Here’s the deal with this Pumpkin Magic Cake – it has a little bit of everything to please just about everyone.
I spent a long time perfecting this recipe. It finally came out just right, and I think you’re going to love it!
Pumpkin Magic Cake Recipe
It has three layers of dessert goodness going on.
A layer of pumpkin pie on the bottom. A layer of cake in the middle. Finished off with a sweet layer of pumpkin pie spiced pudding/frosting/icouldeatthiseveryday on top.
Ingredients Needed:
Here’s the basic list of the ingredients you’ll need in order to make this delicious cake. It’s perfect for the holidays!
- Vanilla Cake Mix – any size box will work as long as it’s meant for a 9×13″ pan
- Eggs, Oil, Water – called for in the cake mix
- Pumpkin Puree – not pumpkin pie filling
- Evaporated Milk
- Heavy Cream
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Brown Sugar
- Vanilla Pudding Mix – you can substitute with sugar free version if desired
- Cold Milk
- Cool Whip – thawed
How To Make Pumpkin Magic Cake
What’s so magical about this cake?
- Start off by mixing up a box of yellow cake mix, just like you normally would. Pour the batter into a prepared cake pan.
- Whisk up the pumpkin pie mixture and carefully pour it over the top of the cake batter.
- Bake and watch the layers switch place and become perfectly cooked into two layers!
Watch Video Of Pumpkin Magic Cake Recipe
Frosting For Pumpkin Cake
Whisk up the top layer which is just a combination of instant pudding mix, milk, pumpkin pie spice and thawed Cool Whip.
Spread it on top, and you have a multi-level dessert with layers upon layers of delicious fall flavor.
More Pumpkin Cake Recipes
Craving that delicious pumpkin cake flavor? I’ve got you covered with these tasty recipes…
- Award Winning Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Crumb Cake
- Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie – another fun layered dessert!
- Fluffy Pumpkin Sheet Cake
This dessert is a definite crowd pleaser.
Make it!
HELPFUL PRODUCTS TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:
Pumpkin Magic Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 box of yellow cake mix PLUS ingredients needed to make, eggs, water, oil
For the Pumpkin Pie
- 15 oz Pumpkin Puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
For the Frosting
- 3.4 oz vanilla instant pudding mix, or substitute with sugar free version
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup cold milk
- 8 oz Cool Whip, thawed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare box of cake mix according to package instructions, then pour into a lightly greased 9"x13" cake pan. DO NOT BAKE. Set aside.
- In another bowl whisk together the ingredients for the Pumpkin Pie (pumpkin, evaporated milk, cream, eggs, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice), until smooth. Slowly pour the pumpkin pie mixture all over the cake mix.
- Carefully place cake into the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the center is no longer jiggly, and a toothpick inserted into cake mix comes out clean. NOTE: The cake might be slightly darker than normal, but still tastes great. Let cool to room temperature.
For The Frosting
- Place the vanilla pudding mix into a large bowl, add the pumpkin pie spice and pour in the cold milk. Whisk until combined and starting to thicken. Gently fold in the Cool Whip until it's completely combined. Spread on top of the cooled cake.
- You can serve now, or chill the cake, and serve when chilled. Either way tastes great. Enjoy!
Notes
- After you are done baking the cake, it may look like it did not settle into layers, but it has! Frost it, cut it, and marvel at it's awesomeness.
- Cake can be prepared up to 48 hours in advance. Cover and chill in fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition
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Marie
I left getting ingredients too long!! Every single store is sold out of vanilla pudding mix! This was to be our Christmas dessert…. Dec 23 here and I’m panicking lolol any other flavour of pudding I could use? I do have pistachio pudding at home!
Shawn
Sorry I missed this comment in time for Christmas. I don’t think you’ll enjoy the taste of pistachio pudding with the pumpkin. You could swap out the vanilla for a cheesecake flavor? I hope it turned out ok!
Lynda
Mine did the same. Did it taste good?
