I love Thanksgiving. It is probably my favorite food holiday. Every year we go to my parents house and mom cooks a giant turkey. She usually makes a lot of the side dishes as well although in recent years I’ve been getting home earlier and helping with the side dishes. My cousin Kristin makes the appetizers and I make the desserts. The entire family is there and it’s just a nice time.
To get to my parents I have to drive 2 1/2 hours. I usually work a half day on Wednesday so there isn’t a lot of time to make creative desserts to take home the next day. I look for desserts that are easy to make, easy to transport but really, really good.
Pumpkin is always a favorite at this time of year so I made a pumpkin pie dump cake. It’s called a dump cake because basically you dump everything in a bowl, mix it, pour it, then bake it. It only takes a few minutes and the result is pretty awesome. The bottom layer tastes like pumpkin pie while the top layer is crunchy and cake like. It’s like having two delicious pumpkin desserts rolled into one pan.
2. In a large bowl combine the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well and pour into a 9 x 13 pan.
3. Add the salt to the spice cake mix and sprinkle it on top of the pumpkin mixture.
4. Melt the butter and pour over top of the cake mix.
5. Bake for 55 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate until ready to serve.