the great pumpkin

as promised…
Pumpkin Spice Cake

for the recipe…click on the recipe photo album to the left…
then on the picture of what looks like words.
(i was so confused on how to do this…
is there a better way?)

since i don’t know Ree the pioneer woman…i will post my own recipe.
not to steal from her…just show admiration.
i adore her blogs.

gather your ingredients and get them all pretty like a magazine photo shoot.
pretend like better homes & gardens may be stopping by.
make sure they look pleasing arranged by proper height…showing their good sides.
please ignore that my flour jar has no lid because i dropped it and it shattered on my floor.
i kept it for 12 years though…that’s not bad.
and make sure your nutmeg shows and isn’t hiding in the back like mine.
this is the mother-of-five cooking not martha.
i laughed thinking how she always has fancy brands and hard to find ingredients.
everything in my cupboard is generic brand.
go great value!
i love kroger!

Ree the pioneer woman also taught me about this amazing product.
i had never heard of it…cooking spray with flour already in it.
it saves time and mess…i love this stuff.
spray your 3 cake pans with it and set them aside.
(doesn’t it look like a gigantic can? it isn’t..it’s a normal size can)

cream the butter until smooth…then add sugars.
you can hang your recipe above your mixer too…without a picture.
you could draw one.
or if you happen to have the country living from october 2002 you can rip out the picture from that.
i bet someone reading this has it…don’t you?

add the eggs one at a time…beating until smooth.

combine the pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla in a separate bowl.
i have made this cake maybe 10 times and i have always used milk…never buttermilk.
if you have it or make it you can use it but if you don’t then just use milk.
then set it aside.

combine the flour, powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and soda in another bowl
yes…you will have alot of dirty dishes from this recipe.
it’s worth it.

alternate adding the flour and the pumpkin to the butter mixture in the mixing bowl.
beat this until it’s all smooth.
it will look fluffy and be kind of thick.
not like regular cake batter at all…because this is no regular cake.

fill up those 3 pans that were sitting and waiting so patiently on the side.
fill them evenly of course…you don’t want a funny looking cake later.
and it’s okay if your 3 pans are 3 different colors like mine…
or if they are the same that’s okay too.
it just shows you care about that kind of stuff and you have nicer pans than me.

put them in your hot oven.
set your timer for 20 minutes.
then sit back and wait to have your house smelling like pumpkin and fall.
your family will begin to wander in saying “what are you making?”
or “how long till it’s done?”
and “it smells so good!”
for 20 minutes you can decorate your home with fall decorations…
to make this cake feel at home when it’s finished.
it is a fall dessert.
you wouldn’t want it coming out of the oven and seeing your 4th of july decorations still out.
how embarrassing that would be.
let them cool in the pan when they are done (toothpick test them)
after 30 minutes pop them out of the pans onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

now you can make your frosting.
mmmmm…..

combine all the ingredients but the powdered sugar.

beat it really fast to get it very smooth…that cream cheese wants to keep some lumps.

add the powdered sugar…4 cups but i have added more the past 2 times??
i am not sure why.
it needs to be thick enough to ooze over the sides but not drip off the side of your cake.

you can begin assembling your cake when the cakes are cool.
you don’t want to get too anxious because the frosting gets melty and then it won’t look nearly so pretty.
you can put it on any kind of plate you want.
i usually use my cake stand because it has the big glass lid and when i walk by it i can see how pretty it is and see how much there is left and how many more fork-fulls i can sneak.

isn’t she beautiful?!
don’t you wish you were here?
i wish i could share it with you…and a cup a coffee.
i just happen to have pumpkin spice coffee in my hand right now.
it would be perfect.
but unfortunately…there is only one slice left.
it will be gone before you could get here.

so go make one for your family…
but just get enough ingredients for 2 because as soon as it’s gone they will ask for another.
kind of like those “give a mouse a cookie” books.