Sweet Potato Dump Cake with Canned Yams

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This sweet potato dump cake with cake mix and canned yams or with leftover sweet potatoes is easy to make and delicious! Serve warm with a caramel drizzle or with vanilla ice cream on top to melt all over for a simple dessert.

I’ve made this dump cake with canned yams several different ways. Typically at Thanksgiving time if I have leftover Instant Pot Sweet Mashed Potatoes it is great but canned the rest of the year. With chopped pecans on top it is moist and best served warm. (affiliate links present)

Sweet Potato Dump Cake Recipe

If you made our Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe with Canned Yams for the holidays but have an extra can left over this is a great thing to make with that as well. I like easy. I appreciate ideas in my pocket when we have unexpected guests or want to take something new to a potluck. During the cooler months this is a favorite treat.

Easy Dump Cake Recipes are just our thing. We have done this a number of ways. Using pie filling is common, frozen fruit is another, or canned can be done throughout the year. In this case it is a vegetable, but just as sweet as all the others. You may have not thought of using these other than in a dish with marshmallows on the top, there’s so much more to them.

Canned Yams Dump Cake

If you have leftover sweet potatoes you can by all means mash and use those. In the case you want to make this year round all you need is a can of yams!! Yes they are technically different but honestly when baked with other ingredients you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

A dump cake is a type of dessert that is incredibly easy to prepare because it involves dumping or layering a few simple ingredients into a baking dish and then baking until it’s done. Typically, each one consists of three main components; a wet filling, cake mix and melted butter…..

In this case we went a step further to create a sort of crumble on the top, a bit like any of our cake mix cobbler recipes. Nuts are of course optional and if there are allergies could be left out or substituted for raisins in this case. If mini marshmallows are a must you could throw those on during the last 5 minutes to brown too. We used;

Ingredients

1 can of yams 29 oz., mashed or mashed sweet potatoes
Can evaporated milk 12 oz.
Brown sugar
4 eggs
Pumpkin pie spice
1 box dry cake mix – boxed cake mix spice flavor is best
Butter melted
1 c candied pecans chopped
A splash of vanilla extract is optional
Vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or Dulce de Leche Instant Pot is great on the top

Many times I will buy several cans before the holidays because they’re so versatile when mashed. From cakes to casseroles and Sweet Potato Dumplings we love for breakfast it’s a favorite holiday flavor.

Just like if you were making our Sweet Potato Muffin Recipe you would want to drain and mash the taters until smooth. If you’re using leftover casserole that is already done. You’ll want to spray the pan with non stick spray and a rectangular one works well. If using a square pan it will be thicker and will likely take longer to bake.

How to Make a Dump Cake with Sweet Potatoes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Set aside a 9×13 baking dish, sprayed with baking spray.
Drain the canned yams from the juice (or use mashed sweet potatoes) and pour into a large mixing bowl. Use a potato masher to mash the yams until there are no more chunks.
Add the evaporated milk, brown sugar, pumpkin spice seasoning and eggs to the yams.
- Whisk together or use a hand mixer to blend these ingredients together until combined and smooth.
Pour this mixture into the prepared baking dish. Spread the cake mix evenly over the top of this wet mixture in the baking dish. Do not mix.
Now pour the melted butter all over the top of the cake mix.
Sprinkle the top with the chopped pecans.
Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean but with moist crumbs attached and golden brown.
The center should no longer jiggle and it is normal if there is yam residue on the toothpick. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Note: this will not slice and serve nicely like our Sweet Potato Cake. Instead just use a large serving spoon to scoop it out and a scoop of ice cream is nice to melt and ooze all over making each bite even more moist and tender.

What to Make with Leftover Sweet Potatoes

This is the best! We have done something similar with leftover canned pumpkin with our pumpkin dump cake, I hate to waste. You always want to wait until it reaches room temperature before storing. Then it is best to transfer to a smaller container to store sealed in the fridge. Warm again and enjoy within 3 days for best results.

Remember this technique with all the side dishes you have made this season. Make things that you know will save well like our Cream Corn Casserole and mashed potatoes of course. For best results when reheating add a bit of moisture on top and warm just enough, not too much to dry it out.

If you can only find yellow cake mix you’ll want to add a bit of nutmeg and maybe allspice in there to give this dessert recipe more of a spiced flavor. Jump to recipe card and get started on this one this year. It may become a new family favorite you’ll enjoy after your meal.

Can you make mashed sweet potatoes with canned yams?

Technically these two are different pieces of produce but when cooked and sweetened like we do in the U.S. most people can’t tell the difference. Therefore, you can in fact drain a can of yams, mash, and add just enough of the juices back in until it is the texture you want!

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