Low-fat, low-rise, strange taste...

Don't try this at home...because it's NASTY. And it has nothing to do with TC4's Andrew's culinary boner (ick).

I tried this recipe for two-ingredient low-fat cake where instead of the obligatory oil, eggs and water, you just add pumpkin from the can, then bake it and voila! It sounded easy and tasty: all you do is take a regular box of cake mix, low-fat preferably, and add a 15 oz can of pumpkin purée, bake as usual and there you go!

As I read some of the comments from those who had tried this recipe, I started having, um, second thoughts about doing it so straightforwardly. A few people gave helpful suggestions for making it better, or else just make them into muffins. It has the crumbly consistency of a large, cake-shaped muffin, as poiinted out by user "Kari", who gave it three stars:

Reviewed: Apr. 9, 2008

Good recipe, consistency a little crumbly, probably better as muffins than cake. I also added 1/2 cup water to the mixture...good overall though, will probably make again, because it is SO SIMPLE!

This five star review, from user "Pam W", proved more encouraging:

Reviewed on Nov. 7, 2005 by PamW

After reading the reviews I also decided to add 1/4 cup of sugar, 2 eggs and some canned cream till it was a little easier to spread. It was fanastic!! I love this recipe. I decided to use a jelly roll pan and make bars, topped it with cream cheese icing, and then poured carmel topping over it, all I can say is YUMMY!! I took it to work and it was gone within 5 minutes. I was trying to reproduce a recipe from a place called the Bread Basket. This was even better than theirs, :)

Okay Pam, I forgot the cream cheese. I was just going to use the standard Domino's vanilla buttercream frosting. But I did add the two eggs and a bit of water.

Thirty minutes later I took 'em out. Knife came out beautifully clean, as did the cakes themselves from their pans. I did notice they were a little, well, flat. no rise whatsoever.

And the flavor? Um, read what user "JERSEYGIRL" had to say (she gave it two stars):

Reviewed: Mar. 2, 2008

I love pumpkin but this was disappointing...I'm always looking for a healthier version of foods we love but this just didn't cut it. Maybe it would have been better with homemade icing to add a little something special...I'm sorry.

So don't try this. I mean, if all you have for dessert is a box of cake mix and a 15 oz can of pumpkin (and hopefully an egg or two), it does the job. But it doesn't do it well and you'll probably hand it the pink slip.