LEMON DROP Cake Plus a Little Frosting Secret

I know I already posted a cake recipe this week.


This is one of my Top 3 Boxed Cake Mix Recipes.  Love when I can use an already Boxed Cake Mix and create something extra special.

LEMON DROP Cake.  Who in this whole wide world doesn't love Lemon Drops?

This is super duper yummy.

Plus I'll tell you about a little secret that I do with the frosting, so hang in there.

Simple Ingredients:

1 box Lemon Cake Mix
1 Tub Lemon Frosting
3 eggs
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 1/4 c. water
2 lemons
1 c. Powdered Sugar

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE

Preheat oven to 350. 

I normally use two round cake pans, and that way I have two nice little round cakes. 

But today I'm using my jelly roll pan or 1/4 sheet cake pan (whatever you call it).

Spray your pan of choice with trusty ole Baker's Joy.

Make cake as instructed on box, by mixing together the cake mix, eggs, oil and water.

Pour into prepared pan.

 Oh how I LOVE lemon!

OOPS!

Bake at 350 until toothpick that has been inserted in the center, comes out clean.

Now while this luscious thing is in the oven, take your lemon and powdered sugar.

You know how the people on FoodTv take the lemon, and push down on it, and then roll it around on the counter with the palm of their hand before they cut it.  They say it makes it more "Juicy"?  Well they're right!

It does make the lemon juicier and much easier to squeeze and get more juice out of.  So take your lemon, and press down with the palm of your hand and roll it around on the counter a couple times

Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice  into a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Sometimes just ONE lemon will give me 1/4 cup, sometimes ONE lemon does not give me enough juice.  So I ALWAYS buy two lemons just in case.  I suggest you do the same.  Use the other half to squeeze into your ice tea or glass of water.

No matter how hard I try to dig out all the seeds, for some reason, those little buggers show up out of nowhere.

I have made this cake umpteen times and every single time, I "think" I pick out all the seeds, and sure enough, these little buggers show up when I squeeze!

Never fear, my little helper will get them for me!

In a bowl, put your 1 cup of Powdered Sugar and your 1/4 cup of seed-free lemon juice.  Take a fork and stir stir stir.  Get all the powdered sugar chunks out until it's smooth. This will take a while to get all smooth and creamy and lump free.

Set this lemony combo aside, and check on your cake.

Once a toothpick comes out clean, take out of oven and set aside.

YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY.

A few more steps, just hang in there.

Ok, now, let the cake sit and rest on the counter for 15 minutes.

After that time, carefully take a fork, and poke some holes in the cake.  Just poke here and there, don't over do it, just a few all around the top.

Don't get too carried away and make craters like I did. 

Now pour the lemony powdered sugar mixture all around the top. At first it will look like this:

So quickly you will  need to take the back of your spoon and spread it all around.  Spread the love.

Once you have spread around all the lemon mixture, place the whole thing in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.  Don't skip this step.

Set it in the Refrigerator right next to your bottles of Sauvignon Blanc.  I KNOW you have them in there, don't be ashamed.

Now, go read your email or do a load of laundry, or sit and watch The View, like I'm doing.

A couple hours later, come on back and let's get to the little Frosting Secret.

FROSTING SECRET:

Have you ever had a Texas Sheet Cake, and the homemade frosting is all crackled and you can tell it's homemade cause of the wonderful texture?

Well here's my little frosting secret.  I buy a regular Tub O' Frosting from the store, and heat it real quick-like in the microwave, and then pour it over my cake.  It sets, and gives it a sort of  "homemade" look to it. 

It doesn't taste any different, but the appearance makes it "seem" like it's homemade.  Know what I mean?  It doesn't look like you - bought a tub of frosting, popped open the lid, and spread it on top of the cake.


It just looks all yummy and wonderful and doesn't look like a boring old tub of frosting.

I ESPECIALLY like to do this with the chocolate frosting. It really really turns out wonderful looking.

Now BACK to the lemon frosting.  I do the "melting" trick to this lemon frosting, cause I like to make little designs on the cake after it's been frosted. 

Here's how I do it:

Pop the frosting tub in the microwave for 20 seconds.

Make sure you get all the silver metal tin foil stuff off the top of the lid.

Take out of the microwave, and stir it all around in the tub.  Its soft, but not super runny, just barely pourable.

So go ahead and take about 3/4 of the frosting, and pour onto your cooled cake.  Take the back of your spoon and spread it all around.  You know, using that "wrist trick" where it looks all swirly.  Like this:

Now if you want to, you could just stop there and you'd have a wonderful delicious lemon drop cake.

But for 1 minute more of your time, you can go from YUMMY to OH MY GOSH THIS CAKE IS SOOO GOOD!  SECRET: Not because you are doing anything to the "taste" of the cake, but because people are visual, and if it looks pretty, then by gosh, it tastes way better!

So take that tub of frosting, that has the last 1/4 of your frosting, and pop it in the microwave for about 12 seconds.  It should be really runny by now.

Take your spoon, stir it up a bit, and pull out your spoon, and drizzle little designs all over your "already frosted" cake.

See how it gives it a 3-Dimensional look?  Oh so swirly and pretty!

All from a Tub O' Frosting.  Who'da thunk it!

So that's my Lemon Drop Cake with my Secret Frosting Secret.

Oh I love Lemon Drop Cake!  Now you know why it's my Top 3 Recipes from a Boxed Cake Mix!