The Best Pumpkin Crunch Cake (made without a cake mix!)

This cake mix free easy Pumpkin Crunch Cake combines a soft pumpkin custard bottom with a delightfully delicious crunchy topping to create a totally addictive dessert!

I’ve never really been a huge fan of pumpkin pie.  But other pumpkin desserts?  Well, that’s another story!

As a matter of fact, we actually served a pumpkin dessert at our wedding!  Neither my husband and I love cake.  I mean, we like it okay, but neither of us would say it’s our favorite dessert at all.  So it only made sense to skip serving cake at our reception and have pumpkin roll instead!

My mother, bless her heart, made the dozens of homemade pumpkin rolls that we needed.  And my husband and I enjoyed it so much more than the traditional cake!

And while I love a good pumpkin roll, I rarely make them myself simply because they are a bit time-consuming.   But I do enjoy making other pumpkin desserts, especially easy ones like this Pumpkin Crunch Cake.  

It’s just so good with its mixture of a soft, custard-style pumpkin bottom combined with a delightfully delicious crunchy buttery topping.  It’s one of those desserts that we find rather addictive and a recipe that I can guarantee will be a hit no matter where I serve it!

In fact, I’m pretty sure that my whole family would say that this Pumpkin Crunch Cake is their all-time favorite pumpkin dessert!

Most recipes for Pumpkin Crunch Cake call for a yellow cake mix, which of course is nice and convenient.  But it’s always bothered me.  Because while I’m not necessarily opposed to using the occasional cake mix, they really aren’t as healthy as something made from scratch.

And to be honest, cake mixes are kind of expensive considering the fact that they are basically just flour, sugar and a couple of other inexpensive ingredients.

So I experimented a bit and figured out a way to make our favorite pumpkin dessert healthier, less expensive and just as delicious as ever by replacing the cake mix with four simple ingredients.

And honestly, mixing them together will take you just a tad longer than it would to open a store-bought cake mix.  So it’s a win all around!

Best Ever Pumpkin Crunch Cake

Print Recipe

4.34 from 9 votes

The Best Pumpkin Crunch Cake

This cake mix free easy Pumpkin Crunch Cake combines a soft pumpkin custard bottom with a delightfully delicious crunchy topping to create a totally addictive dessert!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 10 mins

Servings: 24 pieces

Author: ThriftyFrugalMom.com

Ingredients

• 15 oz. can pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)
• 12 oz. can evaporated milk
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

TOPPING

• 2 1/3 cup flour
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup butter, melted

Instructions

• Combine first 6 ingredients. (I like to use a whisk.)
• Pour into a greased 9×13 baking dish.
• In same bowl that you used before, combine the topping ingredients, minus the butter.
• Sprinkle topping evenly on top of batter and then drizzle the melted butter over top of everything.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 min. Cake should look set and top should be golden brown. Cool completely.

Notes

If you prefer to use a store bought cake mix for the topping, just ignore all the Topping ingredients (except the butter!) and instead replace them with a yellow cake mix.  Then drizzle with the butter as instructed

This dessert is delicious as is, but you can also serve it with whipped cream or with ice cream.