NANA'S LEMON CAKE

 

So my Nana made the most AMAZING lemon cake. It was moist and fluffy and semi home made so it was easy. Everyone loved it and she passed them out by the dozen at Christmas time. When I am missing her I start to crave it and so on this snowy winter day I decided to make one. As per my challenge I happened to have a lemon cake mix, lemon pudding and fresh lemons on hand. 

I felt many times in my life I was Nana's personal secretary. Whether it was writing on boxes in the garage with her beloved Marks-a-lot Permanent Marker, writing a note to a friend, or writing a recipe to share with someone who loved her cooking. I can still hear her saying. "ASHLEY! Come en. Write thees just how I tell you" in her heavy accent. She would watch over me carefully to be sure I did it. She was confident directing but not necessarily writing it herself. Her English was heavily influenced by her Hungarian accent and it made her feel a little less then comfortable when it came to getting her point across. She entrusted her grammar to me as early as probably 8 :) It is fun to find notes or old cards from her now in my adulthood. I can hear her saying it as I read it. Almost like a movie where the character reads a letter narrated by who sent it to them. I love when I find a recipe like I did last weekend for "Palacsinta" - Hungarian Pancakes. I had written it for a friend in 1991. The friend found it recently and sent a copy of it to us. The recipe you can tell was carefully dictated to me by Nana. Sentences like "First crepe always a taste test" and the way I underlined mix Veeeeerrryy well, tell me even today how she exactly wanted it :) This lemon cake recipe, Nana had me write down before she died. I just found it while I was filing all my recipes and was excited to have it in her words. Although as anyone in my family will tell you. Nana never gave anyone the same recipe. It depended on the day, how she remembered it and at what point in her life she gave it to you :) 

But this was tasty. I hope you will try and enjoy it. I also hope that your 2 year old does not turn your oven up to BROIL without your knowledge :( My cake went from a delicious and beautiful treat to a delicious but unsalvageable structure wise. More on that below. Besides the seared sides this still tasted great so the recipe will work for you as long as you follow the baking directions on the box. Just be smarter then me. Watch your kid :)

 

Here is what you need:

Betty Crocker Super Moist Lemon Cake Mix (Nana's favorite)

Small Lemon pudding mix

3 eggs (Beaten)

3/4 cup oil

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 big spoonful of sour cream

 Here is the step by step. Because my cake didn't completely turn out :) I did the whole step by step together. The pictures to follow show you our little adventure :)

•  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
• Prepare your bundt pan with Cooking Spray (see photo below*)
• SIFT TOGETHER the cake mix and pudding mix.
• Add all the rest of your ingredients
• Pour your batter in the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees. 
• When you check for doneness, take it out of the oven
• Poke holes in the cake with a wooden spoon
•  Squeeze fresh lemon juice into the holes
• Let cool completely
• Put a plate on top of the pan and then flip it over. 
• Make a glaze out of powdered sugar and lemon juice. 
•  Drizzle your glaze over the top of cake.

This Tupperware lemon lime press I got from Amy for my birthday is AWESOME!

 Beat your eggs so they are all mixed. That way you catch any shells before you pour it in too.

  A Big Spoonful is NOT an exact measurement I used a large silverware serving spoon if that helps.

  My little helpers so cute :)

 I spray the pan and then wipe it down with a paper towel so it doesn't get too greasy.

 Nana always made me scrape the sides with a spatula to make sure it was all mixed

For the glaze we used maybe a cup of powdered sugar and then 1 lemon. But you use however much it takes to make it a nice glaze consistency. Not too thick but not TOO thin.

 Here is what I saw when I realized I smelled something burning. MADDIE!!!!! I turned it back down to 350 degrees just on the off chance it wasn't destroyed...

 ...Well since there was no way this cake was coming out of the pan and since it really still smelled delicious... I proceeded to poke holes in it with a wooden spoon.

 Can you see the black crust :(

 Lemon juice squeezed into the holes I used one smaller lemon and then I actually just poured the glaze onto the bottom, into the holes as well.

 It wasn't the most civilized way to eat a cake, but it still tasted good :)

 All that was left was the burnt outer edges

So all in all a success! :) Mostly :) Hope yours turns out even better :)

enJOY!