Description
Easy Pecan Pie Dump Cake recipe with buttery yellow cake mix, gooey pecan pie filling, and a crispy pecan topping. No crust needed for this simple fall dessert that tastes like a cross between pecan pie and cobbler. Ready in under an hour with just 10 minutes of prep!
Ingredients
For the Pecan Pie Base:
- Cooking spray
- 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (4 oz) salted butter, melted
- 2 cups pecan halves
For the Cake Topping:
- 1 (13.25-oz) box butter yellow cake mix
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup (4 oz) salted butter, melted
- 1½ cups pecan halves
For Serving (Optional):
- Vanilla ice cream
- Caramel topping
Instructions
Get your oven heating to 350°F. Spray your 13×9-inch pan really well with cooking spray—don’t be shy about it because this gets sticky. Get those corners good.
Crack your eggs into a large bowl and add the corn syrup, brown sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and that first ½ cup of melted butter. Whisk everything together until it’s completely smooth. You want zero streaks of egg or clumps of sugar hiding in there.
Dump in 2 cups of pecans and stir until they’re all coated in that mixture. Every pecan should look shiny and covered.
Pour everything into your prepared pan and spread it out evenly across the bottom.
Sprinkle the entire box of cake mix over the pecan layer. DO NOT STIR. Just let it sit there like a blanket. This creates the layers.
Sprinkle the pumpkin pie spice evenly over the cake mix.
Take your remaining ½ cup of melted butter and drizzle it all over the cake mix. This is important—try to cover as much of the dry mix as possible. I go back and forth in lines, then use a spoon to hit any dry spots. Every bit of cake mix needs some butter.
Scatter the last 1½ cups of pecans over everything. Press them down gently so they nestle into the butter a bit.
Bake for 20 minutes uncovered. This starts browning the top.
After 20 minutes, loosely tent the pan with foil so the pecans don’t burn. Bake another 20 minutes or so, until the top is golden and you don’t see any dry cake mix patches. The edges should be bubbling.
This is the hardest part—wait at least 15 minutes before cutting into it. I know it smells amazing, but the filling needs time to set up or you’ll have a soupy mess instead of nice slices.
Notes
Toast your pecans first for even deeper flavor. If you have an extra 5 minutes, toast all the pecans in a 350°F oven for 5-7 minutes before using them. The toasted nutty flavor takes this dessert to the next level.
Use a light-colored pan if you have one. Dark pans absorb more heat and can cause the bottom to brown too quickly. If you only have a dark pan, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and increase the covered baking time by 5-10 minutes.
Don’t overmix the filling. Once your eggs and corn syrup mixture is smooth, stop whisking. Overmixing can create too many air bubbles, which might make the filling puff up too much and then collapse.
Check for doneness by looking at the cake mix. All the dry cake mix should look moistened and golden. If you still see powdery white spots, it needs more time (and possibly more butter next time!).
Let your butter cool slightly after melting. If it’s too hot, it can start cooking the eggs when you whisk them together. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes after melting.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American