Autumn in a Pan: Pumpkin Caramel Skillet Cake with Maple Glaze

I’m going to make you a promise: This pumpkin cake will impress everyone who tries it. It will fill your kitchen with the sweet smell of homemade caramel sauce, the gentle and comforting spices of fall, and a warmth that cuts right through a bitterly cold wind. People often ask me for the recipe, and like a good Midwestern girl, I am happy to share!

Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened but not melted

1 cup pure pumpkin filling (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Maple Glaze

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare caramel sauce. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

To make the cake, prepare 12-inch skillet by rubbing bottom and sides with about 1 tablespoon of butter or generously spraying with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture, then add in sugar, butter, pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract.

Mix by hand until fully incorporated. Mixture will be thick.

Once it’s combined, press half of the mixture into the bottom of a prepared 12-inch skillet. Make sure the pumpkin cake batter goes halfway up the sides of the skillet.

Pour cooled caramel over pumpkin cake batter. Drop remaining pumpkin cake batter over the caramel by the spoonful. Try to cover the caramel as well as you can.

Bake for 22 to 28 minutes or until edges are firm and golden.

While cake is baking, prepare maple glaze.

Bring maple syrup and butter to a low boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly (about 2 minutes).

Remove from heat; gradually whisk in confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Whisk for about 1 minute or until mixture begins to thicken and cool slightly.

Remove cake from oven and allow to cool in skillet for 5 minutes. Pour maple glaze over cake and serve immediately.

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