This Sweet Potato Dump Cake starts with baked sweet potatoes instead of a can of yams in syrup, so the filling tastes like sweet potato pie and not the can it came from. A buttery cake-mix and pecan topping gives it a crisp contrast to the soft, custardy filling.
Note from Erin
This dump cake takes everything I love about my sweet potato pie and skips the crust.
The filling bakes into a soft custard, and it's a little sweeter and more dessert-like than my sweet potato casserole, which is the one I still put out for Thanksgiving dinner.
Helpful Ingredient Tips
The recipe card at the bottom of this post includes the complete list of ingredients, measurements, and instructions.
Sweet Potatoes: Starting with whole sweet potatoes does take a little longer than opening a can, but almost all of that time is hands-off. Baking concentrates their natural sweetness and gives the filling a richer sweet potato flavor without adding the syrup that comes with canned yams.
Once they are soft, just scoop out the flesh and mash it. You can also bake them a day or two ahead and refrigerate them until you are ready to make the cake.
Cake Mix: Sprinkle the dry cake mix directly over the filling (don't prepare it according to the directions on the box). Some sweet potato dump cake recipes use spice cake mix, but I prefer yellow cake because it lets the sweet potato and spices come through without making the flavor too heavy.
Nuts: I usually use pecan chips because I like their smaller size in the topping. Chopped walnuts work too. Toffee bits are a tasty swap if you prefer desserts without nuts.
How to Make Sweet Potato Dump Cake?
1. Prepare Filling
- Place the mashed sweet potatoes, evaporated milk, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
- Whisk until all of the ingredients are incorporated together.
- Then pour the sweet potato mixture into a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Add Cake Mix & Nuts
- Sprinkle the cake mix evenly over the top of the sweet potatoes.
- Then add nuts over the mix.
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3) Drizzle with Butter
- Slowly pour the melted butter over the top of the cake mix.
- Try to pour it as evenly as possible. It's okay to have some small spots of dry cake mix but you want most of it to be wet.
- If you prefer, you can also slice the butter into thin slices instead of melting it, and place the slices evenly across the top of the cake.
4) Bake
- Bake until the top is golden brown.
- Let the cake cool for at least 15 minutes before serving
- I love this served with Bourbon Whipped Cream.
Top Tip!
Let the mashed sweet potatoes cool to room temperature before mixing them into the filling. Mixing them in while they're still hot adds extra moisture, and that's what can make the custard loose.
Make It Special✨
I love this served with Bourbon Whipped Cream. If you don't have bourbon on hand, plain whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream both work, especially while the cake is still warm.
Can I make this with pumpkin instead of sweet potatoes?
Yes, for pumpkin dump cake simply replace the sweet potatoes with 29 ounces of pumpkin puree. You may also replace the cinnamon and nutmeg with 1 ½ teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.
Recipe
Sweet Potato Dump Cake (No Canned Yams)
Recipe by:Ingredients
- 3 cups (700 grams) mashed sweet potatoes 3-4 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 can (354 ml) evaporated milk or half and half
- 1 cup (220 grams) brown sugar lightly packed
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (3 g) ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon (1 g) ground nutmeg
- 1 package (15.25 ounces) yellow cake mix not prepared
- 1 cup (113 grams) chopped nuts
- ¾ cup (170 grams) butter (1 ½ sticks) melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Place the first seven ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk until fully combined.3 cups mashed sweet potatoes, 1 can evaporated milk, 1 cup brown sugar, 3 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Spread the batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the top of the batter. Gently spread the dry mix with your fingers so that it is fairly even, then add the nuts.1 package yellow cake mix, 1 cup chopped nuts
- Slowly pour the butter evenly over the top of the cake mix, being careful to cover as much of the cake mix as you can.¾ cup butter
- Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve with whipped cream.
Notes
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Nutrition
The nutritional facts provided are only estimates. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Brenda says
Want to make with the half and half. How much do I use?
Erin says
It's an equal substitution.
Sarah Velasquez says
Should the potato batter be mushy still when fully done?
Erin says
The center should be slightly jiggly like Jell-O with the outside of the pie, close to the edges being firm. Once it cooks it should be fully set and similar in consistency to pumpkin pie.
Erin says
The bottom part of the cake is soft, similar to a pumpkin custard, and the top should be crumbly.
Lori says
I used a 10x14 pan so I used a 29oz can of yams and half of a 15oz can of pureed pumpkin. I added a 4th egg too. For topping I cut a corner off the plastic bag of the cake mix and it was really easy to sprinkle evenly. I used a measuring cup with spout to drizzle the butter and I only used nuts on half so those who didn't like nuts could have it too. Came out great! It was a big hit for Thanksgiving dessert. I will definitely make it again.
Erin Gierhart says
Lori, I love hearing how you made this work for your crowd. Those little tweaks and tools make the process so smooth, and it sounds like you nailed it. Thank you for sharing how it went.