Pumpkin Pie Cake

This recipe is a new tradition in the making for us. Both Justin and I have English heritage. On Christmas Eve, English families make a traditional English pudding with thirteen ingredients representing Christ and the twelve apostles. Everyone in the house takes a turn and stirs the batter from east to west, signifying the journey of the wise men seeking the baby Jesus, and makes a wish. I wasn't fond of the traditional Christmas pudding recipe, so I figured this would work - just count each of the eggs as an individual ingredient and you have thirteen ingredients. :) It's yummy with vanilla ice cream.

1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 cup butter
1 cup chopped walnuts


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Mix until smooth and pour into a 9x13 inch pan.
Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin mixture, then sprinkle chopped nuts and pat down gently. Melt butter or margarine and drizzle over cake.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 45 to 60 minutes. (Be sure to check the cake after 45 minutes because oven temperatures vary.)
After cake cools, turn it upside down so the top of the cake will be the crust. Remove the parchment paper. Top with dessert topping (optional) before serving.