Pumpkin Pie Cake

This cake is out of this world, especially when it is warm out of the oven. It's ten times better than plain old pumpkin pie, and it has practically no calories. Okay, so maybe I exaggerated on that last part, but you can just have a Diet Coke to compensate. :)

Pumpkin Pie Cake

1 29-oz can pumpkin (not pie filling)
4 eggs
1 13-oz can evaporated milk
1 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 c chopped nuts

1 c melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Beat together pumpkin, eggs, evaporated milk, and spices in a large bowl. Pour into an ungreased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin mixture, then sprinkle nuts over cake mix. Pour melted butter over top. Bake for one hour. (It won't look done, but if goes longer, it will dry up.) Serve plain or with Cool Whip.

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

I got this recipe from a Taste of Home cookbook years ago, and these are officially my favorite cupcakes ever. The PB cups act as a frosting, so these are a nice quick & easy option. I actually prefer the Wal-Mart brand PB cups to Reese's, because I think the smoother texture of the peanut butter works better for this particular recipe. (Don't be hating, now!)

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

1/3 c shortening
1/3 c peanut butter
1 1/4 c brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 c flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 c milk
16 mini PB cups

Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl, cream the shortening, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Fill paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup batter. Unwrap peanut butter cups and place in center of batter till the top of the cup is level with the batter. Bake 22-24 minutes or until toothpick inserted at an angle toward the center comes out clean.

Butterfinger Cake

This bad boy is rich! It is one of those that tastes better the longer it sits in the fridge - assuming, of course, that it lasts that long.

Butterfinger Cake

1 German chocolate cake mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 large butterfinger bars, crushed
8 oz Cool Whip

Prepare and bake cake as directed. Remove from oven and punch holes in cake with the handle of a wooden spoon. Pour milk over cake. With oven turned off, place cake back in oven for a few minutes until milk soaks into cake. Sprinkle candy bars over cake. When cooled, top with Cool Whip. Refrigerate.

Mississippi Mud Cake

I've found that there's more than one version of Mississippi Mud Cake. Ours is more like a brownie loaded with marshmallows and a thick layer of frosting. If the frosting is warm enough, it should be pourable. This will make it much easier to frost the cake. We like to use more than 12 marshmallows, though - in fact, we usually cover the cake in them!

Mississippi Mud Cake

2 c sugar
1 c shortening
4 eggs
1 1/2 c flour
1/3 c cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
2 c chopped pecans, divided
12 (or more) large marshmallows
1 box powdered sugar
1/3 c cocoa
1 c butter or margarine, melted
1/2 c evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 300. Cream sugar and shortening in a large bowl. Using a mixer, beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift flour, cocoa, and salt. Stir into first mixture. Stir in pecans. Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 pan. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place marshmallows on cake. Bake 10 minutes longer at 350. Remove from oven. While cake is still warm, mix remaining ingredients and frost cake.

Dad's Favorite Chocolate Cake

This is the cake Dad likes best. His mother made it for years, and she always called it "Mrs. Pace's Chocolate Cake." Doesn't matter what you call it - it's rich and tasty and ooey gooey. :) Dad likes it with buttercream frosting; I personally prefer chocolate. You can use whatever you like.

Dad's Favorite Chocolate Cake

3/4 c water
1/2 c cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
2 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together water and cocoa. Stirring frequently, cook until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow to cool while mixing remaining ingredients.

In a medium bowl, beat together sugar, eggs, and oil. Sift in flour, soda, and salt. Stir in well blended. Pour in lightly greased 9x13 pan. Bake 30 minutes.

Apricot Nectar Cake

We've made this many times over the years, and although you could use other types of nectar, apricot is definitely my favorite. It can be a little difficult to find, though - usually it's with the fruit juices, but I have found it in ethnic foods a time or two.

The cake can be baked in an angel food cake pan, bundt pan, or, as we prefer, a 9x13 cake pan. You may need to adjust times accordingly. Either way, it comes out ridiculously moist and delicious.

