The Last Piece

I love reading Mutts! It's one of my favorite Sunday cartoons. And this one is so true- there's always room for one more piece of pumpkin pie or on this cake pumpkin pie cake. This is a dessert I made along with Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie to take to my MIL's for Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingrid of 3B's reminded me of this wonderful pumpkin dessert. She called me up one day oohing and ahhing over a recipe called pumpkin cobbler. I thought "ooh that sounds interesting" and the more she described it I knew exactly what she was talking about. She was talking about a recipe I had tried several years ago that I called Pumpkin Pie Cake. I've seen people call it pumpkin crunch and pumpkin dump cake. Whatever you call it, I'm sure you'll agree with me that it is delicious.

This is a very simple recipe that consists of a couple small cans of pumpkin, a few eggs, a can of evaporated milk, spices, a box of yellow cake mix, butter and nuts. It's basically a pumpkin pie custard on the bottom, then you sprinkle a cake mix over the pumpkin, then drizzle butter over it. Top with nuts if desired. It's delish! Thank you Ingrid for reminding me about this dessert!

The custard is creamy just like the pie minus the crust and the topping is crunchy, buttery, sweet, and nutty. I like it cold just like my pumpkin pie but it's equally good at room temperature. The hardest part is waiting for the cake to cool completely. And this dessert stays fresh for several days. A double bonus.

Pumpkin Pie Cake from 3B's and Cooks.com

• 2 - 15 oz. cans pumpkin puree
• 1 - 12 fluid oz. can evaporated milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 -(18.25 oz.) package yellow or spice cake mix
• 3/4 cup butter (see note)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350°F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the pumpkin mixture. Melt the butter or margarine, and drizzle it over the cake mix. Sprinkle nuts over the top.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until done.

NOTE: I upped the butter from 3/4 cup butter to 1 full cup.

Spice cake would be good here too. Just ask Ingrid :-)