Simple 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Cake

If you know me at ALL, you probably know that I DO NOT love making dinner. Cooking is just something that I do to survive. I REALLY don’t LOVE it. BUT BAKING…that is a WHOLE other story. Because no matter HOW hard I try to make dinner taste good…it is NEVER gonna be as good as ANYTHING with chocolate chips or a cup of sugar…it just ISN’T!! The only thing that stands in the way of me and baking…TIME. I swear every time I find a recipe, it calls for ingredients I DON’T have, takes 2 hours, and uses words like sift and let stand…both of which I do not truly understand. SOOOOO that is why my go-to recipe has only 2 ingredients, works WITHOUT fail, takes hardly any time and ZERO skill, and tastes YUMMY. Super Simple 2 ingredient pumpkin cake FOR THE WIN!!

All you need is ONE boxed cake mix, (Spice and Carrot work the best) and a small can of pumpkin (I have used the large can too and it still works fine). Just mix the dry cake mix (do not add the eggs, oil, etc) and the can of pumpkin, until ALL dry mix is completely mixed in. It makes a thick batter…so don’t panic and add in the oil and eggs. BUT if you want a sweeter cake with a bit of a caramely vibe, you can throw in some butterscotch chips at this point. Or if you like a little more spice (like me) sprinkle in a bit more cinnamon. There is really no way to mess this batter up…it has ALWAYS worked for me no matter what wacky things I throw in.

ANDDD my favorite part…baking. You can choose to use a 9×9 for a thick cake (this is my favorite because it is nice and thick and moist). ORRR you can use a 9×13 for a thinner cake. ORRR you can use a muffin tin and make cupcakes (or call them muffins and eat them for breakfast like me). ORRR you can use a couple of bread pans and make loaves of quick bread. It is TRULY the best batter because it turns out NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO!! Whatever pan you choose, grease lightly to keep your goodies from sticking.

Here is where people get concerned because there are no TRIED and true rules. Just cook according to the times and temps on the back of your cake mix and you should be safe. BUT use the good old toothpick method to test before you remove your cake from the oven because cooking times VARY. And because it is a thick batter, it does take some time to cook all the way through. When the toothpick comes out clean…ding…the cake is ready!!!

Ok…so there is ONE more thing that makes this EVEN better. Whipped CREAM!! Add some whipped cream/cool whip and voila. We call this Pumpkin Pie cake and it NEVER lasts long at our house. Or if cream cheese frosting is more your jam…that tastes amazing too. Or vanilla ice-cream in not a bad idea either. WELLLL you get the picture…this is just good no matter what. 15 years in a row for this recipe at our house, and I don’t see me changing ANY time soon. Simple…check. Pumkin-y…check. Cheap…check. Eating it as I type…double check.

Happy Pumpkin Spicey Baking. Let’s chit chat soon. Jess

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