So, YEH, mebbe I should’ve tried a bit harder to keep more of the glaze on top of the cake and not pooled on the cake plate; but still and all, this is one fine, and pretty darned simple to toss together, cake.
Rich found the recipe in an email from the very nice folk at Betty Crocker and, since his mom was coming for a visit, and she loves a nice lemon dessert, it seemed like the perfect time to make it, so I grabbed my cathedral bundt pan mold and pulled out some cream cheese to soften…
But first, a note about prepping the pan. Whenever I am baking a cake that is going to be popped from the baking pan, I don’t use cooking spray or a combination of butter and flour (which tends to leave white patches on the cake). I “paint” the cake pan(s) with this combination of shortening, cooking oil, and flour, and the cake pops right out, no muss, no fuss, and, more importantly, no white splotches on the cake.
Cake pan treatment:
•1 tbsp flour
•1 tbsp veggie oil
•1 tbsp solid shortening (or softened butter)
Combine the flour, oil, and solid shortening together in a small bowl with a fork until mostly smooth – a lump or two won’t cause you any problems.
With a brush, paint the bottom and sides of your cake pan with the mixture until the pan is evenly covered, then prepare and bake your cake as directed. You can see how even a complex cake form pops out perfectly.
Back to the cake!
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
•1 box yellow cake mix
•1 cup milk
•3 oz cream cheese, softened
•2 tbsp grated lemon peel (from 2 large lemons)
•1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
•3 eggs
Lemon Glaze:
•2 cups confectioners’ sugar
•2 to 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Heat your oven to 325º and prepare your bundt pan of choice with the cake pan treatment.
Beat the cake mix with the milk, cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest and juice on low for one minute, then scrape the sides of the bowl, increase the speed to medium and beat for two more minutes.
Turn the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven, let rest for 15 minutes, then turn over onto a plate or cooling rack and then cool for one hour.
Make the glaze by whisking the lemon juice into the confectioners’ sugar until smooth.
Pour the glaze evenly over the cake – you’re gonna need to spoon it up and over the top a few times, it seemed to keep puddling on the cake plate for me.
I then applied some multi-color jimmies just because, and covered the cake loosely until mom arrived.
Nice cake! Moist, fine lemon flavor, and the cream cheese adds a bit of richness, so good on you, nice folk from Betty Crocker!