Southern Living

Our new favorite dump cake tastes like a cross between a gooey pecan pie and a buttery, cakey cobbler. The base is rich and custardy from eggs, corn syrup, and brown sugar—sweet, caramel-like, and slightly creamy thanks to the touch of heavy cream. The butter yellow cake mix on top bakes into a soft, slightly crisp golden crust, especially around the edges where it caramelizes with the sugary filling.

Toasted pecans add crunch and depth, with warm notes of pumpkin pie spice that round out everything. It’s indulgent, nutty, buttery, and deeply comforting—especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting over the top.

Recipe Tips From The Southern Living Test Kitchen

• Some of our dump cake recipes use butter in slabs on top of dry mix. We enjoy the texture of the cake made from melted butter rather than the slabs for this recipe. You get a denser, chewier, brownie-like texture from the melted butter rather than a crispy, crumbly top. Evenly drizzle butter to avoid dry spots.
• Place cooled cake in an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator for up to four days.
• This cake can also be frozen for up to two months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat.
• Don’t skip tenting the ake with foil after 25 minutes. This keeps the cake from overbrowning, and it helps the cake cook evenly without any dry spots.
• Cooling for at least 15 minutes after baking helps the filling thicken up and makes for cleaner slices.
• You could use spice cake mix instead of yellow cake mix and pumpkin pie spice.

Editor’s Note: This recipe was developed by Giovanna Vazquez; the headnote was written by Kimberly Holland.

Southern Living