Larrisa
I’m 8 months pregnant and have GD “Gestational Diabetes”. I’ve made this before I was pregnant but have been craving it! I was able to make this entire recipe zero sugar and trust me it’s absolutely delicious! This is a family favorite in my house!
Ashlee Higley
I tried it with cupcakes, they turned out pretty good. you just filled the cupcake liners with half the batter and then the other half with the pumpkin pie filling and they cook for 20 to 25 minutes.
Shawn
Thanks for letting us know Ashlee!
Geeta
Woww So Yummmyy………
Shawn
Glad you enjoyed it!
IAS Coaching In Delhi
That’s a great idea!
Donna
My frosting didn’t turn out. It’s to runny. Am I supposed to put frosting in the refrigerator to thicken up?
Shawn
No, it shouldn’t need to be thickened up in the refrigerator. Did you miss an ingredient by chance?
Gladys
Can I use all evaporated milk and no heavy cream???
Shawn
That should work just fine.
Jill
Did you know that these kinds of cakes are known as Italian Love cakes? Valerie Bertenelli put the recipe out on her blog with flavors such as chocolate, lemon, strawberry. She uses ricotta cheese and other ingredients but the same thing happens on layers switching places! Love this cake !
Shawn
I did know that! The Italian Love Cake was my inspiration for creating this pumpkin version! 🙂
Leslie Paradine
Could if freeze ahead and then ice the day of serving?
Shawn
Definitely! That’s a great idea!
C Burt
I made this today for the first time for our Senior Adult Luncheon at church. So many people loved it and asked for the recipe. I plan to make this for our Thanksgiving dessert.
Shawn
Fantastic! So glad you enjoyed the cake!
Judy
Have made this a lot! It is really yummy and does not disappoint!
Shawn
So glad you enjoyed it!
Harmony
I just made the cake today and only thing I can say is that I am in love!!!! I am a die hard fan of pumpkin I don’t care what it is or how it is made but this cake is loving and to die for !!! I just have to keep my mom away from the pan or there will be none left!!! Thanks for the sharing recipes..
Kristan
I tried this and I absolutely love it!! Perfect flavor. I was wondering if you could use the same recipe but swap out the pumpkin for sweet potatoes?
Joanna
This looks amazing! Do you think this would keep in the fridge for a day? I’d love to bring it to a church potluck, but I would have to bake it 24 hours beforehand.
Patricia May
Shawn, I love this recipe!! I have made it several times for personal parties and for bake sales- I use instant cheesecake pudding (bought it by mistake) and its an awesome flavor, also! Thank you for sharing this!!
Kirti Saxena
Presentation: Top Notch!
Looks Damn Tasty, I would like to try these next weekend.
Roxana
Can I make the cake from scratch instead of using box cake?
Shawn
I’m sure that would work out just great!
Teresa Hess
How many ounces is the Vanilla Instant Pudding Please?
It says 3.4 oz the package but it doesn’t say for how many persons…
Shawn
Yes, you’ll want the 3.4oz package of instant pudding mix. 🙂
Viny
I need to make this dairy free so can I use coconut milk in stead of evaporated and cream..as far as topping cool whip is no dairy so all set there . Please respond
Shawn
I’ve never made it with coconut milk so I can’t say how it will turn out. You could always try it and let us know! 🙂
Viny
Mission accomplish I made it dairy free and it worked .I used 1/2 cup coconut cream 1/2 cup coconut almond milk for filling and it covered entire top of cake unlike your photo. I will cut brown sugar by a quarter cup next time because coconut cream is already sweetened. I bought Goya brand. Then I used coconut cream and coconut alomond milk for pudding cool whip non dairy topping. Amazingly delicious! I took pics but don’t know how to send on this or I would to show you results.
Viny
Mission accomplish I made it dairy free and it worked .I used 1/2 cup coconut cream 1/2 cup coconut almond milk for filling and it covered entire top of cake unlike your photo. I will cut brown sugar by a quarter cup next time because coconut cream is already sweetened. I bought Goya brand. Then I used coconut cream and coconut alomond milk for pudding cool whip non dairy topping. Amazingly delicious!
