It seems like we can’t get rid of our sweet tooth over here. The sweets continue to fill our home and our mouths faster than they can be made.
The littlest hooligan came to me and said he wanted to help me bake something. Something with Coca-Cola in it.
I guess this wouldn’t be so strange except for the fact that nothing but water, milk and apple juice has never made it past his lips. It’s not that I won’t let him try Coke, he’s the one who is so picky he would never take a sip. This kid can taste the difference between TreeTop and Dole apple juice (and Dole doesn’t make the cut). There is no way he would try Coke.
So I’ve learned his request to bake is not so much to end up with a tasty treat. His interest in baking is purely mechanical. He wants to stand on a chair and run the stand mixer at crazy-fast speeds, then turning it low, only to speed it up again. The coke was an interesting request, however I didn’t have any. But he insisted coke was a requirement.
Hmmm.
I did have 7 Up and I remembered seeing a recipe for 7 Up Cake with Orange Glaze on The Cutting Edge of Ordinary blog. Perfect. He was good with 7 Up. It came in a can, which for some reason was important. This recipe was also perfect for him because it incorporated a boxed cake mix. With his love of whirling the mixer at lightening fast speeds, a cake from scratch could not handle the over-mixing. A boxed cake mix is stealth to the over zealous mixing of a seven year old.
The cake had a nice lemon and slight lime flavor. Overall, it was good.
Let’s make it…
Here’s what you will need for the cake: Yellow cake mix (or white), lemon Jello (I didn’t have Jello so I used instant lemon pudding), 4 eggs, vegetable oil and 7 Up. The pecans are also optional.
Again, the pecans are optional. I like the way it makes the cake look (and taste). Add 1 cup chopped pecans to the bottom of a greased and floured bundt cake pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or another large bowl, add the contents of one yellow boxed cake mix, one small package of lemon Jello (I used instant lemon pudding), 4 eggs, 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 1 cup 7 Up soda. Beat for three minutes on medium speed (or let the kids whirl it up like crazy until they are done).
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until cake tests done with a toothpick and barely begins to pull away from sides of pan.
Cool in pan 10 minutes and flip onto a wire rack to cool completely.
I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I get my cakes to come out of the pan without leaving a fine layer of crumbs stuck in the pan. See how smooth the cake is?
I use this. It works better than Baker’s Joy or Crisco or butter. The cake always come out intact. This is important if you are not frosting it. I get mine at Wal-Mart in the cake decorating aisle. Michael’s probably has it too.
Here’s what you will need for the glaze: Confectioner’s sugar, orange juice and pure vanilla extract.
Mix together 2 cups confectioner’s sugar, 4 Tablespoons orange juice and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Drizzle over cooled cake.
Yum. I love glaze.
Since this recipe is circa 1965, I thought I would try to capture it in half black and white and half color. You know, like Betty Crocker would have…or not.
Here’s how I like my cake, with extra glaze. Don’t forget to save some.
But really, it’s the pecans that made it special.
7 Up Cake with Orange Glaze
1 package white or yellow cake mix
1 small package lemon Jello (I used instant lemon pudding because I didn’t have Jello)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup 7 Up soda
1 cup chopped pecans, optional
Add pecans to the bottom of a greased and floured bundt cake pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or another large bowl, add the contents of one yellow boxed cake mix, lemon Jello (I used instant lemon pudding), eggs, vegetable oil and 7 Up soda. Beat for three minutes on medium speed (or let the kids whirl it up like crazy until they are done).
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until cake tests done with a toothpick and barely begins to pull away from sides of pan. Cool in pan 10 minutes and flip onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Orange Glaze
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
4 Tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Mix together and drizzle over cooled cake.
