Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

I have two things to tell you... First, yes, I know Thanksgiving is over and second, yes, I know this is a terrible picture.  So now that I have that out of the way let me start from the top.  I have had canned pumpkin in my pantry for weeks and along with my own cravings for something pumpkiny and delicious in November, I also wanted to follow through with the many of you who have been asking for pumpkin recipes.
Well, time just flew by and before I knew it, it was Thanksgiving day, and I was in the middle of Missouri to celebrate the holiday with my in-laws.  I knew there was sure to be some pumpkin, but I had no idea I would bite into what might be my favorite pumpkin dish ever.  Mr. Hungry's cousin, Sara, made this delightful dessert and just when I was devising a plan to butter her up for the recipe, she quickly told me that it was a Paula Deen recipe; pumpkin gooey butter cake!  I was actually very familiar with this because I have made the original gooey butter cake several times and had no idea the pumpkin version was so amazing.
Skip to the week after Thanksgiving when I decided to make a few holiday treats with my friend Jennifer... I had just had this amazing dessert and while the world has already been adorned in red and green since the first of November, I thought it would be an injustice to keep this a secret until next Thanksgiving.
We decide to make this and having talked this up like the Holy Grail of desserts, there were high expectations.  We tried our hardest to let it cool a little before taking a big bite.  Jennifer and I immediately looked at each other and I am pretty sure we had the same look and thought in our head... this tastes like... baby food!  I was very disappointed and just couldn't figure out what could have possible gone so wrong.  Feeling defeated, I took this one measly picture for the sole purpose of featuring this in my "fall flops" post that will be coming soon (yes, I have had my fair share of doozies).  Lo and behold, Jennifer took a piece to her husband and I decided to store it in the fridge thinking maybe Mr. Hungry will be so dillusional from studying all day that when he gets home, he will just eat this.
 Fast forward to the next day when Jennifer called and informed me her husband loved it.  I decided to pull this out of the fridge for just one bite and somehow it had transformed into the exact wonderfulness I had eaten on Thanksgiving day.  I decided to pull it out and give it another chance and everyone I fed it to, wanted more!
So I guess the moral of the story is that you could bake this the night before you planned on serving it.  Or maybe Jennifer and I were in such sugar shock from the taste here, and dollop there of all the recipes we were making, we could not comprehend that this was so amazing.  My brother is now begging for this so I hope to make it again soon and replace the pictures, but for now, bear with me.


From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Adapted from Paula Deen
Recipe Notes
Be sure to buy canned pumpkin and not canned pumpkin pie filling.  I made this mistake once with a pumpkin dessert and did not get the good thick taste of pumpkin I was looking for... you only make that mistake once.
Ingredients
For the Cake
1 package (18 1/4 ounce) yellow cake mix  
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted
For the Filling
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16 ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Step by Step
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease and 9x13- inch baking pan with butter or cooking spray.  Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter well with an electric mixer.  Press the mixture into the lightly greased pan.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat until smooth.  Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and beat well.  Spread the pumpkin mixture on top of the cake crust.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure to not over bake... center should still be a bit gooey.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with fresh whipped cream.