Orange Dreamsicle Cake

If you've been reading my recipe blog, you have probably noticed by now that I like simple, easy recipes. My google search history is full of things like "quick and easy dessert" and "5 ingredient cookies." I ran across this recipe, tweaked it to make it my own, and it was a smashing success! I took it to a work pitch-in and it was completely gone in about 2 hours.

The cake part is a simple vanilla box cake mix, made to the instructions on the box in a 9x13 pan. The only thing I would change is to add a splash of vanilla for better taste. Oh, and separate the eggs in a small bowl and whip them with an electric beater for about a minute before adding them to the cake mix, oil, water, etc. The whipped eggs help make the cake very light and fluffy, which is rather important to the success of this venture. You can make a cake from scratch if you feel so inclined, but I guarantee you most people won't know the difference.

Once the cake is cool you're ready for the frosting. Here goes:

1 box orange Jell-O mix
1 box vanilla pudding mix
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
splash vanilla extract
splash orange extract
1 tub cool whip

In a medium bowl, whisk the Jell-O powder, pudding powder, and milk together thoroughly until it is well mixed and slightly thickened. Add the extracts, and extra red and yellow food coloring if you want it to look more orange. Fold the cool whip in and mix with a spoon or spatula.

It's best if you let the frosting sit in the fridge for an hour or two to set up nicely before frosting the cake. And then my advice would be to slice yourself a piece first, because once the cake is cut and everyone gets a taste, it will be gone before you know it! It's a wonderfully light, summery cake, with just the right mixture of orange and vanilla to remind you exactly of an orange dreamsicle.