Easiest Ever 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Cake
Cake:
- 1 box spice cake mix
- 2 eggs
- 1 – 15 oz. can pureed pumpkin
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Frosting & Trimmings:
- 1 can pre-made cream cheese frosting
- Ground cinnamon
- 1 cake cone (the kind you use for ice-cream)
- Red, yellow, and green food coloring
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray your bundt cake pan with baking spray, or grease with shortening or vegetable oil.
- Beat cake mix, pumpkin, and eggs together until well-mixed.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from one of the thick areas of the cake. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan. Turn over onto a round serving plate.
- Add about 1/2 tsp. to the can of frosting, and then divide the frosting. 3/4 of it in one bowl, and 1/4 in another. Add enough red and yellow food coloring to the larger portion to create a “pumpkin” orange color. To the smaller portion, add green. This will be for the “stem.”
- Ice your cake with the orange frosting, and coat the outside of the ice-cream cone in green frosting. Then place it in the middle of the cake, creating the stem of the pumpkin. If you like, you can pipe “vines” onto the cake in green icing.
This cake is a huge hit at my house this time each year (Liz’s birthday is near Halloween, and this year, she specifically requested this cake as her birthday cake), and I promise you won’t be disappointed either. It’s awesomely moist and delicious, especially for how insanely stupid-easy it is to throw together. You don’t have to use a bundt pan or make it look like a pumpkin (just omit the food coloring and ice-cream cone), but if you don’t, you will need to adjust the baking time and watch the cake closely. Note also that because there’s no oil, this cake is a little better on the waist than standard oil-in cake, and about 100x more moist! Not only that, but it even looks like a pumpkin. What’s not to like?
Best Roasted Pumpkin Seeds You’ll Ever Eat
INGREDIENTS:
- 1-2 C. raw, peeled pumpkin/ sunflower seeds (buy them or DIY)
- 2 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Paprika
- Seasoned salt
- Cayenne pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Cooking spray (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
- In a bowl, mix the seeds with the Worcestershire sauce and let them soak for about 10 minutes, until they’ve absorbed a good bit of the liquid. Stir them a few times in between.
- Coat with an even sprinkling of each of the dry ingredients before coating with a drizzle of E.V.O.O.
- Spread evenly onto a baking sheet that’s been covered with greased foil or parchment paper (un-greased) in a single layer.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 320, then take them out, give them a stir, and return to oven for another 3 minutes.
- Remove them and spread them in a single layer onto a double-layer of paper towels until they’re cool (that step is important).
This is my new recipe this year! I’ve adapted and changed my pumpkin seed recipe lots of times, and this is the one that I’ve really come to love. The big kicker? Using peeled seeds. It makes for a much quicker journey from bowl-to-stomach. Also there’s no choking on the tough shell, and no spitting. Just pure, simple enjoyment. You can buy the seeds already peeled at some regular grocery stores and most every bulk food store, or if you’re up to the task, peel them yourself at home. There are videos on this stuff on Youtube! Also, due to the last step of the process, these keep in a container incredibly well without getting stale or soggy.
Super Light-n-Fluffy Pumpkin Pie Dip
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 – 15 oz. can pureed pumpkin
- 1 – 8 oz. block cream cheese
- 1/2 – 8 oz. container light Cool Whip
- 1 – 4 oz. pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 1/2 C. milk
- 1 tbs. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 C. sugar
DIRECTIONS:
- Whisk together milk, pudding mix, cinnamon, & pumpkin pie spice until smooth & thick.
- Beat into softened cream cheese with an electric mixer.
- Add all ingredients EXCEPT Cool Whip, continuing to beat together.
- Gently fold in Cool Whip, mixing thoroughly.
- Chill for 3 hours prior to serving.
This stuff is super delicious and pretty easy to throw together. The best part is, it’s actually several recipes in one! You can use it as a delicious filling for all kinds of pastries, cakes, and even cannoli, with a few simple additions (mix in some mini chocolate chips, then top the cannoli with powdered sugar and a drizzle of caramel!). When serving it as a dip, serve it with apple slices, vanilla wafers, ginger snaps, and graham crackers. You won’t be sorry. To snooty it up a little, layer it in a trifle dish with sponge cake cubes and ginger snap crumbs.
Awesomely Simple Caramel Apple Dip
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 – 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 C. brown sugar
- Caramel topping
- 2 – 3 large granny smith apples, sliced
- lemon juice
- Chopped nuts of choice (roasted peanuts, pecans, walnuts, or almonds)
DIRECTIONS:
- Cream together the cream cheese and brown sugar until there are no lumps. You can even add a pinch of cinnamon if you like, but totally not necessary.
- Spread it onto a serving plate or platter, leaving a 2″ border all the way around the edge.
- Toss all the slices of apple in a freezer bag with a couple tablespoons of lemon juice. Shake to coat.
- Arrange the apples around the outside edge of the plate in an overlapping pattern, refrigerating the rest of the apple in the bag for later.
- Over the cream cheese mixture, drizzle the caramel topping in whatever pattern you like (spiral, zig-zag, criss-cross, you know the drill), and sprinkle over with chopped nuts.
This recipe is an old standard, and has been in my family for years (and probably yours too!). So quick and simple to put together, yet ridiculously delicious. Where the “caramel topping” is concerned, you can certainly just go with whatever caramel ice-cream topping you can find. The other option is using the good stuff, Marzetti’s brand caramel apple dip, that comes in a tub. Heat it up a little bit in the microwave to pour over the top of your cream cheese mixture. Good stuff! If you serve this at a party, it will probably all be gone by the end, and you will probably get all kinds of complements, and people will probably ask for the recipe, and you will probably be a hero. Probably. Just saying.
Crock Pot Mulled Hot Apple Cider
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 Gallon fresh apple cider
- 1/4 C. brown sugar
- 1-2 tbs. whole allspice
- 1-2 tbs. whole cloves
- 4-5 whole cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 orange, cut into wedges (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
- Throw everything together in a crock put on high
- Once it’s hot, turn it to low and let it brew for at least an hour.
- Serve hot. Folks can ladle into mugs from the crock pot, or you can forego the crockpot altogether and use a pot on the stove before transferring to a carafe.
Hot cider is a treat in any season, but it makes your house smell like amazing fall and winter things. It’s such a comforting, warm beverage, and let’s face it… who doesn’t like cider? For an adult Halloween party, you could even gussy it up with a little of your favorite poison… caramel flavored vodka would prevent it from being super-obvious, and then you’d have amazing caramel apple spiced cider with a little twist. If you prefer a stronger, more present “threat,” Bourbon, Rum, or Brandy would also work well.
Note: images of caramel apple dip and pumpkin bundt credit to Google Images.
The Un-Snooty Foodie 