Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Skillet Pumpkin Dump Cake is the perfect, quick and easy fall dessert that can and should be enjoyed all year long with ice cream.

Branded image of Skillet Pumpkin Dump Cake

This post has been updated from its original November 19, 2017 publishing with new content, photographs, and updated recipe card.

Ah pumpkin.

It’s that special time of year when everything, and I mean everything seems to be made of pumpkin, taste like pumpkin, or look like pumpkin.

Who am I fight the craze? So here you go, Skillet Pumpkin Dump Cake for your pumpkin pleasure.

Why is it called a Dump Cake?

A slice of pumpkin dump cake on a white plate.

I realize the word ‘dump’ in the title for a dessert can be slightly unappealing. It’s downright hilarious if you’re a 12-year old boy (or a man-boy like myself.)

A dump cake is a delicious hybrid of sorts between a cake and a cobbler.

But really, it has been given its name because you literally dump the ingredients into the baking dish, pan, skillet. Sometimes there’s a prepared batter like this recipe, and sometimes there isn’t.

How to make Skillet Pumpkin Dump Cake

Ingredients to make the dessert in a cast iron skillet: pumpkin puree, brown sugar, half and half, eggs, butter, salt, pumpkin pie spice, cake mix, and candied pecans.

This cake really comes together in no time flat.

Coat your skillet with a tablespoon of softened butter. Toss the skillet in the oven. Set to 350F to preheat while you make the batter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, half and half, eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.

Pro-Tip: break the yolks of the eggs first to make the batter come together easier with less whisking.

But be gentle folks, if you’re too vigorous, you’ll end up wearing it.

Pumpkin batter added and smoothed out in the cast iron skillet.

Remove the skillet from the oven and pour the batter in. Smooth out the batter as evenly as you can.

Sprinkle the cake mix over the top of the batter as evenly as possible, breaking any large clumps. There will still be lots of little clumps.

Yellow cake mix sprinkled over the top of the pumpkin batter.

Sprinkle the pecans over the top of the mix. If you’re using another topping other than pecans, that’s cool. Omitting the nuts altogether? That’s cool too.

Slowly pour the melted butter over the entire cake.

Roughly chopped candied pecans and melted butter added atop the cake.

Bake for an hour or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. The batter will remain gooey, more congealed but still soft and loose.

Allow it to cool and serve.

Close up image of baked pumpkin dump cake in a cast iron skillet.

Adaptations and substitutions for Pumpkin Dump Cake

Use regular roasted pecans instead of candied.
Omit pecans and use almonds, walnuts, or even peanuts.
Omit the nuts altogether.
Use a white, chocolate, or spice cake cake mix instead of yellow.
In a pinch, use pumpkin pie filling but omit most of the brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice.

Just a note about serving this, folks, it ain’t gonna be pretty. This is a dump cake.

It can’t be sliced prettily like a normal cake, so do the best you can. It’s still delicious regardless of how messy it is.

Serve it with ice cream, it’ll make it look prettier.

Branded image of Skillet Pumpkin Dump Cake with ice cream.

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Skillet Pumpkin Dump Cake

Skillet Pumpkin Dump Cake is the perfect, quick and easy fall dessert that can and should be enjoyed all year long with ice cream.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Pumpkin Dump Cake

Servings:

Calories: 448kcal

Author: Ned Adams

Equipment

12-inch cast iron skillet

Ingredients

1 tbsp butter softened
29 oz pumpkin puree not pie filling
¾ cup half and half
3 large eggs
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp salt
1 box yellow cake mix (15.25 oz)
½ cup candied pecans or regular; roughly chopped
1 cup butter melted

US Standard – Metric

Instructions

Coat the skillet with the softened butter.
Place buttered skillet into the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.
Whisk together the pumpkin, half and half, eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
Pour into the now-warmed skillet, smooth to even.
Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the top of the batter, breaking up the large clumps.
Sprinkle the pecans over the top.
Slowly pour the melted butter over the top of the cake.
Bake for an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let slightly cook and serve.

Notes

Vanilla ice cream or spiced whipped cream are a great topping.

Nutrition

Dutch Oven Daddy is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

Did you try this recipe?Leave me a comment and rating below or Tag @DutchOvenDaddy on Instagram to show us your photos!

Delicious Pumpkin Recipes

Can’t get enough pumpkin, try these recipes.

Dutch Oven Pumpkin Chili
Savory Pumpkin Hummus from The Complete Savorist
Pumpkin Butter from The Magical Slow Cooker
Dutch Oven Pumpkin Spice Cake
Dark Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies from The Complete Savorist
Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate from The Magical Slow Cooker

Clark W says:

February 9, 2022 at 11:35 am

I’m assuming we can easily convert this to a Dutch Oven preparation?

Ned Adams says:
February 9, 2022 at 11:57 am

Absolutely, cooking times may vary depending on weather conditions so you will want to watch it carefully.

Shashi says:

February 3, 2023 at 6:44 pm

The word “dump” in the title did not scare me off, in fact it drew me to this – cos any dessert with dump in the title is a winner cos it’s gonna be easy AND delicious and this is no exception!