Super Easy Pumpkin Poke Cake!
No one will ever guess that this cake is made with a cake mix!
This pumpkin cake is incredibly moist and dense. It is like a shortcut pumpkin Tres Leches and even tastes almost like a pumpkin cheesecake.
The ingredients are super simple. A 3-ingredient cake with sweetened condensed milk poured over the top and frosted with whipped topping. The light and fluffy whipped topping is a nice contrast to the dense cake. I actually mixed some cream cheese and powdered sugar into my whipped topping because I love the pumpkin/cream cheese combo. Either way it is delicious!
The batter consists of only the dry cake mix from a box, pure pumpkin, and the pumpkin pie spice. It is definitely a thick batter, but pumpkin naturally has enough moisture to make this work. Be sure to use the 100% pure pumpkin and not the canned pumpkin pie filling.
I like to dress this cake up by turning it out onto a serving platter after it cools, but you can simply leave it in the pan if you want. Then poke holes all over the top. A round mixing spoon handle works well for this task.
Pour on the sweetness! Try to pour the sweetened condensed milk slowly so it has time to soak into the holes. Then let it soak in further while the cake refrigerates overnight, or at least for a few hours.
Before serving, spread on the whipped topping frosting and, if desired, you can add toffee bits and/or caramel sauce on top of that too.
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 15 ounces 100% pure pumpkin (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 8 ounces whipped topping, thawed
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (optional)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (optional)
- toffee bits and/or caramel sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 baking pan well.
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry cake mix, pumpkin pie spice, and the pumpkin. The batter will be thick. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cake cool completely. Turn out onto a serving platter, if desired. Using the handle of a mixing spoon, poke holes all over the top of the cake. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the cake, aiming to fill the holes. Refrigerate for at least a few hours, but overnight is best.
- Spread an 8-ounce tub of whipped topping over the cake, or make the whipped cream cheese frosting by beating together the whipped topping, cream cheese, and powdered sugar until smooth. If desired, sprinkle toffee bits or caramel sauce, or both, over the top. Keep refrigerated.
Recipe slightly adapted from Something Swanky.
A 9×9 pan works well for this cake and is also perfect for baking a standard size brownie mix!
If you are in the market for one, the Wilton Covered Pan is only $7.19 right now! If you have a little more room in the budget though, I would go for the higher quality Nordic Ware Pan.