I tried the canned pumpkin and cake mix hack with my homemade spice cake mix!

Kris had mentioned using canned pumpkin with a box of spice cake mix in the comments from my post on gingerbread with homemade spice cake mix last week.  Kris said she uses 1 box of spice cake mix, 1 can of pumpkin puree, and 1/2 cup of water, mixed together then baked in a 9 X 13-inch baker. I said I might give it a try with my homemade spice cake mix. I did. And it worked beautifully and was delicious!

Here's what I did:

I had a little homemade spice cake mix leftover but not nearly enough for this application. So I made another batch and added it to my leftover mix, until I had about 3  1/3 cups of homemade spice cake mix (the amount that is roughly what you get in a commercial box of cake mix).

I stirred in one 15-oz can of pumpkin puree and a little over 1/2 cup of water (about 1 extra tablespoon until the mixture looked spreadable, like brownie batter).

I spread this mixture in a buttered 9 X 13-inch Pyrex baking dish. It was a thick batter, not thin like regular cake batter. 

I baked it at 350 F for almost exactly 30 minutes, using a toothpick to determine doneness.

After it cooled, I topped it with the cream cheese topping below.

Reduced-Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting (enough for 12 cupcakes or a thin layer on a 1/4 sheet cake -- 9 X 13 inch)

Mix together until smooth:

• 4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
• 2 to 3 tablespoons butter, very soft
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

After the mixture is smooth, refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up, then spread on cake(s).

This is a dense cake that I would say is a lot like a snack cake, but lower in fat (no added oil). With the not-terribly-sweet cream cheese frosting, the cake makes a decent breakfast cake in addition to being good for desserts and snacks.

Thanks Kris for sharing this idea. I'm happy to say that it worked well with the homemade spice cake mix.

If you're following a cake mix hack using a homemade cake mix, you'll want about 3  1/4 to 3  1/3 cups of your homemade cake mix. You may find, as I did, that homemade cake mix is possibly denser than commercial mixes. So slightly less mix (the 3  1/4 cup amount) or else slightly more water/liquid (as in 1 extra tablespoon for the recipe) may be appropriate.

If you are substituting pumpkin that you cooked and pureed at home, the 1/2 cup water may be just right for 3  1/3 cups of homemade cake mix. Home-cooked pumpkin puree is often slightly more watery than commercially canned puree.

Happy, healthy baking!