Pumpkin Picking Fun & Pumpkin Sheet Cake Recipe

Fall is here! One of my favorite sights of the season is seeing the brightly colored gourds poking through the dying foliage in the fields. This past week Daddy needed a little extra help picking gourds and pumpkins so the kids and I teamed up with two of our manager’s kids and we hiked out to the field to do some picking ourselves.

Pumpkin Picking Elizabeth Weaver
Ready to do some picking!

I love just watching all the personalities interact to get the job done, like seeing the oldest one taking leadership and giving instructions.  Even our one year old rolled up her sleeves and gave a hand as well!

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Pumpkin Picking 101—getting instructions before they begin—from the pro

I enjoyed observing the children pitch in to complete their job. I watched the generations interact and the way they came together to handle disputes and I thought, “How lucky they are to have this experience— there is no better way to teach children about life and working together than out in the pumpkin patch!”

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Our littlest pumpkin lending a hand

Besides teaching kids the value of hard work and getting along– there’s nothing better to get you in the fall spirit than pumpkin picking.

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Daddy giving some guidance to his helpers

 

Picking pumpkins also gave me a craving for my Aunt Deb’s famous Pumpkin Sheet Cake, which I made later in the week. Aunt Deb has nine kiddos so this batch cooks up quite a bit—more than my family can eat—so we shared with some of our employees in the office.

Here’s the recipe for Aunt Deb’s Pumpkin Sheet Cake. Be sure to make it and share it with the loved ones in your life:

Elizabeth's-Pumpkin-Sheet-Cake-2

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Aunt Deb’s Pumpkin Sheet Cake

  • Author: Elizabeth Weaver
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: Traditional

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
  • 1 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
    CREAM CHEESE ICING:
  • 2 (3 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 1/2 cups confectioners sugar (I only used 2 ½ cups because I don’t like my icing to be too sweet—so add gradually and taste as you go).

Instructions

  1. Mix sugar, pumpkin, oil & eggs together. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, & cloves; gradually add to pumpkin mixture. Mix well. Pour into greased baking sheet (I used my jelly roll pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
  2. Frost with
    CREAM CHEESE ICING:
  3. Mix together cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Gradually add sugar; mix until desired consistency. Spread over cake and sprinkle with cinnamon.

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