15 Shortcut Cakes for Easy Fall Desserts

two slices of Pumpkin Coffee Cake with a Brown Sugar Glaze on a white dish
Photo: lutzflcat

Need a great cake to satisfy your sweet tooth but don't have the time or inclination to make it from scratch? That's when these shortcut cakes swoop in to save the day. They all start with a boxed cake mix, and you add a little of this and pinch of that to create almost-from-scratch desserts that'll get you rave reviews. (Be sure to hide the box and no one will be the wiser.)

01 of 15

Caramel Pear Cake

spice cake with sliced pears, whipped cream, and caramel drizzle
abapplez

"This pear upside down cake is amazing. Made it when a neighbor gifted us with a bag of pears off of the tree in her backyard. This recipe is easy and a favorite in our house." —KirstenNB

02 of 15

Pumpkin Crumb Cake

Pumpkin Crumb Cake on a white dish

Yellow cake mix and pumpkin purée create this lightly spicy cake with a nutty streusel topping. "Tastes just like pumpkin pie but much easier to make and feeds a lot more people!" —LynnInHK

03 of 15

Great Pumpkin Dessert

Great Pumpkin Dessert topped with nuts
Treats N Sweets

KRANEY says, "Move over, pumpkin pie! So easy and soooo good. I have made this cake twice, and I prefer to use pecans instead of walnuts. For some reason this cake is much, much better if it sits a day or so."

04 of 15

Easy Apple Coffee Cake

slice of Easy Apple Coffee Cake on a white plate
NancyLou

"Make this exactly as written and I promise you, you won't be disappointed," says naples34102. "Use ALL the apples called for, bake about 65 minutes, and cover it the last 10 minutes or so with foil if it starts to get too brown."

05 of 15

Cranberry Cake

Cranberry Cake slice on a white plate
Emily

This colorful fall cake calls for cranberry applesauce in the mix. If you can't find it in the store, do what ANNMARIEDA did: "This was super easy. I could not find cranberry applesauce in the store so I mixed canned cranberries with applesauce."

06 of 15

Pumpkin Spice Cake II

Pumpkin Spice Cake II on a white dish
Deb C

Renee Ridgeway says, "I'm going to divulge the secret to making this to perfection. Ready? Follow this recipe exactly and do not change a thing! It is fantastic and super easy too."

07 of 15

Mexican Flan Cakes

Mexican Flan Cakes on a white dish
LatinaCook

You can bake this ooey gooey cake in a Bundt pan or a regular cake pan if you wish. pixiestardust102 says, "OMG, the flavors are spectacular! I love this cake!"

08 of 15

Yummy Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Yummy Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars on a white dish
pomplemousse

"Made this in a 9x13 glass baking dish and added 10 minutes to the cooking time. Turned out perfectly with great reviews!" —Christina Grosshans

09 of 15

Banana Butter Pecan Cake

Slice of Banana Butter Pecan Cake on a black dish
Yoly

"It did not need the frosting as the cake is plenty sweet without it. Maybe it was because my bananas were overly ripe or because I used butterscotch chips (that's what I had) instead of toffee bits. Either way, I did not frost it. Good recipe considering it comes from a box mix." —Yoly

10 of 15

Turtle Fudge Skillet Cake

cake with fudge, nuts, and caramel on top
Chef Mo

This indulgent dessert starts with a box of devils' food cake mix and goes on to achieve greatness with melted chocolate, chopped pecans, and caramel sauce over the top.

11 of 15

Sock it to Me Cake III

Sock it to Me Cake III with a slice cut
LibertyBelle78

A hidden tunnel of cinnamon sugar and nuts is baked right into this scrumptious Bundt cake. MNM6467 says, "Awesome moist delicious cake! Only thing better is MORE of it! This cake didn't even last a day at my house."

12 of 15

Chocolate Candy Bar Cake

Chocolate Candy Bar Cake
Eoleksa

Here's a great way to use up some of that extra Halloween candy. JAZZY-GIRL says, "I made this once for a potluck at work and now, I'm not 'allowed' to ever bring anything else except this. Everyone loved it!"

13 of 15

Glazed Apple Cider Cake

Glazed Apple Cider Cake on white plates
Molly

Beccabo73 says, "This is a super easy dressed-up Bundt cake recipe that tastes like an apple cider donut! It's definitely a fall family favorite in our house."

14 of 15

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with a Brown Sugar Glaze

two slices of Pumpkin Coffee Cake with a Brown Sugar Glaze on a white dish
lutzflcat

Yellow cake mix and pumpkin purée get spiced up and baked with streusel topping and drenched with a brown sugar glaze to create this 5-star delight.

15 of 15

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Cake

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Cake on a glass dish
dubosefamily

That's right. Two ingredients. A box of spice cake plus a can of pumpkin purée add up to a simple, delicious cake. That said, many reviewers opted to add two or three eggs to the mix and said that liked it even better. You could top it with cream cheese frosting, if you wish.

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