This Slow Cooker Pumpkin Dump Cake is the best! Want a pumpkin dump cake without heating up the kitchen? This is the pumpkin dessert recipe for you!
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Dump Cake
Fall is just around the corner and I can’t wait. Me+ Plaid+ Leggings+ Cardigans = True Love and nothing short of it!
Our darling son adores pumpkin food everything. Pumpkin bars, pumpkin pie, pumpkin crumbles, everything pumpkin. So naturally, he’s my favorite. Totally kidding. Our daughter is the apple of my eye just the same. Love them both to pieces.
I knew it was time for me to get back in the kitchen and whip up a little something pumpkin dessert -ish.
And, because Mom’s craving a serious dose of extra time on her hands and less time in the kitchen, this turned into a pumpkin crock pot dessert. Because, well, everything is better when it has the words crockpot dessert in it, isn’t it? I think so!
So, I have to say that you’d be much better off using a crock pot like this one for desserts like this. A friend had just mentioned that she made another dessert of mine in her 4 quart crock pot and it burned. The stoneware crocks tend to do that.
It’s like they have a shot spot in them or something? Not sure, but this one here is my absolute favorite crock pot of all time. It’s pricey, but right now it’s marked down a little bit, but I imagine only for a short while.
Back to this crock pot dump cake that I’m raving about, right? So, this cooks up a bit weak in the texture. It’s not “pumpkin cake” but it’s certainly not “pumpkin pie filling” either. It’s a mixture of both and it’s heavenly.
If you like that sort of in between thing. And I would highly recommend having some whipped cream to go with this slow cooker pumpkin dessert. It’ll make the while experience way better because, well… when does whipped cream not make any situation better? Ha! Too funny!
On to the recipe.. you guys, this one is so incredibly easy. Like silly easy.
And, it cooks in about two hours, so it’s one that you can dump in before dinner, enjoy some conversation and then come back when everyone needs a sweet ending to the meal.
First, grab your yellow cake mix. I chose Betty Crocker, because who doesn’t love Betty? prepare the cake mix. Add in one 15 ounce can of pumpkin, and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg.
Spray your crock pot with non-stick spray, or you could use a liner instead. Totally personal preference. Pour your prepared cake mix in the slow cooker.
Add dollops of cream cheese frosting on the top of the cake mix and swirl, swirl, swirl to your hearts content. This is going to make the cake a bit more moist and absolutely delicious.
Put the lid on the crock pot, set to high and check it at a little over an hour and a a half, and again every 15 minutes from there.
I warn you though, just lift the lid a tiny bit, you don’t want to let all of the steam out. Use a butter knife to poke in the middle. When very little sticks to the knife, you’re good to go with this fantastic pumpkin pie cake of sorts.
And, finally, top this slow cooker pumpkin dump cake with some whipped cream – if you’d rather go homemade, try this homemade perfect whipped cream recipe. It looks absolutely delicious!
** If you really, really love the flavors of fall you could use the Betty Crocker Super Moist Spice Cake Mix, so instead of making this a pumpkin dump cake yellow cake, it would be a pumpkin dump cake spice cake. Get it!? Everyone’s a comedian on a Friday!
I hope you enjoyed this – please, if you decide to try this will you let me know what you thought of it in the comments? That would be so awesome!
A Closer Look at the Ingredients
Yellow cake mix
One box of yellow cake mix, prepared the way the box says with the eggs, oil, and water. This is different from most dump cakes, where the dry mix goes on top. Here the batter is the cake.
Pumpkin
One 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. The cans sit next to each other on the shelf and the labels look alike. Pie filling is already sweetened and spiced and makes this too sweet.
The spice
A teaspoon of nutmeg stirred into the batter. It is warm and simple and lets the pumpkin lead. Pumpkin pie spice works as a swap if you are out of nutmeg.
Cream cheese frosting
One container of whipped cream cheese frosting, dropped on in dollops and swirled. It melts into pockets of sweet tang as the cake cooks. Whipped spreads easier than the regular tub.
Whipped cream
Real whipped cream or the tub kind, your call. This dessert is soft and spoonable, and the cold whipped cream against the warm pumpkin is most of the point.
Step by Step, With the Details
Mix the batter
Make the cake mix in a big bowl per the box, then stir in the can of pumpkin and the nutmeg until there are no orange streaks. The batter will be thicker than a normal cake.
Prep the crock pot
Spray the crock well, up the sides, or drop in a slow cooker liner. The edges of this cake brown first, and a liner is the easiest cleanup you will ever have.
