Friday, November 5, 2010

Jacque's Pumpkin Pie Cake


If you are a regular reader of Near to Nothing, you know that we like to tweak other people’s recipes.  In fact, when I cook, I rarely even use a recipe.  But Jacque’s Pumpkin Pie Cake is one recipe I do not mess with!  You just can’t improve upon perfection.  It was given to me by a sweet woman who has known my husband since he was in kindergarten.

I generally do not make dishes that call for mixes or ingredients that I do not normally keep in my pantry, but this one is worth it.  I have to plan ahead to make this because it calls for a box of cake mix and evaporated milk.  In the fall and winter I usually keep puréed pumpkin in my pantry or freezer.

If you are buying canned pumpkin, be sure to check the label carefully.  It is usually found right next to the cans of pumpkin pie filling.  You want straight pumpkin for this recipe.

Evaporated milk is milk that has had about 60% of the water removed.  Do not substitute sweetened condensed milk for evaporated milk.  Sweetened condensed milk has about 15% sugar added and is then condensed to about one-third of its original volume.  When baking with either of these milk products, I always use regular, not fat-free.

Jacque’s Pumpkin Pie Cake
4 eggs
20 oz. (2½ c.) evaporated milk
2½ c. pumpkin purée
1½ c. sugar
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 box yellow cake mix (vanilla is amazing too!)
1 stick butter, melted
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
Vanilla ice cream (optional)
Whipped cream (optional)






Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease 9x13 pan; set aside.  In large bowl, whisk eggs by hand to break up yolks and whites.  Add evaporated milk, pumpkin, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.  Whisk until smooth and blended well.  Pour into prepared pan.

Whisking the eggs first helps
incorporate them more
uniformly.













Pour cake mix into medium bowl.  Add melted butter and mix until all cake mix is wet.  Sprinkle over pumpkin mixture.  Sprinkle nuts on top.  Bake about 1 hour, until toothpick comes out clean.  Serve warm or chilled with ice cream and/or whipped cream.

Topping should be crumbly with
hardly any dry spots.


I prefer to serve this dessert
chilled with whipped cream.











I normally chop the nuts bigger,
but I was at the bottom of the bag.
















So simple, yet elegant enough to
look amazing on my china.
Note:  Ok, I did change one little thing.  I decreased the baking time from what Jacque wrote.  She lives at a higher elevation, and I live practically at sea level.

On a semi-related note, Kimiko promised a picture of our dad's grandkids pumpkins in her roasted pumpkin seed post.  You can find last year's pumpkins at the bottom of that post.  Here are this year's:


6 comments:

Crystal Malek said...

That looks incredible!! Me too, on not usually buying mixes. But it's good to be flexible enough to grab some when a recipe is too good not to. Some people I know won't even attempt a recipe if it has a mix or canned soup. Eh, every now and then it's not so bad. Thanks for the recipe!! Also, any chance that you could possibly provide recipes in a printer-friendly format? All text, no pics? That would be great.

Sumiko said...

Hi, Crystal! In our attempts to make Near to Nothing more user-friendly, I've been thinking about a printer-friendly format. I will have to consult some of my more computer-savvy friends. Enjoy the pumpkin pie cake!

Sumiko said...

Crystal, there is now a "Print Friendly" button!!! It will pop up a window that lets you print text and pics, all text, selected text, or a PDF!! Hope this helps!

Stephanie Jayne said...

Just enjoyed a delicious piece of this cake! My husband especially liked it. Oh and Trader Joe's has a great boxed cake that doesn't have all the crap that normal boxed cakes have. Just good old plain ingredients! I am definitely keeping this recipe.

Glenn Hervieux said...

Lesley Clark made this for lunch after church this past Sunday and suggested I check out your blog. It is really amazing. I love the layout and everything is so colorful and easy to read. The printer friendly software really makes your pages accessible to others. I'm going to pass the news on to others. Great job, ladies!

Glenn Hervieux

Megan said...

I just made this for the girls at work and they LOVED it! I heard words like "amazing" and "heaven" and several of them asked for the recipe. Plus it was super-easy to make! I'll definitely be making this one again. Thanks Sumiko!!

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