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. And although I 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!
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.
How to make a pumpkin cake with cake mix?
This cake starts with a 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.
Nutrition
Beverly says
Added raisins and walnuts to the mix and drizzled caramel sauce. It was amazing! Thank you!
Aimee says
That sounds amazing! So glad you liked it!
Karina says
Is the cake mix the 15.25 oz size? I saw another recipe like this but it called for an 18.25 oz box, which I don’t think they sell anymore right? Just wanted to confirm before baking! Thanks!!
Aimee says
Sorry for forgetting to specify! Yes, it should be a 15-16 oz mix, any that are 15.25, 15.3, or 16.25 should work!
Karina says
No problem, thank you so much!!
Rachel says
My gluten free yellow cake mix calls for 3/4 cup of milk and 1/2 cup butter to be added. For your pumpkin cake recipe should I leave out the milk & butter and follow your recipe? Thanks!
Aimee says
I haven’t tested it with a gluten free cake mix, but it should work the same. You can sub the water in the recipe for milk, but otherwise follow the same amount on my recipe, not the box
Rachel says
Thank you! Super fast reply!
Patricia SEADER says
Made this pumpkin cake yesterday,we loved it. Thank you
Dana Smith says
Honestly the best fall cake I have ever had with pumpkin. I shared with friends and neighbors and they are still raving and I am making another one for a friend. I also, gained another husband, lol. I did back off and only added 3 cups of powder sugar in the frosting and it was super delish and not overly sweet, leaving you tasting some cream cheese. This was a pumpkin pie meets cake explosion in your mouth – Heaven.
Ellen says
Wow, so glad you and your friends and “new” husband loved this pumpkin cake. Thanks for letting us know. I like your description.
Sydney Duke says
Hi there, Im worried about how sweet this will come out and if I could leave out the extra sugar? I will be making cake pops and with the icing and chocolate I’m worried it will come out too sweet TIA
Aimee says
It should be fine without the extra sugar with the icing mixed in. It’s not too much, and it’s just enough to help balance the added pumpkin since that doesn’t have sweetener. But it should be fine without.
Victoria says
I want to do this as a round double layer Cake . Do I just do the recipe twice with two yellow cake mixes ? I notice your directions speaks of one round pan above .
Aimee says
No, the Bundt pan holds about 12cups and an 8inch round pan holds 6cups. So this batter will fill two 8inch pans, or you could use 9inch pans and they’ll just be a bit thinner. Or you could double the recipe and fill three 9inch pans
Victoria Cecil says
Thanks for the response ! I’m making this for a Fall birthday supper!! Have a great Thanksgiving !
Ellen says
You bet.
Sylvia Estrada says
How long do you think I should bake it if I put it in a 8 in springform pan or should I use 2 in round pans
Aimee says
I would use 2 round pans as this makes about 12 cups of batter, and an 8 inch round pan should just hold about 6
Sylvia E says
If I double the recipe and do 3 9 in pans how long should I back the for?
Ellen says
Typically you bake cake in an 9 inch round at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I would start with the lesser amount of time. It doesn’t hurt a cake to check it for doneness while baking, so you actually could start checking it at 25 minutes. Good luck.
Sarah says
I Added a diced apple to the mix and reduced the oil by 1/2 a cup.
Made cupcakes and a bundt cake. Second batch is on the counter to see how the first batch turned out and to see what else we needed to add. It was perfect.
Aimee says
That sounds so yummy with apple pieces! Great idea!
fran says
sarah how could you reduce the oil by 1/2 cup, when it only calls for 1/2 cup. Did you any oil at all?
amy says
Can I use 2 cans of pumpkin with this recipe? Thanks! Can’t wait.
Aimee says
The cake shouldn’t need any more pumpkin flavor, and two cans will throw of the texture of the cake and it might not bake up right. I’d recommend sticking with the 15oz as called for.
Maureen says
I added chopped walnuts and prunes , used stevia in place of sugar to save calories lol, it is delicious. Goes fast, next one will try a maple glaze drizzled on to of Bundt. Thank you !🎃
Liz says
Going to give this a try today. Thanks for the recipe!
I was going to make a banana cake with my cake mix, but I left my bananas to ripen a wee bit to long. LOL.
Ellen says
So glad you found a recipe that will help you out.
Cathy Holl says
Delicious!! Although I didn’t use boxed yellow cake I used carbquick and splenda for a diabetic cake.
Thanks,Cat
Gloria Davis says
Cake was good and moist……will definitely make it again
Aimee says
I’m so glad you liked it!
chahinez @lifestyleofafoodie says
This literally looks like it’s from nothing bundt cakes! You ladies did an amazing job turning box cake into something magical!
I actually made brownies using cake mix too and they turned out amazing! Hope you like them as much as I liked your recipe 🙂
Melanie says
Making a second 1! First one was a big hit with husband and 2 kids!
Aimee says
So glad you loved it!
Hope Brown says
I only had white cake mix to use for this recipe but it still turned out awesome!
Ellen says
I am so glad. Good to know. I believe the yellow cake mix mostly helped with color. Did you notice if it was a lighter pumpkin color?
I usually only have yellow cake mixes on hand, but it’s great to know they both work!
Doris says
I had to cook it for 55 minutes in my bumt aluminum pan. But it came out moist and delicious. I used white cake mix since I ran out of yellow.
Aimee says
So glad it worked with the white cake mix too! 🙂
Margie says
I had to cook for fifty minutes. It smelled so good when I was baking it.
Cake is beautiful. I’m making without the icing. No cream cheese.
Aimee says
Isn’t that smell so good! Hope you loved it!
Itimoney says
Can you stack this cake? I would like to make a double layer round cake.
Ellen says
Yes, you should be able to bake this cake like a double layer caked. You will need to adjust cooking time.Let me know how it turns out.
CATHY WOODBY says
How long should I bake cupcakes using this recipe? Could I add chocolate chips to the batter?
Aimee says
I haven’t tried either, so I can’t say for sure – but I would guess it should bake fine with chocolate chips, and I’d bake the cupcakes for somewhere from 15-22 minutes, check them with a toothpick to check doneness.
Suzanne Grzeszkowiak says
This cake was very tasty and moist. I used a yellow cake mix from Aldi. Put a homemade buttercream frosting on it. Made it for a men’s club dinner at church and it was a big hit.