Pumpkin Cake with Yellow Cake Mix and Caramel Sauce is a moist, delicious cake with warm spices and rich pumpkin flavor, topped with luscious 10-minute caramel sauce. Easy fall dessert for your Thanksgiving dessert table or enjoying with a cup of coffee any time of year.
Jump to:
- Why You're Going to Love This
- Ingredients
- Caramel Sauce
- Variations
- How to Make Cake Mix Taste Better
- What to do with leftover pumpkin puree
- How to Keep a Bundt Cake from Sticking
- How to Make This Pumpkin and Yellow Cake Mix Recipe
- Easy Caramel Sauce
- Storage
- How to Reheat Caramel Sauce
- Make Ahead
- Freeze
- Success Tips
- FAQs
- Stuff I Use
- More Easy Recipes
- Let's Stay in Touch
- Easy Pumpkin Cake with Yellow Cake Mix
Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce is an easy and impressive dessert that looks and tastes like you did way more than you actually did.
This pumpkin and yellow cake mix recipe is an easy one-bowl cake recipe that mixes together in minutes. It's so moist and flavorful, no one will believe it started with a box of cake mix.
And the pretty shape of the Bundt cake gives it a fancy flair with no extra effort on your part.
The luscious homemade caramel sauce suggests a certain amount of sweating over a hot stove and doing difficult things with a candy thermometer, but it only takes 10 minutes to make. And no candy thermometer.
It's the most delicious, easiest dessert ever, and one you'll be making all pumpkin season long.
More Easy Pumpkin Recipe Ideas
Why You're Going to Love This
Easy pumpkin cake recipe with simple ingredients
Perfect fall dessert full of pumpkin spice flavor
Canned pumpkin and yellow cake mix recipe that tastes like homemade
Super easy caramel sauce recipe you'll want to put on everything
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
Yellow cake mix. Go ahead and ignore the instructions on the box of cake mix.
Brown sugar. Brown sugar adds sweetness to offset the savory pumpkin and rich, caramelly molasses flavor. You can also use granulated sugar.
Canned pumpkin. You'll use one cup from a 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree. Make sure you don't grab pumpkin pie filling at the store -- the cans look pretty similar.
Melted butter. Using melted butter instead of oil is a great way to make cake mix taste better.
Sour cream. The extra fat content of sour cream makes boxed cake mix moist and rich.
Orange juice. I keep a resealable can of orange juice concentrate in my freezer and add 3 parts water to 1 part concentrate so I can make small amounts of orange juice anytime. For ¼ cup orange juice, mix 1 tablespoon concentrate and 3 tablespoons water.
Baking spray. I use baking spray to coat my Bundt pan, which is nonstick cooking spray with flour. I recommend waiting to spray the pan until just before you add the batter. Otherwise, the oil can run down and pool in the nooks and crannies.
Caramel Sauce
Brown sugar. Brown sugar makes it possible to quickly achieve rich, caramel flavor.
Corn syrup. Corn syrup is a type of invert sugar that prevents crystallization in the caramel sauce.
Evaporated milk. Evaporated milk is thicker and creamier than regular milk. For this recipe, I use a 5 oz. can so the tiny bit that's left over can just be dumped into coffee, tea, or oatmeal.
Salt. This caramel sauce isn't salty, but feel free to add more for a salted caramel vibe.
Cinnamon, optional. A little bit of cinnamon warms up the flavor and tastes great with this cake, but it's totally optional.
Variations
Cake mix. Try a box of spice cake mix for even more fall flavor! White, butter, vanilla, or carrot cake mix would also be delicious.
Orange juice. You can also use water, milk, or apple juice.
Spices. Substitute the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice with pumpkin pie spice. Get my easy recipe to make your own pumpkin spice mix here.
How to Make Cake Mix Taste Better
I like to keep boxed cake mix on hand for last-minute cake cravings or drop-in guests. But rarely do I follow the instructions on the box. I use it as a starting point to turn it into something that tastes at least a little more homemade. Here are a few easy ways to dress up a box of dry cake mix.
Butter. Swapping butter for the oil adds richness and flavor to the cake.
