It’s Christmas Eve, and I’m sitting here sipping on some eggnog and listening to Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker by the London Symphony Orchestra on our brand new soundbar—underneath the glow of the white Christmas lights.
One could say I adore Christmas, no?
It’s my favorite holiday, one that I celebrate for almost the entire month of November & December. I love my Christmas traditions and love making new ones, as well.
Unfortunately, both Rob and I have to work on Christmas Day, so we had our Christmas dinner yesterday. I had to work yesterday too, so we had to keep our Christmas meal simple. I marinated the turkey breast the night before, made the Pepperidge Farm stuffing the night before (see, nothing fancy here!), so day of all Rob had to do was pop the turkey in the oven and peel potatoes!
Our meal was perfect, and we rounded it off with a nice hearty helping of Pumpkin Pie Cake. A few weeks prior, I had to take a work trip to Muskogee, Oklahoma, which is about 2 hours northeast of OKC. My reporter and I are both big foodies, so she looked up the best places to have lunch. We found the cutest little restaurant and bakery called Harmony House and had to stop in. The waitress was extremely cordial, there were cookie samples at our table (each and every one of them was good!) and we both decided to try their specialty sandwich on homemade pita bread. It was fantastic! The restaurant itself looked like a place right out of an episode of Gilmore Girls, it was so cozy and inviting.
Of course, we couldn’t leave without sampling their desserts! It was a bakery, after all. Mireya (my reporter) got the most luscious chocolate bread pudding, and I got a less sweet dessert called “Pumpkin Pie Cake”. It was so impressive! I’m a fan of slightly sweet desserts, not rot-your-teeth desserts, and this hit the spot. It was almost like a pumpkin cobbler, the “cake” part being a crumbly mess of deliciousness.
While we were checking out, I noticed a couple of spiral-bound cookbooks they had for sale of their coveted recipes. Of course I had to buy one! $15 was a pretty steep price, but I had to have their recipe for that Pumpkin Pie Cake (and their honey mustard dressing). I’m so glad I picked up a copy, because this pumpkin pie cake was the cherry on top for our Christmas feast!
Pumpkin Pie Cake
A pumpkin dessert that is a mix of a pumpkin pie, cobbler, and cake.
Ingredients
- 2 (15oz) cans pumpkin
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. cloves
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 1/2 stick unsalted butter
Directions
- In a large bowl, beat canned pumpkin with eggs. Add evaporated sugar, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and salt. Beat until everything is well combined.
- Spray a 13×9″ baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour pumpkin mixture into pan, spread out evenly with a spatula.
- Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the pumpkin mixture evenly. Top with chopped pecans and then drizzle butter over the top evenly.
- Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until browned.
Step-By-Step Instructions
In a large bowl, beat pumpkin with eggs and sugar.
Add evaporated milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt. Beat until well combined.
Spray a 13×9″ baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour pumpkin mixture into baking dish and spread evenly with a spatula.
Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the pumpkin mixture. Spread out evenly with your hands.
Sprinkle nuts over the cake mix and then drizzle butter evenly over the top.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until browned and set.
leencuisine.com 
Merry Christmas! Your meal and that cake looks delish!
Thank you! Hope you have a Merry Christmas 🎄
Thank you!