Through the magical alchemy of heat and special ingredients, that flood of water has now made an ooey-gooey, oh-so-pumpkin-y caramel sauce…underneath the cake. Now do you believe in magic? You will when you taste this!

As your serving spoon cuts down through the crust, with a satisfying crunch of slight resistance, a gloriously moist pumpkin cake is revealed. Dip your spoon further down, all the way to the bottom of the baking dish, and there you will find the hidden treasure:  a rich, caramel sauce that you can spoon over the cake. Now isn’t this warm, autumn treat much more comforting than pumpkin pie?

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

¼ vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

For the Topping

1 cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1½ cups hot water

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Add pumpkin, oil and vanilla. Stir with a spatula until combined. Batter will be thick. Spread batter evenly into the bottom of prepared pan.

For Topping: Whisk together brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Pour hot water over the top.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, uncovered. (The cake will rise to the top and the sauce will be in the bottom.) Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Top each serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and chocolate chips, if desired. Enjoy!

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Quick Tip:  Store any leftovers, covered, in your refrigerator. Reheat in your microwave before serving..

Recipe and image courtesy of Holly at Life in the Lofthouse