Pumpkin Pecan Lava Cake

This is it! The Mother lode of all pumpkin dessert, pie, cobbler..... things. PUMPKIN PECAN LAVA CAKE! We all know what  chocolate lava cake is, but can you imagine a sweet, sticky, lava-y (is that a word?) pumpkin dessert covered in vanilla ice cream? As much as I dearly love chocolate, this lava cake may just be my favorite. 

The instructions are going to sound a little weird, but trust me: it all works out in the end.

What you need:

Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling. Learn how to make it HERE)
1/3 cup evaporated milk
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla

Topping:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Extras:
1 1/2 cups boiling or very hot water

How to make it:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and spices.

3. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the melted butter, pumpkin puree, milk and vanilla.

4. Slowly add the pumpkin mixture to the flour, stirring until just blended. Pour this mixture into a lightly greased 9x9 inch baking dish.

5. In a small bowl, stir together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle evenly over the pumpkin mixture.

6. This is where it sounds strange: pour the boiling (or very hot) water evenly over the entire top of the dry sugar topping, but DO NOT STIR!!! Just leave it alone, no matter how watery and weird it looks.

7. Bake this for around 45 minutes, until the middle is solid and doesn't jiggle. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then serve in a bowl with whipped cream or ice cream.