Pumpkin Cakes!

Need a last minute recipe for a Halloween potluck? These are my all time favorite Pumpkin spice cakes! Combine with a cinnamon spiked cream cheese frosting for a perfect pumpkin pairing.
This recipe is about as simple as they come and aside from the pumpkin, most of the other ingredients are probably hiding out in your cupboards as we speak....err......read.

You will need:
15oz Can-O-pumpkin
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

2 cups four
2tsp. baking soda
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
a dash of pumpkin pie spice

1. Combine the pumpkin, oil and sugar until smooth. Then add eggs one at a time, mixing each egg until combined. Finally, throw in that vanilla.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then combine slowly into wet mixture. Mix for 2 minutes then plop the batter into your pans.

3. Bake your cakes at 350 for about 20 minutes, The cake should be a golden brown and spring back slightly when poked.

4. let the pans cool on a rack for about 10 minutes, then remove cakes from pan and cool another 20-30 before attempting to frost.

For the frosting, I whipped up a simple cream cheese and added a bit of brown sugar and some cinnamon.  Here's what I used:

2- 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, also soft
2 cups confectioners sugar (that's powdered yo)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. cinnamon (Use less if yours is fresh ground or higher quality than the generic stuff I used)

1. Cream your butter, cream cheese, vanilla, lemon and brown sugar
2. Add in the confectioners sugar until nice and smooth.
3. Shake in your cinnamon and do a taste test!

Keep in mind, cream cheese frosting is not going to hold up a shape as well as a buttercream. So don't set your heart on making a nice swirly pattern on top of each cake. The frosting will just "relax" into a less prominent swirly pattern. It still looks pretty tinted and sprinkled, and I can promise you it will be much more delicious.