Well, I made it. 
Perfect right? Looks exactly like the real thing! (if you squint....or maybe just shut your eyes.....)So, needless to say I failed miserably. The cake and the icing themselves were actually pretty good....but the cake pretty much glued itself to the pan, requiring me to poke, prod, scrape and eventually maul it out like a bear. I thought I sprayed the pan well enough, but I think the lemonade concentrate acted as a sort of cement, weighing the cake down and permanently bonding it to the metal. Not so good.
But I refused to be deterred, so following Dustin’s suggestion (yelled from the living room....he hadn’t actually seen it yet) I attempted to just patch it up with frosting. Perhaps I shouldn’t have taken advice from someone sight-unseen. But still, I wouldn’t admit defeat, and insisted that all it needed was some pink sugar sprinkles. Yes.....that’s what was missing!! Despite its unappealing presentation, I still thought my cake deserved its moment in the sun, so I brought it to Rachel’s, and we all dug in (five forks....one plate. No sense in getting fancy at this point). And I have to say, it actually tasted pretty good (if you don’t mind losing a tooth or two due to all the sweetness!). So, not a total loss...
But wait!!
I still had half a can of lemonade left. I couldn’t give up now! No....I had to try again, but this time I had a foolproof plan: Trifle
Oh yes....trifle is the solution to all dessert dilemmas. It’s easy to make, so good, and makes you look like you know what you’re doing (even if you...ahem, I..don’t have a clue!). Win, win, win! I’ve made it for pretty much every event, in pretty much every flavor combo imaginable, but I thought this would be a great spring treat. Behold!
See? Much better....pudding fixes everything. If you want to attempt to recreate my culinary masterpieces...let me give you some advice. Skip the fancy Lemon Buttercream frosting....throw it with some layers into a bowl. No one will complain. (oh, and even though I ruined my first try...it could have been worse....I could have pulled a Rachel, from Friends.....)
And now I present you with the recipe...in case any of you brave souls would like to attempt this masterpiece....
Pink Lemonade and Strawberry Trifle
Ingredients
For the cake:
(1) 6 oz can frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate, thawed
1 box white cake mix
3 egg whites
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Pink food coloring
For the toppings:
(1) 6oz box of instant lemon pudding.
(1) 8oz tub whipped cream (thawed)
(1) container strawberries
(1) small tub strawberry glaze (in the produce section...by the fruit dip)
Directions:
In a large bowl, mix the cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, and the pink lemonade concentrate with an electric mixer on low for 2 minutes. (mine was lumpy at first, but got fluffier and smoother the longer I mixed.) Add food coloring until it's pretty! Split batter into two 8x8 round pans. Be sure to coat your pans LIBERALLY with non-stick spray. No such thing as too much!
(need a reminder photo?)
Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick is clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then let cool completely on a baking rack.
While your cake is baking/cooling: Make the pudding according to the directions on the box.Cut strawberries into quarters (removing stems of course). Put in a bowl, and mix in a few large spoonfuls of the strawberry glaze- just enough to coat the berries. Set the whipped cream out to thaw.When the cake is cool- wrap up one layer- using plastic wrap and aluminum foil. (you can freeze this one for later...only need one layer). Cut the other layer in half lengthwise (parallel to the bottom of the cake). Place one half in the bottom of the trifle dish. Add half of the pudding. Add half of the whipped cream. Add half of the strawberries. Repeat.
Brag about how domestic and thoughtful you are. Or just scoop into bowls and enjoy!
No comments :
Post a Comment