Easy Does It: Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Last year around Thanksgiving I was in the mood for some pumpkin-y desserts and needed to bring something to contribute to the Thanksgiving dinner at the home of my husband's grandparents. I often substitute pureed fruit (particularly applesauce) for the oil in cake mixes, so I thought subbing some canned pumpkin was worth a shot. Little did I know that the shot would go over with such a big bang.

This is possibly one of the easiest pumpkin recipes I know, if for no other reason than that it's basically a boxed cake mix with some pretty easy cream cheese frosting. All you need is a box of yellow or butter cake mix, eggs, a can of pureed pumpkin, some pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon and nutmeg with a pinch of ground cloves), a package of cream cheese, and some powdered sugar.

For the cake, substitute the canned pumpkin for all of the oil and half of the water that the mix calls for. (For example, if the box says to mix 1/2 cup of oil and 1 cup water, you'll use 1 cup of pumpkin and 1/2 cup of water.) You'll also want to add 1&1/2 - 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice (or an equal amount of mixed cinnamon, nutmeg, and a tiny bit of ground cloves.) Add the recommended number of eggs, and bake at the temperature and duration stated on the box. I usually make two 9-inch cake rounds so I can stack them on top of each other and layer some frosting in the middle. Yum!

The cream cheese frosting is ridiculously easy. Take 1 package of cream cheese and place it in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Now take 4 cups of powdered sugar and little by little add it to the cream cheese as you're mixing it with your mixer.  Add about a teaspoon of milk to help make it creamy and voila! A light and fluffy frosting that goes oh so well with your moist and spicy pumpkin cake!

To make a pretty cake, allow the layers to cool completely (I often put mine in the freezer for a couple of hours) and level off the top of one layer before frosting. For a cute garnish, place a candy pumpkin on the top, or for something more formal, try a small gourd with some fresh autumn leaves. (Washed first, of course!)