Slow Cooker Sticky Caramel Pumpkin Cake
on Aug 24, 2019, Updated Oct 12, 2021
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Pumpkin Cake is a crock-pot dessert recipe that came to me later in life but when it showed up, it did so in a big way. This pumpkin cake recipe was our first recipe to go viral, within our first year of starting Platter Talk back in 2013.
Featured in Country Living, Better Homes and Garden, House Beautiful, MSN Food, and in various other high-profile media outlets, it is one of our most popular cake recipes. Best of all, you can make this easy pumpkin cake recipe in just two hours at home.
Table of Contents
About this
Halloween is still a few weeks away, but suddenly, gourds and pumpkins are popping up all over the place.
Speaking of pumpkins, one of them ended up in the most unexpected places the other day – in my slow cooker. When it came out, it looked like this:
Growing up on a big Mennonite family farm, I always had a special relationship with pumpkins. And cakes.
In fact, homemade cakes are my favorite recipes to make. I’m talking about such yummy desserts as Chocolate Cake made with Whiskey and Coffee, Traditional Swedish Almond Cake, and Upside-Down Rhubarb Cake.
They’re all so delicious! We even came across a Pumpkin Pie Dump Cake, which uses a carrot cake box mix. It is an incredibly delicious fall dessert!
Each year I would plant a row or two in my mom’s huge garden, and as I grew older, I would try to grow the biggest pumpkins possible.
I tried milk-feeding them as I read about in the Little House on the Prairie books, using fresh milk and cream from our cows via a bowl and a candle wick spliced into the pumpkin vines.
It wasn’t until the fall season when I first left for college that some of my pumpkins had tipped the scale at over 40 pounds!
As fate would have it, I was over 100 miles away and wasn’t even able to bask in the glory of my pumpkin pride.
And then, 35 years later, this pumpkin cake recipe showed up.
It was given to my recipe pimp and beautiful friend, Amy, who picked it up in the grocery store check-out isle.
I made this easy pumpkin dump cake for my new food and recipe blog, and all of a sudden, Platter Talk became real.
And so did this incredibly simple crock-pot dessert.
Ingredients
- Packed pumpkin
- Flour
- Sugar
- Butter
- Eggs
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Pumpkin Spice
- Salt
- Caramel Sauce (optional topping)
Recipe highlights
- This pumpkin dessert recipe is inexpensive or downright cheap at less than $10 for the whole thing.
- Make this crock-pot dessert in just two hours.
- You don’t need to be a baker to make this pumpkin dump cake, anyone can put it together!
- Most importantly, the taste of this pumpkin cake recipe is nothing short of a miracle, IMHO.
In conclusion, this pumpkin cake recipe pretty much has it all.
It’s affordable, it’s extremely easy to prepare, and it is scary delicious.
This is the perfect crock-pot dessert recipe to make for guests or family for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or any holiday.
Speaking of holiday treats, if you haven’t tried our homemade chocolate peanut butter truffles yet, you must make this no-bake treat now!
If you were like me and thought that crock pots were just for making dinner and meals for the family while you are spending your entire day doing something else, I say, “Think again.”
Speaking of the different ways to make a cake, check out this incredible air fryer cake! If you’re a fan of easy air fryer recipes, you’re going to love this one!
Oven Method
If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can make this slow cooker cake in an oven. Here is how to do that:
- Bake at 350° F.
- The type of pan you have will determine how long to bake.
- A loaf pan will require 45 minutes, a sheet cake or double layer cake will take about 30 minutes.
- It is recommended that you not use a glass baking pan for this cake as metal and ceramic pans seem to help keep the batter from falling.
To avoid using processed (granulated white sugar), you can use 1/3 cup of maple syrup and 1/3 cup of honey.
If you don’t want to use butter, readers have used 2/3 cup of sunflower oil with great success.
Finally, some people have added a little extra pumpkin spice to the batter and a cap-full of vanilla.
Try this recipe and let us know how you make it!
