to Team Pumpkin with this recipe!
She’s one of those crazy people that doesn’t like pumpkin, but she LOVES this pumpkin crunch cake!
It’s a cross between pie and cake, super simple to make, and perfect topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
We’re using our homemade pumpkin pie spice in this recipe. It’s perfect in most pumpkin recipes, like our chocolate chip pumpkin bread and pumpkin coffee cake!
Ingredient Notes:
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Pumpkin Puree – Look for the 100% pure pumpkin puree, and not the canned pumpkin pie filling which has added ingredients.
Yellow Cake Mix – I’m using only half of the bag of mix for this. You could also use the entire bag, it just makes this much more cake-like. I like it with a half bag of mix, because the custard-y pumpkin bottom shines through a lot more.
Pumpkin Pie Spice – You’ll need cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and cloves to make the pumpkin spice that I’ve tweaked for this recipe. Store bought works too.
Milk, Eggs, & Sugar – Just like in pumpkin pie, we’re using evaporated milk to make it so rich and creamy.
Pecans – We use chopped pecans on top, but we’ve also done walnuts and I’ve seen people with nut allergies use toffee bits.
What Readers are Saying!
“This recipe is to die for! I don’t favor sweets but my husband does and we both loved this Pumpkin Crunch Cake. I followed the recipe to a T and it’s light, savory, and has the perfect texture of cake, custard, and crunch.” – Melissa
My Favorite Hand Mixer!
It’s so easy to whip up dessert with this cute hand mixer. It doesn’t take up much space and is a must for any kitchen!
How to Make Pumpkin Crunch Cake:
Pumpkin Custard: While your oven preheats you can start mixing together the pumpkin filling/custard like batter. Add the canned pumpkin puree, milk, eggs, sugar, and spices to a large bowl and beat together until well combined. Use a whisk or hand mixer – both work!
Cake Mix: Pour the pumpkin batter into a greased 9×13 baking dish and then start sprinkling the top of it with the yellow cake mix. I only use half a box, but you can use more if you want it to be more cake-like.
Top: To finish preparing this pumpkin crunch cake you’ll sprinkle the the chopped pecans over the yellow cake mix. Finally, pour the melted butter evenly over the top of the cake!
Bake: It’ll take about 60 to 70 minutes for the pumpkin crunch cake to finish baking, or until the top is lightly browned and the custard has set.
You can serve this cake warm or cold! It’s pretty amazing fresh from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some caramel sauce!
Variations:
Personally, I think our pumpkin crunch cake is perfect as is, but I know it can be fun to play around with recipes!
Some fun ideas include swapping the pecans for cookie pieces (Biscoff, gingersnaps, etc.), toffee bits, or walnuts.
Use a spice cake or butter pecan cake mix in place of the yellow cake mix.
Use a full box of cake mix for a more cake-like pumpkin crunch cake or use half the box (my preferred method) for a more pie-like pumpkin crunch cake!
Use 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. ginger, and a pinch of cloves in place of the pumpkin pie spice.
FAQ’s:
I store this in the fridge and it sets up nice and thick. In the video above and in these pictures, it was still warm, which is why it fell apart when I scooped it out. It holds it shape perfectly when cold!
Absolutely! I prefer yellow, but many people make this with spice cake.
I top my pumpkin crunch cake with ice cream and caramel sauce. It’s also good with whipped cream or served plain!
You can skip the nuts entirely or substitute them with graham cracker or Biscoff pieces! Skor bits are also good, from what I hear.
I haven’t tried it myself and generally always use 100% pure pumpkin puree. I do think it would work though – just follow the recipe on the can for making pie, but add to the pan and sprinkle with the cake mix.
I’ve never tried it, so I can’t really make recommendations on this.
MORE FALL PUMPKIN RECIPES!
- Pumpkin Pecan Pie
- Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats
- Pumpkin Pie Dip
- Keto No Bake Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Crunch Cake
Ingredients
- 15 ounces canned pumpkin puree
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 box yellow cake mix see note
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, beat together the pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, and spices until well combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle the top with yellow cake mix. I prefer a half of a box, but use more if you want it to be very cakey.
- Sprinkle with the chopped pecans.
- Pour the melted butter evenly over the top of the cake.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and the custard is set.
- Serve warm or cold. Store in the refrigerator.
belinda says
Can you substitute the evaporated milk I’m lactose intolerant?
Karly says
I haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve heard that subbing in unsweetened milk and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch will work.
Barbara Diego says
Can you use the pumpkin pie mix in a can instead?
sue king says
i have a similar recipe & always use the pumpkin pie mix – it makes it all the more simple! & you don’t have to have all the spices on hand
Patty says
When you sub pumpkin pie filling for pumpkin, do you leave out the sugar? Or maybe just reduce the amount?
Karly says
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work just fine. Dump that in and then skip to the cake mix step.
Cynthia says
Can you explain why you choose to use evaporated milk for this? I’m thinking about making a dairy free version for my kids (allergies yuck) but that is the only ingredient that is stumping me. I might just try it with almond milk and see how it goes. Thanks in advance for the info!
Karly says
If you’d like to make it dairy free, I’d recommend using unsweetened almond milk plus 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. No guarantees as I haven’t tried it, but that seems to be a popular switch for pumpkin pie.
