Pumpkin Crunch Dump Cake

Mother Nature has not been giving me the sunny cool crisp days that make Autumn my favorite season. Waking up to yet another gray, cold, wet day, I was beginning to get a bit frustrated with Fall. Then I remembered I still had the joys of layering my clothing and eating the amazing foods of this time of the year.

I had a recipe for a pumpkin crunch dump cake and decided it was exactly what I needed to put a little of the Autumn that I love into my day. This one does require a bit more effort than your typical dump cake but it is so worth it.

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Be sure this is your first step because chances are you're going to be done mixing up your cake before the oven is ready!  

In a large bowl mix 15 ounces of canned pumpkin with a 12oz can of evaporated milk, 4 eggs, 1 and a half cups of sugar, 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice and 1 tsp of salt. You can use your hand mixer or an electric mixer just long enough to combine the ingredients well. Pour the pumpkin mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish.

Now just like all other dump cakes, we're going to add one dry cake mix. For this cake we use a yellow cake mix and sprinkle it all over the top of the pumpkin mixture and then pat it down a bit. Now you have a nice smooth service to sprinkle with some chopped pecans.

Melt 2 sticks of unsalted butter or margarine and drizzle all over the top of your cake.

Wasn't that quick? Hopefully your oven got to 350 degrees in time because you're ready for this sweet creation to be baked. 60-80 minutes or until finished. My oven finished it perfectly in 70 minutes.

Let it cool for at least 30 minutes to finish setting. The result is a bit hard to describe. It's not like a pumpkin pie but it's not really like a cake. It's sort of like the texture of a bread pudding. What's not hard to describe is the flavor, delicious without being overly sweet. It's pure bliss, like Autumn on a plate. You know when you put on your loved ones oversized shirt, or wrap up in your favorite blanket and it's just like being wrapped up in warm arms that say "welcome home"? Well this cake is that good! Think I'm hyping a bit too much? Try it for yourself and you'll see I'm not exaggerating!

Ingredients
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup margarine, melted
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Direction

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease one 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Mix well, and spread into the prepared pan.
Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the pumpkin mixture, and pat down. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over the cake mix, then drizzle with melted margarine.
Bake for 60 to 80 minutes, or until done. Top with whipped topping when ready to serve.