Pumpkin Spice Cake ~ A Fall Favorite

*** Thanks so much to Life As Mom for hosting last week's Tailgating themed Ultimate Recipe Swap that was sponsored by Frito-Lay! It was lots of fun and now I have lots of recipes that I want to try the next time we have a football party! Also, thanks to everyone that voted for my Better Than Going Out Nachos recipe! ***


Now, here's my recipe for this week's fall themed swap at Life as Mom's Ultimate Recipe Swap....

I really enjoy sitting under a blanket on my sofa with a big mug of cocoa on a brisk fall day, looking out my window and watching the pretty orange and red leaves falling from our trees in the yard, with a fire burning in the fireplace. The house all warm and cozy. The only thing to make a day like that better is to have the aroma of a spice cake baking in the oven floating through the house.

Now, I'm not much of a baker. In my entire life, I've only ever made two cakes from scratch. One was excellent and the other....well, not so much. So, I usually stick to baking cakes from a boxed mix.

While I was on Weight Watchers about 6 years ago, I often read the message boards. The craze at the time (not sure about now) was baking cakes using canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) instead of the eggs, water and oil that are supposed to be added to a boxed cake mix.

That was it. Just cake mix of your choice and a can of pumpkin. Mixed together and baked according to the directions on the box.

Well, since then, I've made the cake a bit differently. It's usually different every time I make it. Depending on what I have in my pantry or what I'm in the mood for. This is my favorite version (the frosting doesn't allow it to be Weight Watchers friendly...but is soooo good!):

Alison's Pumpkin Spice Cake

1 box spice cake mix (carrot cake mix works, too)
1 can of pumpkin
1 egg
1/4 cup apple sauce
chopped walnuts
tub of cream cheese frosting or whipped topping

Mix first five ingredients together as you would if you were making a traditional boxed cake. Bake according to the directions on the box, baking time varies depending on size of pan you are using.

Frost with cream cheese frosting. Or, like a lot of the Weight Watchers would do, just top each slice of cake with a dallup of fat free whipped topping.

Easy. Right?

Fall colored sprinkles or candy corn make nice decorations for this cake. Raisins would be good added into the mix along with the chopped walnuts.

I make this cake several times during the fall season and I even make it to take to Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house.