Glazed Pumpkin Mini-Cakes

For the Family Reunion

October 9, 2011

Turn oven to 350 degrees

Prep time: A couple of hours

Bake time: 11 minutes

Ingredients:
1 box Spice cake mix, dry
1-15 oz can pumpkin
1 container Cream Cheese frosting

Open the cake mix box. Either end will do. Remove the bag of cake mix. Using scissors cut open the bag of cake mix. Pour the dry cake mix into a mixing bowl. With a clean kitchen towel, wipe your brow.

Using a can opener, remove one end of the can of pumpkin. This can be a little time consuming because the opener invariably jams and won't open 1/8" of the can and you have to turn the handle clockwise, then counter-clockwise and repeat until you've broken a fingernail. Grab a paring knife and carefully lift the lid up. Take a break.

Make a well in the dry cake mix and dump the pumpkin into the bowl. Your favorite wooden spoon or spatula will be needed to stir these ingredients together until it's mixed well. There may be some cake mix lumps, but a few are OK; unless you’re a perfectionist and OCD as I am.  Stir.  Stir.  Stir.

Grease a mini-cupcake pan using Q-tips and Crisco. (Sure, you can use cooking spray, but really, would Grandma Collett have cut corners?  Sorry, Grandma…I used spray.) A melon ball/ice cream/cookie scoop works great to get the batter in the cake pan and ensures each mini-cake is nearly the same size so there are no fights over who got the biggest piece of cake. 

Bake.  While the morsels are baking, take about half of the container of frosting and place it in a small bowl. Thin the frosting in the bowl with a bit of milk; maybe a tablespoon or two.  Set this aside.  Measure out one tablespoon of frosting from what is left in the container. Set this aside as well.

Remove the cakes from the oven and cool a bit.  Let the cakes cool for a few minutes, as well.  While they cool, eat the teaspoon of frosting (Yes, it was a tablespoon, but you know you’ve already eaten most of it.) and place a baking rack in a sheet cake pan.  Remove the cakes from the baking pan and place them on the baking rack.  Using the thinned frosting in the bowl, drizzle about ½ a teaspoon of frosting on each of the cakes.  Viola!  Glazed Pumpkin Mini-Cakes.  Put your feet up and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

NOTE:  After all the compliments I received on these cakes, I couldn’t bring myself to say, "Easy! Just dump the pumpkin in the cake mix.  Stir well.  Put in mini-cake pans.  Bake for 11 minutes.  Frost."  Could I?