Pumpkin Bars (Cake?)

Ingredients

Bars:

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 3/4 cups pumpkin
• 2+ cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ~2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• chocolate chips to taste (optional)

Icing:

• 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/3+ cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• splash of milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 170C.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, spices, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. (I didn't want them to be really thick, so I used a 9x13 AND a 8x8 (which I added chocolate chips to - yum!) and it was a great thickness.) Bake for 20-30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter and milk in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars. (makes a lot of icing, I had left overs...)

Modified from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pumpkin-bars-recipe/index.html