Sweet Potato Dump Cake Recipe

Sweet potato dump cake is a delicious, super-easy dessert. This unique dump cake combines tender sweet potatoes with the crunchy texture of nuts with cake mix crust to create a festive treat. A perfect choice for Thanksgiving, Christmas or other seasonal gatherings.

The delicious sweet potato casserole dump cake is made with canned yams, boxed cake mix, butter nuts, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar and spices.

How to Make Sweet Potato Dump Cake

Here I will walk you through the step-by-step process of making this delicious easy sweet potato dump cake, complete with pictures. Jump down to the printable recipe card if you prefer.

The recipe makes approximately a dozen servings.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Bake Time: 50-60 minutes

Ingredients

Here is everything you will need to make the dump cake.

Equipment: 9x13 inch Baking Dish, Potato Masher, large bowl, whisk or hand mixer, spatula

Ingredients:

• 1 (29 ounce can) of yams (yes, you can use cooked mashed sweet potato or sweet potato puree if you prefer)
• 1 (12 ounce) can of evaporated milk
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 spice cake mix box or yellow cake mix
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted

You may be wondering why yams are listed rather than sweet potatoes. The primary reason is that canned sweet potatoes are most often found pureed. The texture of the mashed yams is slightly better in the recipe and tastes the same. Feel free to use actual canned or cooked and mashed sweet potatoes though.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the interior of  a 9x13 baking dish, nonstick cooking spray.

Drain the canned yams and dump into a large mixing bowl. Mash the yams with a potato masher until there are no more chunks.

Add the evaporated milk, brown sugar, pumpkin spice seasoning and eggs to the mashed yams. Whisk or blend with hand mixer until the mixture is well combined and smooth.

Pour the sweet potato mixture into the prepared baking dish.

Sprinkle the bag of dry cake mix evenly over the top of the wet mixture. Do not mix.

Drizzle the melted butter over the top of the cake mix evenly, taking care to not miss spots.

Sprinkle the top with the chopped pecans.

Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes. The crust will be golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of cake mix (sweet potato residue is fine). The center should no longer jiggle.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving, preferably room temperature.

Serve as is or with whipped cream or a big a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. A drizzle of caramel sauce or maple syrup would also be a welcome addition. Pretty much anything you would serve with sweet potato pie will go well with this.

Variations on the Recipe

Here are a few simple changes you may prefer when making the dessert.

• Cold Butter Method - rather than melting the butter, slice it into thin pats and arrange over the cake mix evenly. Some prefer this over melted butter, though it takes longer, since the butter is definitely evenly distributed.
• Add mini marshmallows or marshmallow fluff on top, like a sweet potato casserole.
• If you are up for the extra fuss, boiling, baking or steaming fresh sweet potatoes and mashing them yourself is always an option.
• Make the dump cake with another dry cake mix flavor, such as yellow, butter, or butter pecan cake mix.

Storing the Dump Cake

Once the sweet potato dump cake has cooled completely, it should be stored properly to ensure that it stays fresh.

To store, wrap the casserole dish the dump cake is in tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. It will last there for up to 5 days.

If you need to store it longer than this, consider transferring the sweet potato cake to an airtight container and freezing for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, thaw in the refrigerator.

More Dump Cake Recipes

I have a fondness for the ease and sweet crust of dump cakes. Here are a few more that are perfect for the fall and holiday season!

• My Pumpkin Dump Cake is very similar to this one, and requires no mashing.
• If you are more in the mood for an apple pie type dessert, my Caramel Apple Dump cake is just the thing!
• Another fantastic seasonal choice (and so easy to make) is my Cranberry Dump Cake. It is also one that can stand in as a side dish if you like.
• If you are in a more fruity mood go for the peach dump cake or blueberry dump cake recipe.
• For chocolate lovers, I direct you to my Oreo Dump cake or Chocolate Cherry Dump cake.