Liquid. I almost never use water in cake mix. Try milk, buttermilk, coconut milk, orange juice, apple juice, soda, beer, or coffee (for chocolate cake mix).
Fat. Even just a few extra tablespoons of sour cream or mayonnaise (yes) can improve the flavor and texture of a boxed cake.
An extra egg. Go ahead, throw in another egg or egg white (for white cake mix).
Extracts. A little vanilla or almond extract adds homespun flavor.
Add-ins. Mix in chopped chocolate (chocolate chips can sink -- even mini ones), crushed cookies, chopped dried fruit, crystallized ginger, sprinkles, nuts, coconut, or citrus zest.
Try these easy and delicious cake mix desserts like Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake, Pineapple Dump Cake, Red Velvet Brownies, Strawberry Brownies, or Red Velvet Cookies.
What to do with leftover pumpkin puree
What do you do with less than a cup of leftover pumpkin? Here are a few ideas!
- Freeze it for up to 3 months
- Stash it in the fridge for about a week
- Blend it in a smoothie
- Add it to overnight oats
- Stir it into a yogurt parfait
- Make Pumpkin pancakes!
- Mix a few tablespoons into hummus
- Roll it into Gingerbread Truffles
How to Keep a Bundt Cake from Sticking
There's nothing quite like the heartbreak of a broken Bundt cake. Try these tips to keep your Bundt cake from sticking to the pan.
Use a nonstick pan. A nonstick Bundt pan is a great first line of defense. But know that the nonstick coating can wear down. If your cake sticks to your nonstick pan, the solution may be as easy as replacing the pan.
Keep it simple. Bundt pans with intricate designs are practically engraved invitations for the cake to stick. Use a Bundt pan with a basic design to minimize opportunities. This one is a classic.
Coat the pan. My go-to is non-stick baking spray with flour. Some people brush on shortening and others swear by "cake goop," a concoction made from equal parts flour, vegetable oil, and shortening. I haven't tried it, but here's a recipe if you're curious. Whatever you use, be sure to get into all the grooves of the pan, and don't forget the center tube.
Spray the pan right before adding batter. If you use spray, wait until just before you add the batter to coat the pan. Spraying it earlier just gives the oil time to run down the sides of the pan and pool in the grooves.
Cool the cake. Let the cake cool for 10-20 minutes before flipping over the pan. If you try too soon, the cake will still be hot and could fall apart. Wait too long, and the moisture from the cake can cause it to stick.
Loosen the edges. Before turning the cake over, go around the edges and center with a thin knife or spatula to release any stuck parts.
What Not to Do
Use butter. The milk solids in butter can actually cause the cake to stick.
Dust the pan with flour. Adding a coating of flour to the greased pan just doesn't look or taste very good.
How to Unstick a Stuck Bundt Cake
You flip over the pan for the big ta-da and ... nothing. It's stuck. Well, #$^%. Here are a few things you can try.
Let it rest. Sometimes gravity will be a pal and help you out. Let it sit upside down and maybe it will fall out.
Wiggle it. Gently shake it from side to side to see if you can loosen it out of the pan.
Warm it up. Putting it back into the cooling-off-but-still-warm-oven just might loosen up any stuck parts.
Freeze it. Once the cake has hardened, it might fall right out of the pan.
If all else fails, cut it up and turn it into a trifle or individual parfaits, smush it up into cake pops, or crumble it into ice cream.
How to Make This Pumpkin and Yellow Cake Mix Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350.
Stir the cake mix and spices together in a large bowl.
Add the brown sugar, canned pumpkin, melted butter, sour cream, orange juice, and eggs.
Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, until just combined, then on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
Spray the Bundt pan with baking spray. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or the internal temperature reaches 205-210.
Place the cake pan upright on a wire baking rack to cool for about 10 minutes.
Run a knife or thin spatula around the pan to loosen the cake around the edges and the center tube.
Place the wire rack on top of the pan and flip it over. Lift the cake pan off of the cake. Let the cake cool the rest of the way on the baking rack, at least 2 hours.
Easy Caramel Sauce
Place the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, evaporated milk, and salt in a medium saucepan and turn the burner to medium heat.
Whisk the mixture as it melts together and comes to a full boil. Boil and stir for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and cinnamon.
