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Pumpkin crunch cake recipe

A little recipe that I wanted to post for safekeeping. Certainly not unique, but it's special to me.

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Since no recipe article is complete without an essay at the beginning, here's a little backstory. We must appease the SEO gods.

For many years, I've had a picture of a recipe from my aunt called "pumpkin crunch cake dessert" saved in my phone.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake Recipe

My partner and I have made this thing for years. We're always in charge of desserts and this one is always a favorite.

If you do it right, you'll have a classic pumpkin pie taste with a crunchy, nutty crust. Classic stuff.

I made one small modification: less sugar. Also, note you can use gluten-free cake mix if you cannot have the stuff like me.

Recipe

Other than the ingredients you'll need an oven and a \(9\)"x\(13\)" pan.

Ingredients list

For the cake:

  • \(1\) large can of pure pumpkin (\(29\) oz.)
  • \(1\) can of evaporated milk (\(12\) oz.)
  • \(\dfrac{1}{2}\) cup white sugar
  • \(3\) eggs
  • \(1\) tablespoon of cinnamon
  • \(1\) box of yellow cake mix
  • \(1\) cup of chopped nuts
  • \(1\) cup of butter
  • (Optional) Nutmeg to taste

For the frosting:

  • \(1\) block of cream cheese (\(8\) oz.)
  • \(\dfrac{1}{2}\) cup of powdered sugar
  • \(1\) container of whipped cream (\(8\) oz.)

For the chopped nuts, in the past I have preferred something like pecans and walnuts. However, I recently did peanuts and walnuts and it got good reviews (wasn't my favorite though). If you have a fancier taste, try out macadamia.

Directions

Baking the cake:

  1. Preheat your oven to \(350^{\circ}\) F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, cinnamon, and (optional) nutmeg.
  3. Line your pan with waxed paper and pour in pumpkin mixture.
  4. Evenly sprinkle half the cake mix over the pumpkin mixture. DO NOT mix into the pumpkin.
  5. Sprinkle the nuts over cake mix.
  6. Again, evenly sprinkle the rest of the cake mix over the nuts. It's important to fully cover the nuts so they don't burn.
  7. With a dry spoon, spread out the cake mix to create a more or less even surface.
  8. Melt and gently spoon butter over the nuts and cake mix. You're looking to fully cover the cake mix here. If you need a little more, don't be shy.
  9. Bake for 50-60 minutes. The cake should be golden brown.

Of course, there's nothing raw in the cake mix. You're really just cooking the eggs at this point. If your crust isn't crunchy, feel free to put it in for longer.

Overcooking the pumpkin and getting cracks isn't as big of an issue here since you'll be frosting it later.

Frosting the cake:

  1. Using a hand mixer, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and whipped cream in a large bowl.
  2. Once cooled, flip the cake out of the pan (so, pumpkin side up).
  3. Frost the pumpkin side of the cake and serve immediately.

That's it! Hope you like it. Happy Holidays 🎄