Apricot Nectar Cake

1 pkg lemon cake mix
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 can apricot nectar, divided
4 eggs
1 c powdered sguar

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine lemon cake mix, sugar, vegetable oil, 1 cup of apricot nectar, and eggs. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. For angel food pan, bake 25-30 minutes. For 9x13, bake 30-35 minutes. Allow cake to cool 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk powdered sugar with approximately 1/4 c apricot nectar to make glaze. Add nectar or powdered sugar to achieve desired consistency. Pour over cake. Allow to sit an hour or so before serving.

Peanut Butter Crunch Cake

This cake doesn't have frosting, and it doesn't need it. It had a streusel-like topping and is delicious warm.

Peanut Butter Crunch Cake

1 pkg. Duncan Hines Moist yellow cake mix
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c chunky peanut butter
1 c water
1/4 c vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (I prefer to use mini chocolate chips)
1/2 c peanut butter chips
1/2 c chopped peanut

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 9x13 pan. In a large bowl, use a mixer to combine cake mix, brown sugar, and peanut butter at low speed until crumbly. Reserve 1/2 cup of the mixture. To the remaining mixture, add water, oil, and eggs. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in 1/4 cup each of the peanut butter and chocolate chips. Pour batter into pan. Combine reserved mixture and remaining chips; sprinkle over batter. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Miss Frances' Blueberry Surprise Cake

One summer I interned at a Wal-Mart Distribution center in South Carolina. The customer service coordinator was Miss Frances, a precious older lady who liked to bake. She brought this cake in one day, and it is to die for, I promise.

Miss Frances' Blueberry Surprise Cake

1 can blueberry pie filling (Lucky Leaf, heavy syrup)
3 c. sifted cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 c sugar
1 c butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 c sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

Topping
1/4 c. cake flour
3 tbsp butter
1/4 c sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Line a 9x13 cake pan with foil and generously grease the foil. Sift flour once. Add baking powder, soda, and sugar and sift into mixing bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat well to blend. Spread half the batter evenly in prepared pan.Spoon pie filling on top, spreading gently but evenly. Spread remaining batter over pie filling as evenly as possible. Combine flour, butter and sugar to make a crumb topping. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake 45 minutes. Cool in pan before serving.

Gooey Butter Cake

This is a classic, made popular again by Paula Deen. Personally, I prefer my version to the slabs you buy at Wal-Mart, but hey - that's just me. :)

True story - this is the first cake I ever made by myself. I was about eleven years old, and I was so proud of my handiwork. I popped it in the oven, and waited... and waited... and waited... An hour later, it still wasn't done, and I couldn't figure out why.

That was when Mom kindly reminded me that you actually have to turn the oven on before items inside will get warm. :)

Gooey Butter Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 stick melted butter
8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened to room temp
1 box powdered sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350. Mix cake mix, one egg, and butter. Press into a 9x13 cake pan (light sprayed or greased). Cream together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and eggs. Pour over cake layer. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until slightly browned.

Strawberry Daiquiri Cake

Okay, so this is almost the same thing as the Lemonade Cake, but the taste is so different that I thought it warranted its own post. :)

Strawberry Daiquiri Cake

1 strawberry cake mix (I like Duncan Hines)
6 oz. frozen strawberry daiquiri mix, thawed (Bacardi)
3/4 c. powdered sugar
8-oz tub Cool Whip

Make cake according to directions. Allow to cool 15 minutes, then poke holes all the way through with a knife. Whisk together daiquiri mix and powdered sugar until smooth and pour over cake. Refrigerate until absorbed into cake, then frost with Cool Whip. Store in refrigerator.

Mrs. Betty's Strawberry Cake

A super-sweet lady at Mom's church brought over this cake after Mom had surgery. It was a fantastic cake, and I promptly had to get her recipe. The note on the recipe said that it was best the longer it stayed in the fridge, but I wouldn't know - I think it only lasted two days!

Mrs. Betty's Strawberry Cake

2 c. self-rising flour
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 c. canola oil
1 c. milk
1/4 c. mashed sweetened strawberries
1 sm box dry strawberry jello

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients and pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Icing
1/2 stick softened margarine
3-4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. mashed sweetened strawberries

Mix all until smooth - may need to add powdered sugar or strawberries to get an appropriate spreading consistency. Ice cake and store in refrigerator.