Pumpkin-Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I've made this cake more times than I can count. It's fast and easy to prepare and the frosted cake is really quite delicious. My calendar fills up quickly in the fall. I'm busy with meetings and committees that manage to keep my 9 x 13-inch baking pan in nearly constant use. The Silver Fox jokes that it in an election year  it never gets put away. That's a bit of an exaggeration, bit I will confess it does get used a lot.  I've  learned over the years, that people, especially volunteers,  tend to look for things that are not there. They may not eat a piece of cake but they want to know it's there. It makes them feel appreciated and I want them to know they are.  So, to please them, while keeping my own sanity, I tend to bake very simple things that look  more complicated than they actually are. This dump cake is well-traveled  and well-received. The original recipe was developed in the Pillsbury test kitchen and it is a gem of simplicity. The cake, which feeds a lot of people,  takes minutes to prepare and it is disappearingly delicious. If you have not already done so, I hope you will give this seasonal cake a try. Here's the recipe.

Pumpkin-Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

Cake

4 eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup raisins, if desired

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package (8-oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 to 3 teaspoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, if desired

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 15 x 10 x 1-inch pan with cooking spray.

2) Combine eggs, granulated sugar, oil and pumpkin in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Stir in raisins if using. Spread in pan.

3) Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool completely, about 2 hours.

4) In medium bowl, combine and beat cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until smooth and spreadable. Spread frosting over cake. Sprinkle with walnuts. Cut to desired size. For bars, cut into 7 rows by 7 rows. This recipe will make 49 bars. Store covered in refrigerator.

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