ROBIN
Good job Viny! They do sell an unsweetened coconut cream that you can get at the Asian markets or Amazon. My son also tells me they make a “Cool Whip” that is vegan made with coconut cream. He says they have it at Publix.
Joleen Rettman
Can you use any cake mix? I was thinking this would be great with spice cake mix! What do you think?
Shawn
You can definitely use any cake mix! Spice cake would be great!
ROBIN L Bittner-Montoya
I would use the thicker coconut cream instead of coconut milk.
Jeanette
What can substitute for the evap milk and heavy cream ?
Amy
Has anyone tried cupcakes or a bundt pan with this?
Kathy
I tried this with a gluten free yellow cake mix, pumpkin did not sink through! Will let you know how it tastes though! (GF is necessary for me)
Kathy
Okay, I couldn’t wait till it cooled, smelled too good. The pumpkin did not sink in, at all. It was delicious! Used Pillsbury GF vanilla cake mix, everything else as listed. Thanks for this recipe!
erica
I wish I had read your comment earlier! I overbaked my cake thinking it wasn’t done yet 🙁 pumpkin never sank through. I think because the GF cake mix is so much more dense than regular cake flour. I will have to experiment to see if I can get it to work! I’m thinking the cupcakes would be better and maybe changing the ratio of pie to cake? Let me know if you tried it again! It was still fun to make!
Melany Clayborn
Love this recipe!! This is now my Fall go to when having a Pot Luck. On those chilly fall morning that my kiddos don’t want to get out of bed all I have to say is “You can have a piece of Pumpkin Magic Cake and they are up and running!
Shawn
That’s so awesome to hear! Thanks for commenting Melany!
PJ
You can easily recognize there are three pages. To avoid printing the smiley face just select pages 1-2. That will save your ink.
Jennifer
In the instructions it says pour cake mix in pan first but in the picture you show it looks like the pumpkin is first then the cake mix over that. Not sure what to do
Angel
The pumpkin sinks to the bottom.
Popeye
There are reviews saying it doesn’t sink. So why can’t you put the pumpkin in first and then the cake mix?
Robin
Popeye, Only one reviewer said that and the poster used a gluten free cake mix. Dont Use a GF cake mix and the pumpkin layer will sink to the bottom.
Popeye
I went back and was looking at reviews from 2103, 2104, and 2015 and there were a few that didn’t turn out. I’ll try it and make sure I follow the recipe as written for my best chances of success. I did see where someone else asked if they could add the pumpkin first and the reply was that because of different cooking speeds between the cake batter and the pumpkin, adding the pumpkin first would not be successful.
ZRobin
Jennifer, cake mix first. The fact that the pumpkin layer sinks to the bottom during baking is what makes it “magic”!
Popeye
ZRobin, but it would still turn out “correctly” if you put the pumpkin in first wouldn’t it? There are a few people that said theirs didn’t sink to the bottom.
Bonnie Freerking
Printer friendly please! Stop with the huge smiley face. Ink is so expensive
Muskaan Garg
Thanks for sharing this kind of stuff, I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article.
Deepakshi
hey Shawn Syphus!
yumm the thing I like most in my life is Cake I always used to search cake recipes on internet I think this one I found the best one…
Pumpkin cakes looks amazing I will must try the recipe at my home …thanks for sharing
kavya Sharma
Cake looking so delicious.
Linda Jaems
Attractive to every detail
Meggen
Mine didn’t layer. I’ve tried twice to make this and followed the recipe exactly. 🙁 The Lemon Magic Cake worked just fine for me though, so I was looking forward to this cake. What a bummer.
usps tracking map
I ate it at the restaurant and enjoyed it. I tried many times but failed. Today saw your guide I learned a lot and drawn many useful things. I believe this time I will succeed. Thanks a lot!
Nancy
Its in the oven now
Helen
Absolutely an awesome cake! Easy to make and so tasty!