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Pecan Pie Dump Cake

A gooey brown sugar and pecan filling baked under a buttery, golden yellow cake mix topping in a 9x13 pan. All the flavor of pecan pie with no crust.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Cooling 45 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups chopped pecans about 8 oz
  • 1 cup light brown sugar packed
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 4 large eggs lightly beaten
  • ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp salt
Cake topping
  • 1 box yellow cake mix 15.25 oz, dry
  • ¾ cup cold unsalted butter 1½ sticks, thinly sliced (or melted and drizzled)

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, melted butter, vanilla and salt until smooth. Stir in the pecans.
  3. Spread the filling evenly in the prepared dish.
  4. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the filling all the way to the edges; do not stir.
  5. Cover the cake mix edge to edge with the cold butter slices, leaving as little dry mix showing as possible.
  6. Bake 45–55 minutes, checking at 45, until the top is deep golden, the edges bubble and the center jiggles only slightly. Tent with foil for the last 10 minutes if browning too fast.
  7. Cool at least 30–45 minutes before serving so the filling sets.

Notes

Use a 15.25-oz box of cake mix; a 13.25-oz box gives a thinner topping. Dry patches: dab with melted butter. Storage: covered up to 5 days in the fridge or 2 months frozen. Make ahead: bake 1 day ahead, refrigerate, rewarm uncovered at 325°F for about 15 minutes. 8x8 pan: halve the recipe and bake 35–40 minutes. Nutrition is about 610 kcal per serving (12 servings); let WPRM calculate full nutrition.