Marcia’s Mother’s Lemon Cake and Playing Twister

Now that Spring is attempting to fight it’s way through winter, I like to find recipes that are bright colored, fresh, and lemony.  As I was going through my files, I came across a recipe that made me smile.  It’s nothing fancy, just a cake that begins with a mix, but it brought back memories of the happy times of high school.  Back then, we loved to have slumber parties.  There were always at least a dozen of us, and we entertained ourselves by listening to the Beatles, playing twister, talking about boys, crying here and there about a boy, and eating.  Whoever was hosting the party was in charge of the food, which basically meant the mom.  Back then, most moms cooked from scratch – no takeout food.  I always loved this, because that meant I could sneak into the kitchen with the mom and write down her recipes.  Most of my friends did not know I did this, but as they were all playing Twister, or calling some boy on the phone, I would leave for a few minutes to copy down recipes for whatever wonderful treat she had made for the party.  Mrs. W, my friend Marcia’s mom, made the most luscious lemon cake at this particular party.  I still have the recipe on a card, in my high school handwriting, with a notation of how delicious it was.  Other recipes I remember getting at parties included a no-bake cookie, a strawberry cake, English toffee, and numerous dips.  I continued this routine of going into kitchens and asking for recipes all the way through college.  Well, actually, I still do it, and each one holds a special memory-  better than twister any day, but not quite as good as those wonderful high school friends who I still love.  But this lemon cake might come in a close second!

Mrs. W’s Lemon Cake

Cake:
1 package lemon cake mix (she used Betty Crocker)
1 small package lemon instant pudding mix
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1-1/3 cups water
4 eggs

Lemon Glaze:
1 small can (6 ounces) frozen lemonade, thawed
2 cups powdered sugar

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
2.  Combine all cake ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat until well-blended; pour into prepared pan.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until done when a toothpick is inserted into cake.
3.  While cake is still warm, poke rather big holes on the top (Mrs. W used the handle of a wooden spoon).  Combine the lemonade and powdered sugar until well-blended and pour evenly over the cake.  Let cake cool completely before cutting into squares.