Although most of my recipes tend to go with the season, this one couldn’t be more contrary. This is more of a wishing for spring kind of thing, especially with some single digit temperatures this month.

While the initial origins of this recipe are unknown to me, it’s been around for quite some time, and there’s a reason for it.

There’s been a couple of attempts to track down this recipe online, to no avail. Similar ones have popped up, but this one has it’s own little details that make it what it is.

I’m sure that someone has it, somewhere, but for now, it’s almost a secret recipe.

A secret recipe about to be shared in a newspaper, but a secret recipe nonetheless.

I have some fond early memories of this cake, but this cake has been around far longer than I have, as you can probably tell by the picture of the recipe card.

This was one of my great aunt’s recipes, from a recipe book of hers that I received when she passed away several years ago, at the age of ninety-four.

There’s a reason that this card has been kept around for a long time, and it’s because this is delicious.

If I had to pick one dessert to eat for the rest of my life, this would easily be it, but I am also a huge lemon fan. However, I have also had self-declared, lemon dis-likers, tell me that it was delicious.

This lemon cake is easy to make, tastes like sunny days, and is one of the most light, moist, refreshing cakes you will ever have.

In the summer I like to pair it with fresh berries, and I have also used it in a trifle with just some berries and homemade whipped cream. Best dessert ever.

One thing that older desserts seem to have in common is that they were far more simple, much like this one.

It wasn’t a constant competition to have more complicated baking processes or a bunch of fancy kitchen gadgets.

Phones didn’t come with, ‘food,’ settings on their built-in cameras, either. Nobody posted about it on social media, the food spoke for itself.

When it was good, people made it again, and friends asked for the recipe.

Which is exactly the case here. Simple, delicious cake that tastes like sunshine, and flavor that speaks for itself.

Funnily enough, after I just became the cake’s personal spokeswoman for the last several minutes.

Rest assured, that if I had the means to allow you to take a sample and then let you decide based on the cake’s merits alone, I would.

That’s just not the case today, so I’ll have to let you decide whether or not these words convinced you enough to make it and let it speak for itself.

As always, thanks for reading, and happy winter from hbk!

Old Fashioned Lemon Cake

CAKE INGREDIENTS

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

1 box instant lemon pudding

1/3 C. water

3/4 C. vegetable oil

4 large eggs

ICING INGREDIENTS

2 C. powdered sugar

1/3 C. orange juice (or lemonade!)

2 Tbsp. melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 340 degrees, and prepare a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.

2. Mix cake mix, pudding mix, water and oil altogether for two minutes, then scrape the sides of the bowl.

3. Add eggs one at a time, stirring just until combined after each additional egg.

4. Mix for two more minutes, then pour into the pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

5. Whisk together the powdered sugar, juice and melted butter.

6. Poke the top of the cake with a fork, all over, immediately after removing from the oven, then pour icing on top, spreading out to the edges.

7. Cover and chill until serving. Enjoy!