{"id":991,"date":"2025-11-28T20:29:55","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T20:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=991"},"modified":"2025-11-28T20:29:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T20:29:55","slug":"my-great-aunts-famous-pumpkin-cake-turns-boxed-mix-into-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=991","title":{"rendered":"My Great Aunt\u2019s Famous Pumpkin Cake Turns Boxed Mix Into ‘Magic’"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Every family has heirloom recipes that they can\u2019t imagine a holiday without. Mine consists of the\u00a0pumpkin roll\u00a0my great aunt used to make for Thanksgiving, the\u00a0Croatian nut roll<\/a>\u00a0my grandma insisted on having for Christmas, and my mom\u2019s Polish pound cake that\u2019s so good we sometimes make two and freeze one for later.\n<\/p>\n

We still haven\u2019t perfected the pumpkin roll since my great-aunt passed away, but we try every year. And, even though I don\u2019t even like my grandma\u2019s nut roll, I can\u2019t fathom a holiday without it now that she\u2019s gone.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

However, it wasn\u2019t until recently that my family recalled another favorite that was a signature at holiday gatherings but has been lost to time: my great aunt\u2019s pumpkin cake.\n<\/p>\n

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How to Make My Great Aunt’s Pumpkin Magic Cake <\/span> <\/h2>\n
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Dotdash Meredith Food Studios<\/p>\n

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The original recipe came from Valerie Bertinelli\u2019s Food Network show, \u201cValerie\u2019s Home Cooking,\u201d as one of her many \u201clove cakes.\u201d Bertinelli\u2019s cakes follow the same pattern but have different seasonal ingredients. However, the secret to the dessert\u2014and why Bertinelli swears by it for so many occasions\u2014is that the cake batter and creamy cheesecake-like layer switch places in the oven.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

So, the pumpkin cake starts with a box of spiced cake mix\u2014prepared as the box says\u2014and gets topped with a mixture of pumpkin and cream cheese. Once baked, the layers flip in the oven\u2014practically like magic\u2014to give you the decadent layer on the bottom with the fluffy, airy cake on top.\n<\/p>\n

The cake is then finished with a pumpkin pudding frosting for the perfect sweet dessert to bring to any fall or winter party.\n<\/p>\n

When my aunt made the cake, she\u2019d follow Bertinelli\u2019s recipe that called for ricotta and mascarpone in the cheesecake-like filling and mascarpone in the frosting. However, to make it even easier on you (and your wallet), the Allrecipes test kitchen developed a Pumpkin Magic Cake recipe that uses cream cheese for the second layer and whipped cream for the frosting.\n<\/p>\n

With the boxed mix and simple layers, this cake is one of the easiest desserts to make that will wow the crowd with flavor.\n<\/p>\n

Now that I\u2019ve unearthed this family favorite\u2014and found an even easier version\u2014I\u2019m sure my great aunt\u2019s favorite holiday cake will be a staple at my family gatherings once more.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Every family has heirloom recipes that they can\u2019t imagine a holiday without. Mine consists of the\u00a0pumpkin roll\u00a0my great aunt used to make for Thanksgiving, the\u00a0Croatian nut roll\u00a0my grandma insisted on having for Christmas, and my mom\u2019s Polish pound cake that\u2019s so good we sometimes make two and freeze one for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kitchen-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}