More of our Favorite Dessert Recipes:
- RumChata Cupcakes
- Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts
- Soft Pumpkin Cookies
- Forgotten Cookies
- Danish Kringle Recipe
Some of our Most Popular Holiday Recipes
- Giblet Gravy
- How to Roast Prime Rib
- Southern Cornbread Dressing
- Open-Face Apple Pie
- Cherry Christmas Cookies
- 101 Best Christmas Cookie for 2021
If you love caramel, you have to have a taste of our homemade caramel popcorn. One handful is all it takes to get you hooked!
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Slow Cooker Sticky Caramel Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 15 oz solid packed pumpkin, 1 can
- 16 oz caramel sauce, 1 jar
Instructions
- Coat 4 1/2 quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray, turn to “high.”
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in mixing bowl.
- Beat sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer for about 3 minutes, until light.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.
- Add packed pumpkin, blend until well mixed.
- Gradually add flour mixture and beat at low speed for a minute or so until smooth.
- Spread evenly in slow cooker and cover.
- Cook on high setting 2 hours or until center-inserted tooth pick comes out clean.
- Let cake stand, uncovered 10 minutes.
- Invert onto wire rack, invert again onto serving plate.
- Drizzle half of caramel sauce over cake. Serve warm with additional sauce.
Video
Notes
- Be sure to apply a generous coating of non-stick spray to your slow cooker before adding the ingredients for this pumpkin cake recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Updated from the original post of September 19, 2014
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Slow cookers and my are best friends. But…I have never tried to bake a cake in one. Adventurous you! Now I’m inspired! This looks so moist and dripping with caramel. I have to try it!!
Thanks so much Diane!
This is currently in my oven. So far it’s been in for about 45 minutes and still cooking. Will update when it’s done and devoured!
We can’t wait to hear how it turns out!
This cake is delicious. I only have a 2qt slow cooker so I used that (halved the ingredients, cooked it on high for about 1hr 45min). I don’t have an electric mixer so I beat everything by hand, that worked surprisingly well. I increased the spices but that’s just a personal preference. This recipe is so good on its own you really don’t need the caramel. Loved it!
Sounds like you went ahead and made this one your own! Congratulations, that’s what cooking is all about!! Thanks for the feedback, comments like yours are our favorite ones!
I really wanted to thank you for this recipe, Chef Dan. It’s fantastic. It’s the only one I found that doesn’t require some form of cake mix. Thanks again for this gem!
We’re so happy you enjoyed this and appreciate your kind feedback!
Looks amazing. I bet it would be great with butternut squash or sweet potato as a substitute.
Any tips on increasing measurements for a family size 6 qt crock pot?
Julia, I love your ideas. As far as increasing amounts, if I were to do that I would simple increase in proportionate amounts. It may take longer to cook as well.
SO GOOD!! We used real pumpkin and it turned out delicious. Thanks for the recipe!! 🙂
Happy you loved! Thanks for the feed back and please tell your friends about Platter Talk!
Happy you loved! Thanks for the feed back and please tell your friends about Platter Talk!
Any tips on cooking this long term? I’m leaving my house after starting the cake and may not be back for upwards of 6 hours. Could I cook it on low?
Great question, Erin. 6 hours sounds like an awfully long time and there is great variability between slow cookers and their respective temperature settings. We would love to know how you handled this and what the results were. Thanks for reading Platter Talk.
This cake is a dream! I am reviewing a cookbook ri g the now for slow cooker desserts and just happened to scroll through pinterest and saw this beautiful cake, looked up and was excited to see you are the blogger! Keeping this one to try ASAP! Nettie
So nice to hear from you, Nettie! We hope to see this one in a cookbook soon with our name behind it; it’s an incredible dessert! Thanks so much for the kind hello!
Can I use can of pumpkin pie instead? You know the one with all the spices in it???
I’ve only made this according to the recipe as written; give it a try and let me know!!
Oh my gosh this looks just like my favorite English dessert which is sticky toffee pudding. In fact, Ive just rwturned feom London, where I had some three days ago. It’s not really a conventional pudding, but a steamed spongy cake (made with dates, I think) served drowning in caramel sauce. I can’t wait to try your version.
I love the slow cooker idea! This looks so delicious and perfect for fall!!