Pumpkin Praline Cake starts with a boxed cake mix and ends with a homemade brown sugar pecan topping. Easy to make, this moist and delicious Bundt Cake is full of autumn flavor.
Being There
Not long ago a family in my church needed help with a few meals. I wanted to be there for them. I gladly signed up to bring a dessert with the best of intentions. Unfortunately, I am not always strong in the planning department. When the day arrived, I found myself short of time and long on demands from my own family schedule. I wondered what I should do.
I suppose I could have run to the store to pick something up, ready made. There are lots of choices at the local market and I’m sure I could have found something that would have tasted good and filled out the meal just fine. That would have been a practical solution.
Still, I couldn’t help feeling that defeated the purpose of what I had signed up to do. I have this idea that thoughtfully preparing the food is a meaningful part of the process of providing a meal. Being mindful of someone else and their needs while spending time in the kitchen is a gift I both offer and receive. It felt important so I set aside some time in the afternoon to bake.
What to Bake?
Next, I needed to figure out what I was going to make. Rummaginig through my pantry for inspiration, I found a yellow cake mix and a can of pumpkin. That reminded me of the recipe for Pumpkin Praline Cake, a cake I have made many times before. This cake can be put together fairly quickly. What’s more it is quite reliable and rather forgiving. It takes no special skill and is not finicky about the weather or drafts or the temperature of the ingredients. While it doesn’t ask for all that much it still shows up, fresh and warm and from my own kitchen.
I do like to cook and, at times, I have the freedom and opportunity to make some fabulous desserts from scratch. On another day I might have pushed the cake mix aside. Or I might have stressed about my personal expectations and ended up with a rushed disaster and a lot of excuses. Sometimes pride and ambition makes us worry about things like that. And sometimes our ideals of simplicity only serve to complicate our lives.
An Easy Autumn Cake
My Pumpkin Praline Cake turned out just as expected. The act of making the cake, of pouring and stirring and placing it in the oven, of smelling the pleasing aroma as it baked, of glazing it and arranging it on a tray, still warm, felt good. Acting out my intention seemed more important than whether or not some of the ingredients came from a mix. I made the cake with purpose and offered it with love. Sometimes the fussy standards we set for ourselves are just not the point. What matters is taking the time to care.
Pumpkin Praline Cake
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy12
servings10
minutes1
hour1
hour10
minutesThis moist and delicious pumpkin cake, made with a praline filling and glaze, starts with a boxed cake mix. Easy to make, it is full of autumn flavor and a delight to share.
Ingredients
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
4 eggs
- Praline topping/glaze:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped pecans
Directions
- Combine cake mix, pumpkin, brown sugar, oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Beat for 1 minute. Add eggs. Beat 2 minutes more. Pour into greased bundt pan.
- Make the praline topping: Melt butter with brown sugar. Add nuts.
- Pour half of the praline topping mixture on top of the cake batter.
- Bake cake at 350F for 1 hour. Cool in pan for 15 minutes then invert onto plate.
- When cool, drizzle remaining praline topping/glaze on cake.
Sometimes I feel like cooking up a storm, and other days I can’t bear it.
This cake looks delicious, we don’t have that box mix here – and I occasionally miss it!
Kim – Thank you!
Christi – I do think there is more to cooking, and maybe especially baking, than just producing something to eat. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Grace – A little extra praline topping never hurts. And I think this cake would be great made with sweet potatoes. I think I’ll try that next time.
Cathy – This cake does travel well. Most cakes I make with a cake mix hold together extremely well and the praline topping dries so it won’t get mashed. I hope you enjoy it!
This cake looks so flavorful and moist. I’ll bet it travels well. My family is going to the beach for Thanksgiving. They’ll love it.
i just made something much like this, using sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin and apparently a quadruple batch of praline topping. 🙂 it’s glorious. 🙂
I love all the love that went into the baking of this cake. Mix or no, a hungry mouth couldn’t ask for a more wonderful gift from the hand of a friend.
I think this is a splendid cake, and going to book mark it to try. I love your photos they capture good food and fall into one. Thanks for a great post!