Celebration Pumpkin Cake

By Addie

“On Thanksgiving Day at Grandma's, we got to choose between pumpkin cake and pie for dessert.”

Ingredients

• 1 (18-ounce) package spice cake mix
• 1 (16-ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 3 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 (16-ounce) containers cream cheese frosting
• 1/3 cup caramel ice-cream topping
• Pecan halves

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.


Combine cake mix, pumpkin, eggs and butter in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer set at medium speed for 2 minutes. Divide batter evenly among prepared pans.


Bake until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely.


Place one cake layer on serving plate; cover with frosting. Repeat layers, ending with frosting. Frost sides of cake. Spread caramel topping over top of cake, letting some caramel drip down the sides. Decorate top of cake with pecan halves.
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Grandma's Secret Tip:

Embellishing a boxed mix with other ingredients was a trick Grandma used to save time in the kitchen yet produce baked goods that had made-from-scratch taste. But Grandma believed that if you didn't know the basics of baking, all your creativity wouldn't add up to a hill of beans. One important tip she shared was to test cakes and other baked goods for doneness at the minimum baking time. Grandma said this prevented over-baking and ensured a moist, tender texture.