Do you have recipes from your youth that conjure up mouth-watering memories? This cake is one of those for me. Mom would make this one in the summer and I just couldn’t keep my hands off of it. I just took teeny, tiny pieces every time I walked by it — they don’t count right?
Cake Mixes with Jello and/or Jello Pudding became very popular in the 60’s, although cake mixes were invented in the 30’s and by the 40’s there were 200 companies making them. It was the 50’s and 60’s when they reached the height of their popularity and the church ladies’ creativity blossomed. Anything you could make with a can, a mix or Jello they made!
It has been years since I’ve made this cake and I did find a variety of versions as I leafed through my church cookbooks — the biggest difference I noted was the use of Lemon Pudding instead of Lemon Jello. It won’t make much difference which one you use — if you have it — use it! The texture of the pudding cake should be a little heavier — it’s really all about the glaze for me anyway!
I don’t use cake mixes often, and I’ve made many a lemon cake from scratch, but unless you are a purist I’m not sure it is necessary for this cake –it wasn’t for the Church Ladies! So when you need an easy, delicious, favorite to take to your next potluck or something pretty enough for a tea party — this one should fill the bill!
Blend cake mix, dry jello, eggs, oil and water together until smooth
Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch cake pan
Blend 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice with 2 cups of Powdered Sugar to create a glaze
Poke holes in the warm cake with an ice pick — I even had one — or a large fork.
Pour the lemon glaze over the warm cake and it will absorb — leave for 2 hours or overnight.
I used candied lemons to fancy up my cake, but you don’t really need them.
- 1 pkg lemon cake mix
- ½ cup cooking oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup water
- 1 pkg lemon Jello
- Beat cake ingredients until smooth
- Pour into a 9x13 inch cake pan
- Bake about 45 minutes or until toothpick comes clean
- When cake is done and just cooling, mix ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice and 2 cups powdered sugar
- Punch holes in warm cake with an ice pick or large fork
- Drizzle lemon glaze over the cake
- Let set 2 hours or overnight.
Keep it simple and enjoy!
–Mary
I love the title of your post. I have so many church cookbooks (and one cookbook from my elementary school) that I still use. Many of them are stained and torn and the binding is coming off the elementary school one. Fancy hardback cookbooks come and go from my collection but the recipe collections of real ladies using canned soup and jello never leave.
Thanks — I just started this series — I have so many loved recipes it seemed like the thing to do!
Looks delicious although I’m not a fan of lemon. I wonder if you could do it with another flavor like strawberry maybe…hmmm!
Yes, there is a strawberry poke cake also which I’ll post another time.
When I lived in Kansas in the late 1970’s, the “jello salads” were so popular. As someone who grew up in New York City, I just failed to understand.
Yup — even from Iowa I struggle to understand calling them “salads”…LOL