I work for an agency that provides housing for the homeless. The staff is having a thanksgiving dinner for the clients and we're contributing homemade dishes. I was asked to bring a cake. I don't want to do chocolate because I always do chocolate. I want to do something different. I thought apple or spice because I have a spice cake mix. What are some other flavors either mix or scratch that would make a great cake for thanksgiving? Not pumpkin because someone's bring pumpkin pie.

How about this from epicurious.com?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/2599

Last T-day I made a spice cake with cinammon cream cheese icing and it was really good. Carrot cake is also great this time of year. Also something with a caramel filling would be good too. ooohhh apple cake with caramel and pecan filling. mmmmm

Spice cake with cream cheese frosting is wonderful!!!

How about a Jam cake?
They've always been a Thanksgiving tradition for my family!

How about an apple cake with caramel icing??? Maybe add some nuts on top. Kind of like a caramel apple! MMMMMMM!!!

what could be better than Pumpkin Cake ? Isn't that a very Thanksgiving flavor ? Carrot can be anytime of the year. Pumpkin would be a more appropriate flavor for Thanksgiving.
I did Pumpkin cake with Cream Cheese and Maple Filling.

whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be good.

karateka..I am HAVING that sweet potato cheesecake! That sounds wonderful! Thanks for the link.

i won't be making the sweet potato cheesecake for the client dinner,but i will make it for somebody. it sounded great.
and thanks everyone for the ideas. i think i'm going with apple and i can save the spicy ones for christmas. they'll probably have a staff catered dinner for the clients for christmas also. or i could do something minty. i have tons of cake recipes and a limited number of people or occasions to bake for.

I agree that either spice or apple would be a great choice. Cream cheese or cinnamon cream cheese frosting would taste great...as would a caramel frosting...or maybe a caramel and pecan or walnut filling with the cream cheese frosting. A great taste for the sides of the cake and to decorate the top would be to take walnut or pecan halves and candy them...and easy way that is delish is to whip one or two egg whites until foamy and frothy...drop the nuts in that...then into some cinnamon/sugar...put onto a sheet pan covered in parchment and bake at 350 for oh...8-10 minutes or so...until they are toasty and the egg whites are dry...the sugar gets crispy and they have a wonderful flavor. Chop some of them and put on the sides and use the halves to decorate the top. Apple pie filling drizzled with caramel either as a filling or to decorate the top would be nice, too.

Doh....I should have included another suggestion! How about a pecan pie CAKE? You should be able to access a recipe for it online, or you can use the one I'll include here. I've made it before from a recipe in Southern Living Christmas, and the only things I do differently is add about 1/3 cup more pecans in the filling, substitute the new brown sugar Karo syrup in the filling, and add some butter flavoring to the cake and filling. It's yummy, rich, and looks impressive.

3 cups finely chopped pecans, toasted and
divided
1⁄2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1⁄2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
3⁄4 cup dark corn syrup
1 recipe Pecan Pie Filling
1 recipe Pastry Garnish (optional)
Sprinkle 2 cups pecans evenly into 3
generously buttered 9-inch round
cakepans; shake to coat bottoms and sides
of pans.
Beat 1⁄2 cup butter and shortening at
medium speed with an electric mixer until
fluffy; gradually add sugar, beating
mixture well. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time,
beating until blended after each addition.
Stir in vanilla.
Add flour and baking soda to butter
mixture alternately with buttermilk,
beginning and ending with flour.
Continued
Pecan Pie Cake
This recipe is featured on page 188 of
The Ultimate Southern Living® Christmas Book
Beat at low speed until blended after
each addition. Stir in remaining 1 cup
pecans.
Beat egg whites at medium speed until
stiff peaks form; fold one-third of beaten
egg white into batter. Fold in remaining
beaten egg white. (Do not overmix.)
Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until
done. Cool in pans on wire racks 10
minutes. Invert layers onto wax
paper-lined wire racks. Brush tops and
sides of cake layers with corn syrup, and
cool completely. Wrap layers in plastic
wrap, and freeze up to 1 month, if
desired.
Spread half of Pecan Pie Filling on 1
layer, pecan side up. Place second layer,
pecan side up, on filling; spread with
remaining filling. Top with remaining
cake layer, pecan side up. Arrange Pastry
Garnish on and around cake, if desired.
Yield: 1 (3-layer) cake.
Continued
Pecan Pie Cake continued
pecan pie filling:
1⁄2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3⁄4 cup dark corn syrup
1⁄3 cup cornstarch
4 egg yolks
11⁄2 cups half-and-half
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whisk together first 6 ingredients in a
heavy 3-quart saucepan until smooth.
Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat,
whisking constantly; boil 1 minute or
until thickened. Remove from heat.
Whisk in butter and vanilla. Place a
sheet of wax paper directly on surface of
mixture to prevent a film from forming;
chill 4 hours or overnight. Yield: about 3
cups.
Note: To chill filling quickly, pour
filling into a bowl. Place bowl in a larger
bowl filled with ice. Whisk constantly
until cool (about 15 minutes).
Continued
Pecan Pie Cake continued
pastry garnish:
1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated
piecrusts
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
24 pecan halves
Unfold piecrusts, and press out fold
lines. Cut 8 to 10 leaves from each
piecrust with a 3-inch leaf-shaped cutter.
Mark leaf veins, using tip of a knife.
Reserve pastry trimmings. Whisk together
egg and water, and brush on pastry
leaves.
Crumple 10 to 12 small
aluminum foil pieces into 1⁄2-inch balls.
Coat with vegetable cooking spray, and
place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Drape a pastry leaf over each ball; place
remaining pastry leaves on baking sheet.
Bake at 425° for 6 to 8 minutes or
until golden. Cool on a wire rack 10
minutes. Gently remove leaves from foil.
Pinch 12 pea-size pieces from pastry
trimmings. Place between pecan halves,
forming sandwiches. Cut remaining pastry
into 2-inch pieces; wrap around pecan
sandwiches, leaving jagged edges to
resemble half-shelled pecans. Brush with
egg mixture. Place on baking sheet.
Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until
golden. Cool on wire rack. Yield: 16 to
20 pastry leaves; 12 pecan pastries.
Continued
Pecan Pie Cake continued
make-ahead game plan:
Up to 1 month aheadbake and freeze
cake layers
1 day aheadprepare and chill Pecan
Pie Filling.
Prepare pastry garnishes; store in
airtight container at room temperature.
Day to serveassemble and decorate
cake.
easy leaves:
After cutting leaves from piecrusts, follow
these simple tips to create pastry
decorations for your cake.
To ensure an even golden finish, apply a
mixture of beaten egg and water to
pastry cutouts, using a small artists
brush.
Gently drape the pastry leaves over
crumpled balls of aluminum foil to give
them a natural-looking shape. Flatten
the bases of the balls so theyll rest in
place during baking.
Wrap pecan halves with trimmings of
pastry to form nutty garnishes for
scattering on top and around sides of
cake.

How about an Italian Cream cake with cream cheese icing. Its a real hit in my family any time of the year!!