Kathy Harrison says
So glad to be seeing fall flavors, and foods! My favorite time of the year!
Tammy says
What is the glaze on top at the end?????
Karly says
It’s just caramel sauce over the ice cream.
Sandiejg says
Well, looks good is in oven right now. Long wait to see how it goes. Looks yummy.
Karly says
Hope you enjoyed it!
Stephanie | Worth Whisking says
So, don’t hate me, but I’m on Team Anti-Pumpkin. (Yikes! I know, right?) But my husband loves pumpkin, and I definitely work in a few pumpkin recipes for him every fall. This Pumpkin Crunch Cake *does* look amazing enough that I may even like it! If for nothing but the topping alone. 🙂
Jacqueline (PiperCooks) says
This looks amazing! #TeamPumpkin
Heather Seeley says
I am on team pumpkin with you all the way!! I love anything pumpkin. This cake looks so so so good, I am running to my kitchen now to make.
Karly says
Hope you love it!
Donna mahoney says
I am interested in making this sugar free.any ideas?
Karly says
You could use a sugar substitute, but I can’t recommend a type or amount as I’ve never experimented with that in this recipe.
Tamara says
Still having trouble getting a printable recipe for this.
Karly says
The “print recipe” button is located within the gray recipe card. It appears to be working fine on my end, but if you’re having issues I recommend trying to print from another browser or device.
Jen | Baked by an Introvert says
I haven’t broke out the pumpkin yet but I really need to jump on board. This crunch cake looks insanely delicious.
Janet says
This is one of my favorite desserts of all time!
Janet k. says
How long do you bake this, I couldn’t find that
Mary Ann says
I was a little confused about the video shows pumpkin spices but the recipe calls for several other spices, I actually added all of them so we will see, it’s in the oven now, also I didn’t add the parchment paper, is that to prevent browning too much?
Karly says
The spices shown in the video is just pumpkin pie spice which is the mix of the spices shown in the recipe. 🙂
I use parchment to make it easy to remove from the pan in one big piece. It’s totally fine to skip it, as I did in the video.
Brittany says
I accidentally bought pumpkin pie mix instead of pumpkin purée. Can I use it in place of the puree? Do I need to adjust what spices and sugar I add?
Karly says
I haven’t made it this way myself, but I would recommend leaving out everything but the eggs and evaporated milk for the pumpkin mixture. Can’t say for sure that this will work, but it’s what I would do.
Barb Groover says
Mary Ann, a combination of those spices make up “pumpkin pie spices”; however, you can also purchase the pumpkin pie spice at the store.
Karly says
As stated in the recipe, this bakes for 60-70 minutes until the custard is set.
Shannon says
Can these be made into cupcakes? If so, should I do anything different?
Karly says
The texture of these aren’t super cake-like, so it would end up more like little round pies. You’ll need to adjust the bake time, but otherwise I imagine it will work the same.
Alyssa @ My Sequined Life says
I like the way you think with using half a box of cake mix. It just means you can make it again once you run out! 🙂 I’ve given in to the pumpkin already even if it’s still a million degrees outside. This crunch cake looks too good not to!
Claudia | Breakfast Drama Queen says
I’m definitely on Team Pumpkin Everything! I’m also with you on being nervous about some kind of pumpkin war, although I don’t understand the pumpkin hatred at all – I mean, it’s not like anyone is being *forced* to bake pumpkin donuts or buy pumpkin spice candles.
Anyway, this cake looks beyond delicious! Pumpkin forever! 😀
Melanie @ Gather for Bread says
Definitely important! Love baking with pumpkin. Love the crunch aspect here. Pinning!
Carlee says
Haters are gonna hate… they don’t know what they’re missing! At least it gives us a better chance to get some pre-season cans of pumpkin. They are scarce around here and that is what’s scaring me!!
Cathy says
What do you bake the pumpkin crunch cake on ( temperature )
Karly says
As stated in the recipe, this bakes at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes.
Sandra says
Cannot find the pumpkin crunch cake recipe
Karly says
It’s in the gray recipe card above.
Sue says
I can’t find the recipe either. I don’t see a gray recipe card. Did you find it?
Karly says
If you’re on a mobile device, you need to click the read more button after the first photo and then the full post with the images and a recipe card will be visible.
Tammy says
What temp and how long?? And what about the pumpkin pie spice amount?? How much was that?? I love this !! Thank you.. A bit like the dump cake recipe of my moms ?
Karly says
As stated in the recipe, this bakes at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes.
The pumpkin spice amounts are also listed in the ingredients – cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
Patti says
Do I have to have parchment paper ?
Karly says
No, but if you don’t, you’ll want to spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Debbie says
Do u think you could so this in the crockpot? I would love to try it that way, just nit sure if time and temp
Karly says
I can’t say as I haven’t tried it.
Sue says
I have made this recipe many times. It’s delicious and is the new family favorite. I get asked for the recipe all the time! SO easy!
Christine says
I made this tonight ! Amazing ! Hubby is on third serving….. Thank you !
Gertie says
On the video, it appears that you served it hot. I need to prepare this a day in advance so do I hear it up before serving or is it good served at room temperature. Does it need to be refrigerated ?
Karly says
I actually prefer this cold, like pumpkin pie. You could do it either way, though I do recommend refrigerating it.