This Easy 3-Ingredient Fall Cake Starts With A 6-Pound Can Of Pumpkin

By Dylan Murray
Canned pumpkin beside two small pumpkins Bhofack2/Getty Images
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Folks would consider many dishes autumn foods, but when it comes to desserts, cakes and pies with warm flavors are often the go-to for the beloved season. While pumpkin pie has long been the most iconic autumn treat, there are other delicious fall sweets to make — like pumpkin cake. 

More specifically, a quick and easy pumpkin cake recipe that only uses three ingredients has been circulating on X. In the video, the baker added 6 pounds of canned pumpkin, 4 pounds of yellow cake mix, and a few cups of chocolate chips to a massive aluminum pan, mixed them together, and put it in the oven for about an hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

The reason this simple recipe works so well is due to the canned pumpkin's ability to bind together the ingredients, similar to how an egg can. While this also results in a cake that will likely be a bit richer and denser than what you're used to, it's hard to beat the dessert in terms of how simple it is to make and how enjoyable it is to eat at the same time.

How to make the 3-ingredient pumpkin cake even better

Four square pieces of pumpkin chocolate chip cake with chocolate chips in a small cup beside them Anna Shepulova/Shutterstock

Now, while this pumpkin cake recipe is remarkably easy, it is also very upgradeable. For example, using dark chocolate chips will give your cake a more intense chocolatey taste overall. Alternatively, using chopped chocolate bars can give you a sweeter, more nuanced taste and texture than chocolate chips, so using them instead of or alongside the chips could be a great choice. And if you want a boxed cake mix with more flavor than the yellow variety, reach for spiced cake mix (grab another box to make two-ingredient pumpkin bread after).

Beyond the three core ingredients, a few additions can make your dessert even better. Most notably, cake is only as good as its frosting, and while the video suggests topping the cake with Cool Whip, there are arguably even better complementary options. For example, a creamy chocolate frosting can help accentuate the chocolate chips baked into the cake. Or, if you want to go all in on fall and winter flavors, making some homemade eggnog frosting (ideally using one of the best store-bought eggnog brands on the market) can be the perfect finishing touch for the delicious pumpkin cake.

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