Fluffy Pumpkin Cake

Ok, so just a quick post from a quick experiment before I get back to the less-than-sane amount of work I have right now. Since this is my blog, can I gripe for like two seconds? I have no idea how I am going to get a dissertation grant proposal, a manuscript, all my finals/final projects, and all of my grading done by Dec. 9th...and all that only to start my competency exam reading which I have not been able to touch...oh Jan. 11th, you will be a good day! Ok, ok...#firstworldproblems for sure! I love what I am doing, I actually want to spend time on all the work I listed above, I just am useless after about 12-14 hours of work and I need about 30 hours a day!

So, now that you are stressed for me, go make this and don't even feel guilty for cutting yourself a large slice!

What I used:

1 box of angel food cake mix

1 can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

about 1/2 cup of water

splash of vanilla (literally, I just splashed some in, maybe about a TBSP)

pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon to taste (I tasted the raw batter until I liked it)

Optional (choose 1 or 2)- chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, pecans, cool whip

What I did:

Preheat the oven to 325 and spray a 13x9 pan with non-stick spray. Note that the batter puffs up and would likely boil over a smaller pan! Dump angel food cake mix and pumpkin in a large bowl (it will puff up). Add water, vanilla, and about 1 tsp. of each pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. Stir until combined, then taste test the batter. Because this is an angel food cake it will have that slight sour taste, so you can add more spices if you want to down play that. The pumpkin flavor did not come through much for me when I tasted the batter, but did once it was baked. Pour this in the 13x9 pan and bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until the center is set and slightly firm to the touch.

Optionals: Chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, or pecans- approximately half-way through the baking time sprinkle 1/2 cup on the top of the cake...by not stirring them in you make the cake look prettier and get a hint of the flavor with less calories!

Cool whip- allow cake to cool and then top with cool whip as you would icing. Sprinkle with cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. If you serve the cake warm you could top individual pieces with the cool whip.

This was great- fluffy and light and probably perfect for ending a Thanksgiving Dinner! It did seem to get gooey as time went on, so unfortunately this is probably one to make the day you plan to serve it. Enjoy!