Lemon Zest

02.21.

When life hands you lemons…. (Make a Ridiculously Good Lemon Cake)

It’s been a while since I did a blog post. I have been buried waist deep in these awful things called taxes. Have you ever heard of them? Oh my word, they are awful! I’ll have to tell you about them sometime……. maybe some OTHER time…..

The important thing today is cake! Not just any cake. The kind of cake that makes you wanna slap your momma! *Sorry momma! I never liked that saying. At least not until after I became a momma!! 😉

You know, I have to say, I really surprised myself on this one. Even though it was the easiest of cakes to make (more on that in a minute), it didn’t taste like it was.

It all started with my oldest turning 10 at the beginning of the month. We usually make whoever’s birthday it is, their favorite meal and their favorite cake or one of their choosing. I had just bought these premade “lemon bliss” cupcakes, or so they were called from Sam’s Club. Lee absolutely fell in love with them…. and so did everyone else.

It was decided that she wanted a cake version of the cupcakes. Now, if I were really organized and thinking ahead for this blog post, I would have taken a picture of them. But that just wouldn’t be me. 😉

So instead, picture a lemon cupcake with a dollop of lemon pudding on top with a thin ring of buttercream icing around it.

Oh, how I love lemon!!!!

While I didn’t decide to use buttercream….. only because I felt it would have been just too much for the entire cake. I decided to go the whipped cream route instead.

This is what I did:

I took a lemon boxed cake (yes, boxed) and 2 packages of instant lemon pudding.

I did my best to evenly distribute the cake mix into two pans so that the layers would be as even as possible.

Now, here comes the stacking. However, what this picture doesn’t show is that right after this, I decided to put wax paper under the first layer to allow for spills with the whipped cream icing.

I took half of the lemon pudding and spread on top of the first layer. Then, I topped it with the second layer and spread the remaining pudding on top.

I spread it out to the edge as far as possible without dripping over.

Now, time for the whipped cream. I used my tried and true whipped cream recipe. It’s the same one I used for my Mixed Berry Tartlets. You can see it here. However, I added a teaspoon of lemon extract to amp up the lemon taste for this recipe.

Then, I just dumped it all ( a little at a time) because, well, WHY NOT?

I love whipped cream because it spreads so much easier than buttercream. I actually looked like I knew what I was doing in this pic.

Then, I just sprinkled some lemon zest on top and voila! I carefully pulled the sheets of overlapped wax paper out from under the cake and it made it look very clean.

I was so happy with how it turned out! It wasn’t just pretty, it was RIDICULOUSLY GOOD ! This recipe would be great all year long. It is light enough for Summer, even though I fixed it in the Winter.

If you fix this, I would love to know what you think !

Here is the Recipe:

Recipe: Ridiculously Good Lemon Cake

– 1 Lemon Flavored Box Cake ( I used the Very Moist Version) *You will also need oil, eggs, and water according to cake mix.

– 2 Boxes Lemon Instant Flavored Pudding

– 1 1/2 Cups Skim Milk

– 1 Pint Heavy Whipping Cream

– 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

– 1 Teaspoon Lemon Extract

– Lemon Zest (Optional)

Directions:

– Prepare cakes according to directions. Allow to cool completely.

– When cakes are completely cooled, prepare lemon pudding by mixing together 2 packages pudding mix with milk. Whisk for 1- 2 minutes or until pudding becomes thick.

– Prepare whipped cream icing by mixing heavy whipping cream with sugar and lemon extract with an electric mixer until it forms stiff peaks.

– Start layering cakes by first, laying wax paper pieces in an overlapping patter on top of a cake plate. Put first cake layer on top of the sheets.

– Spread half of the prepared pudding on top of first layer.

– Top with second cake layer and gently press on top, allowing the pudding between layers to spread slightly.

– Spread prepared whipped cream over top and sides of cake.

– Sprinkle with (optional) lemon zest.

*For best results, refrigerate for 1 hour prior to serving.