This pumpkin cake with a cake mix is the easiest way to make a pumpkin cake starting with a yellow cake mix! It’s great baked as a 9×13 pan, 10 inch bunt, or round cake. Top it with your favorite cream cheese frosting and you’ve got a killer pumpkin dessert!
This pumpkin cake tastes homemade and no one will ever guess that it started with a yellow cake box mix from the store. It’s a perfectly seasoned, moist, flavorful pumpkin cake. I recommend topping it with cream cheese frosting for the best combination ever!
Fall is such a beautiful time of year. The weather starts to cool down and the leaves start to change their colors. I love fall, and honestly the only reason I ever hesitate picking it as my favorite season of the year is because the start of fall means we are one step closer to winter starting.
Although I do love the holiday season, I don’t love the cold and how much snow we get here in Utah.
Nevertheless, I’ve decided to make the best of the fall season while its here, and made a fall bucket list. With some fall favorites like visiting a pumpkin patch. Our favorite place to go also includes a corn maze, hayride, and apple cider donuts – that’s a killer combo if I do say so myself.
What are your favorite fall activities?
Fall to me also means that its time for all the fall desserts – apple and pumpkin are on a repeat over here. Homemade pumpkin cake is a must make for me these days, with a moist cake base and topped with tangy cream cheese frosting, of course!
Now, my usually pumpkin cake recipe, isn’t a hard one to make, but I know sometimes people get intimidated by making cakes from scratch. This pumpkin cake takes it one step further for you on the easiness scale – and starts with a cake mix. This cake literally couldn’t be easier to make.
Ingredients Needed:
- dry yellow cake mix – this is the bulk of the recipe. This keeps you from needing flour, baking soda, salt, etc. You can also substitute a white cake mix, or a spice cake mix, if desired. Leave out the pumpkin pie spice if you don’t want to strong of a flavor.
- granulated sugar – this adds just a little extra sweetness since we are adding extra ingredients, it can be skipped
- vegetable oil – this adds more moisture to the cake.
- water – this adds moisture the cake. You can also substitute milk, if desired.
- large eggs – these will hold your cake ingredients together, give it moisture, and help give the cake a little lift.
- pumpkin puree – this gives the cake moisture, and the best pumpkin flavor. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling as that has other ingredients mixed in, and not just pumpkin.
- pumpkin pie spice and ground cinnamon – these add flavor and seasoning to the cake, giving it that true fall flavor.
How to make a pumpkin cake with cake mix?
This cake starts with a dry yellow cake mix. You’ll add in oil, water, and eggs, like you would with a normal cake mix, but the amounts are a little different. Then you’ll also add in pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling), a little sugar, and cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice to give the cake the full pumpkin flavor.
You’ll bake it up just like you would if you were making the cake mix according to the package. Top if with your favorite frosting, I recommend cream cheese frosting – because it pairs perfectly with pumpkin and voila.
A delicious pumpkin cake, and no one will ever know that it started with a cake mix.
This pumpkin cake is so easy to make, and can be whipped up in just minutes. It’s the perfect fall dessert, and might just become your new favorite!
Take this delicious cake to a fall party, or have some friends over for dinner. Every one will be impressed by your delicious cake and will never guess that it all started with a yellow cake mix from a box.
Looking for more easy Pumpkin Recipes?
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Pumpkin Cake with a Cake Mix
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 4 large eggs
- 15 oz pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together the cake mix, sugar, oil, water, eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon.
- Stir for 2 minutes until the batter is super smooth.
- Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
- For a 9x13 pan, bake for 25-30 minutes
- For a 10inch bundt cake, bake for 30-40 minutes
- Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes then remove from the pan to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Top with powdered sugar, vanilla icing, or cream cheese frosting.
Video
Nutrition
Alder Woods says
Changed it up a little bit – cut the oil in half added 1/4 cup butter, replaced the water with heavy whipping cream, added two more egg yolks – with a touch more cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Next time I’m going to add some vanilla.
This recipe is for the True – Corn Fed Banquet that we all live in today. ENJOY – GREAT RECIPE…
Jennifer says
I did in a sheet pan and it took 27 minutes in my oven. Melted the cream cheese frosting in the microwave for 20 seconds . I added a little nutmeg over the frosting because that’s how my momma usually did cream cheese icing. Very easy and good. Thanks for my new pumpkin cake go to recipe:)
Aimee says
Yay! I’m so glad to hear you loved it.
Elaine says
I make this cake recipe all the time now. It is the most delicious pumpkin cake recipe I have found. It is extremely moist and flavorful. I use a bundt pan and put non melting confectioner’s sugar from King Arthur Flour company on the top.