Let’s eat pumpkin!

Fall and pumpkins just go together like peas and carrots, don’t they?

As soon as the weather even hints at chilly we adore chowing on pumpkin anything – bread, cake, muffins, pancakes, pie, and, of course, Pumpkin Dump Cake. 

Last night Ro wanted to make Pumpkin Dump Cake all by herself, so I handed her the recipe and sat back and waited for my plate of deliciousness.

Mmmmmm, love that stuff.

Sprinkling the cake on top is always fun (and I’ve noticed that Ro likes to lick her fingers afterwards when she thinks I don’t notice).

While Ro was busy baking, I made a couple dozen mini jack-o’-lanterns for her class party. Just wash your cutie oranges (or clementines) with a little bit of dish soap and warm water (scrub lightly with a veggie brush), dry them off, then make cute faces with a Sharpie marker. You’ll need more than one marker, because the wax still gets in your way a little:


Bing, timer went off! The whole house smells SO GOOD:


Now this is the hard part: let it cool and set up a little bit before ripping into it. Ok, you know I totally fail on that whole waiting part and end up with a steaming-hot bowl of pumpkin pudding. But there’s always the second piece to photograph for breakfast in the morning...


Mmmmmmmmm. I posted the recipe for this one before (and it’s cute to see the little bakers), but didn’t include pictures, so hope this will help.

Pumpkin Dump Cake (printable recipe)
1–29 oz. can pumpkin (note, this is the big can, two small cans will also work)
1 –12oz. can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 C. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 T. cinnamon

Mix above ingredients and pour into 10 x 14 cake pan, ungreased.  (I use my glass lasagna pan.)

Then:
1 box yellow cake mix – sprinkle over pumpkin mixture
1 C. finely chopped pecans – sprinkle onto cake mix
¾ C. melted butter – pour over everything
Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes (or longer -- until a knife in the center comes out clean, like a pumpkin pie – if you use a slightly smaller pan your cake will be thicker and will need to cook a little longer). I cooked this one last night for 55 minutes and I think it still could have gone a few minutes longer. Also, your pecans should be chopped a little finer than in these pics. I tried to fix them but got shooed out of the kitchen.