Pour and swirl
Pour the batter in and level it. Drop the frosting on in spoonfuls across the top and swirl with a butter knife a few times. Swirl, do not stir, or the frosting disappears.
Two hours on high
Cover and cook on high for an hour and forty five minutes to two hours. Start checking at an hour and a half, every fifteen minutes, with a knife in the center.
Mostly clean on the knife is done. A little moist crumb is right. Wet batter means fifteen more minutes.
Scoop and top
Scoop it into bowls while it is warm and top with whipped cream. It does not slice like a cake, and it is not supposed to.
Why You Check It Every Fifteen Minutes
Crock pots run at different temperatures, and the stoneware ones have hot spots along the sides. The edges of a cake can burn while the middle is still wet.
If you see the edges darkening before the center is set, lay a paper towel under the lid to catch the condensation and turn the crock pot to low for the last stretch.
Serving Ideas
- A scoop of vanilla ice cream instead of whipped cream
- A drizzle of caramel sauce and a few chopped pecans
- A sprinkle of cinnamon sugar over the whipped cream
- Warm, in a mug, with coffee the next morning
Easy Variations
Spice cake mix
Swap the yellow cake mix for spice cake mix and skip the nutmeg. It tastes even more like fall and nobody will know it was a shortcut.
Chocolate chips
A half cup of mini chocolate chips stirred into the batter. Pumpkin and chocolate is a combination my son would eat every night.
Pecans
A half cup of chopped pecans sprinkled over the top before the lid goes on. They toast a little in the crock pot and add crunch to a soft dessert.
Leftovers and Reheating
Cover the leftovers and refrigerate for up to three days. A scoop reheats in the microwave in about twenty seconds, and it is honestly good cold too.
Do not leave it in the crock pot on warm for the evening. It keeps cooking and the edges go from brown to burnt.
Questions I Get About This Dessert
Can I make it in the oven?
Yes. Pour it into a greased nine by thirteen and bake at 350 for thirty five to forty minutes until a knife comes out mostly clean. My oven pumpkin dump cake is the version built for that.
Can I cook it on low?
Three and a half to four hours on low works. Start checking at three hours. It is gentler on the edges, which helps with a crock pot that runs hot.
Why is the middle still wet?
It needed more time, or the crock pot was too big and the batter spread thin at the edges and thick in the middle. Give it fifteen more minutes and check again.
Can I double it?
I would not in one crock pot. A deeper layer of batter takes much longer to set in the center and the edges burn waiting. Two crock pots, or use the oven.
Can I use a different frosting?
Vanilla frosting works, and so does a cup of cream cheese softened and dropped in dollops. The cream cheese frosting is the one that tastes like a pumpkin roll.
More Crock Pot Desserts
- Crockpot Apple Dump Cake
- Triple Chocolate Crockpot Lava Cake
- Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Oven Pumpkin Dump Cake
Print this Slow Cooker Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe:
- Betty Crocker Super Moist Cake Mix, prepared and ready to pour
- 15 oz. canned pumpkin
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 container Betty Crocker Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- Whipped cream topping
- Prepare your yellow cake mix
- Add pumpkin and nutmeg to the cake mixture and stir well
- Spray crock pot with cooking spray
- Add the pumpkin and cake mixture to the crock pot
- Top with dollops of cream cheese frosting and stir around a little, careful not to push it to the bottom of the cake mix though. You just want to swirl it.
- Cook on high for 1 hour and 45 minutes to two hours (careful not to burn, check it every 15 minutes after 1 1/2 hours!)
- Cake is done once knife comes out mostly clean from center
- Serve in a bowl topped with whipped cream – ENJOY!
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Dump Cake
Ingredients
- Betty Crocker Super Moist Cake Mix prepared and ready to pour
- 15 oz. canned pumpkin
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 container Betty Crocker Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- Whipped cream topping
Instructions
- Prepare your yellow cake mix per the instructions on the box
- Add pumpkin and nutmeg to the cake mixture and stir well
- Spray crock pot with cooking spray
- Add the pumpkin and cake mixture to the crock pot
- Top with dollops of cream cheese frosting and stir around a little, careful not to push it to the bottom of the cake mix though. You just want to swirl it.
- Cook on high for 1 hour and 45 minutes to two hours (careful not to burn, check it every 15 minutes after 1 1/2 hours!)
- Cake is done once knife comes out mostly clean from center
- Serve in a bowl topped with whipped cream - ENJOY!