Blessings From My Kitchen: Leopard print pumpkin cake

It seems like an insurmountable echo of time has passed since I've had a coherent group of words push through my fogged and fatigued mind. They sometimes seem few and far between, a lag I don't take much pride in. Although the words I type today, for my entertainment and not as much yours, rush in like rain. For what I can make out now, it's a mild storm, misted in spurts, albeit cloudy here and there. In short, let me deliver what needs to be said before my summary hazes into oblivion. Am I getting old? Let's not answer that.

The hunk of a cake displayed is one I made a year ago, consisting of three layers and a takeaway of my most favorite cake in the world. There's a symphony of eggs, butter, spice, flour and pumpkin which beautifully orchestrate into a browned, softly plush endeavor. It's abounds in a scent so heady- a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves-something known to this part of the world as pumpkin spice. Take me seriously when I tell you you're spot on for air freshener, come the next 24 hours.

A fascinating point to note is the 14 ounce can of squashed vegetable that pulls in for a flavor pretty high up the rank in the dessert world. My annual Thanksgiving spin on the same, complete with four layers, and drizzles of caramel interlaced with cream cheese frosting, make second/ third /fourth serving comebacks simply mandatory.

Canned pumpkin is what I'd recommend in this recipe. It supplicates a fair amount of fluff and moistened tight crumb which is hard to replace. As for the more industrious of you who'd want to manually make your own puree, I can't vouch for a similar outcome.

Give it a try. Or stare at the beauty laid out for you now; decked in hand-done leopard print decor and marshmallow paste flowers.