Pear Gingerbread Crumble Dump Cake

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This cake is pure fall comfort in a baking dish.

It tastes like a cozy sweater and a warm hug had a baby.

The pears get all soft and juicy, the gingerbread flavor comes in hot with that warm spice, and the crumble on top gets crunchy in the best way. The best part is I barely have to do any real baking.

I just dump everything in the pan and let the oven do the hard work. It looks like I tried way harder than I did, so it is perfect when I want to impress people without sweating over it.

Ingredients

1 box of spice cake mix
2 cups diced pears (about 2 or 3 fresh ones)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons chopped pecans for garnish
2 tablespoons coarse sugar if you want it extra crunchy

Why These Ingredients Work So Well

The cake mix already tastes like gingerbread so I let it do most of the work for me. Pears get all soft and sweet when baked and they balance out the spices.

Pecans give it that buttery crunch.

Butter and cream melt right into the cake and keep it rich and moist. Molasses makes the flavor deeper and a little smoky in a good way.

Ginger cinnamon and nutmeg give that classic holiday warmth without being too much. Rolled oats on top make it taste like a crumble and not just a cake which I love.

How I Make It

First I preheat my oven to 350 and grease a 9 by 13 dish. I usually use butter because it tastes better than cooking spray and makes the edges caramelize a little.

I peel and dice the pears into small chunks. I like them bite sized so every scoop has some fruit.

In a big bowl I mix the melted butter heavy cream molasses milk and vanilla. Once that is smooth I mix in the brown sugar ginger cinnamon and nutmeg so it all becomes one happy spicy mess.

I dump the pears into the dish and spread them out then sprinkle the chopped pecans right on top.

Now for the fun part. I pour the dry cake mix evenly over the pears. I do not stir it at all because that is the whole dump cake magic.

Then I slowly pour the wet mixture over everything. Still no stirring. It looks weird at this point but trust the process.

I sprinkle the oats and extra pecans on top and if I am feeling fancy I throw some coarse sugar on there too for sparkle.

I bake it for about 35 to 40 minutes until the top is golden and it smells like a Christmas market.

If a toothpick comes out mostly clean I pull it out and let it chill for like 10 minutes so it settles.

How I Serve It

I scoop it out while it is still warm and put a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top so it melts into it.

Whipped cream is good too but ice cream hits different. Sometimes I drizzle caramel sauce or shake a little cinnamon on top to make it look like I know what I am doing.

If I am serving guests I cut it into squares and pretend it was planned.

Leftovers

If there is any left which is rare I stick it in the fridge for up to five days. I reheat a bowl in the microwave for like 15 seconds or toss it in the oven for a few minutes.

It stays soft and gooey which is why I love dump cakes.

My Little Tips

Use pears that are ripe but not mushy so they hold their shape. Bosc or Anjou work great.

Unsulfured molasses tastes better and does not overpower the cake.

Toast the pecans before adding them if you want extra flavor.

Make sure the cake mix is spread evenly so you do not get flour pockets.

If the top browns too fast cover it loosely with foil near the end.