Pour the caramel sauce into a heat-proof jar or bowl to cool.
Serve & Enjoy!
If desired, sprinkle powdered sugar over the cooled pumpkin Bundt cake.
Serve the pumpkin cake with warm caramel sauce and a dollop of whipped cream, Cool Whip, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Or skip the caramel sauce and top the cake with luscious white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Get the recipe here!
Storage
Store leftover pumpkin cake tightly covered in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Refrigerate caramel sauce in a mason jar or microwave-safe container with a lid for easy reheating.
How to Reheat Caramel Sauce
Reheat caramel sauce in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each one, until warm.
Make Ahead
Pumpkin cake with caramel sauce is a great pumpkin dessert to make ahead of time. Once the cake is baked and cooled, store it tightly covered at room temperature for a day or two.
Store the caramel sauce in a container in the refrigerator and reheat it before serving.
Freeze
To freeze pumpkin cake, let it cool completely. Wrap it in a double layer of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil. Place in a freezer-safe container or another layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
Freeze the caramel sauce in an airtight container (not glass). Thaw in the refrigerator.
Success Tips
- Keep a resealable can of orange juice concentrate in the freezer for making small amounts of orange juice. Just add 3 parts water to 1 part concentrate.
- Spray the Bundt pan right before filling it with the cake batter.
- Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before flipping over the pan.
FAQs
Absolutely! The great thing about this pumpkin and yellow cake mix recipe is you can substitute your favorite flavor of cake mix. Spice cake mix or carrot cake mix would both be delicious because of the warm spices, but you can also use white, vanilla, or butter cake mix.
Sure! You can stir chopped nuts, dried fruit, chopped chocolate, or crystallized ginger into the cake batter. Just be sure to chop any add-ins into small pieces so they don't sink to the bottom.
To help keep any add-ins afloat, toss them with a tablespoon or two of dry cake mix or sprinkle them into the cake batter after it's in the pan and swirl them around.
No, when you make this pumpkin with yellow cake mix recipe, don't use the ingredients listed on the box. You can, however, use the mixing times and baking times as a guide.
Caramel sauce can become gritty or grainy if the sugar crystallizes. This can happen for a number of reasons including not cooking the mixture long enough, or cooling the caramel sauce too quickly.
Thankfully, it's really easy to fix grainy caramel. Place the caramel sauce and a little bit of water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a boil while stirring until the mixture is smooth. It should only take a couple of minutes.
Stuff I Use
This Nordic Ware Bundt pan is thick and sturdy and has a nonstick coating for easy release and cleaning.
If you need a good, sturdy whisk, this is it. The handle is comfortable, the wires are sturdy enough to work through thick cake or pancake batter, and the balloon shape is great for whipping egg whites or whipped cream.
More Easy Recipes
Let's Stay in Touch
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Easy Pumpkin Cake with Yellow Cake Mix
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- 1 box yellow cake mix 15.25 oz.
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup melted butter
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup orange juice, apple juice, or water
- 4 eggs
- powdered sugar, for dusting -- optional
Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce
- 1 ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons corn syrup
- 6 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
Instructions
Pumpkin Cake with Yellow Cake Mix
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Stir the cake mix and spices together in a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, pumpkin puree, melted butter, sour cream, orange juice, and eggs. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for 2 minutes until completely combined.
- Spray the Bundt pan with baking spray with flour. Pour the batter into the pan and use a spatula to even out the top of the batter.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or the internal temperature reaches 205-210.
- Place the Bundt pan upright on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife or thin spatula around the pan and center tube to loosen the cake. Place the wire rack on top of the pan and flip it over. Remove the cake pan. Let the cake cool the rest of the way on the baking rack, about 2 hours.
Easy Caramel Sauce
- Whisk and stir the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, evaporated milk, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a full boil. Boil and whisk for 2 minutes or until it reaches 225 degrees.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and cinnamon.
- Pour the caramel sauce into a heat-proof jar or bowl to cool.
Seve & Enjoy!
- If desired, sprinkle powdered sugar over the cooled pumpkin cake. Serve the cake with warm caramel sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe inspired by Betty Crocker.
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