Sunshine Cake

Have you ever had something so wonderful, so light, so delightful that it felt like you had a mouthful of sunshine?  I have!  I've made variations of this cake before with different names, but after making this and having a friend tell me it was like a mouthful of sunshine, I decided that I was going to share it under that name!  Clever, eh?

This lovely creation is so simple to make! Trust me!  All you need are:

1 box lemon cake mix, plus ingredients called for in directions
1 box instant lemon pudding mix
4 Tbs. lemon juice
4 Tbs. corn starch
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tub whipped cream topping, thawed
2 cans crushed or chunked pineapples with juice

So, the key to making any dish is to gather all of your ingredients into one place. Unlike me who always forgets at least one.  Put everything you need, ingredients, measuring utensils, bowls, cooking spray (see, I forgot to mention that above!) on the counter, preheat your oven to 350°F or whatever your cake mix calls for and get ready to make an uber tasty cake!

Spray 9x13x2 baking pan with baking spray.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, place cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water and oil (or your substitutes), mix well-you can do this by hand-it's great exercise, but if you have an issue, use your mixer. I love a fluffy mix so I use a whisk and go to town on it!

Pour into prepared pan and take the time your mix calls for and add 4 minutes to the baking time.

While this is baking, in a small,but deep and wide pan (or skillet), pour two cans of pineapples (chunked or crushed) with juice, granulated sugar and with heat on medium high, bring to a boil.  Once it comes to a boil, turn it down to medium heat.

In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and lemon juice together, noticing that I used equal amounts.  Juice should be room temperature or cold so that it'll mix with the cornstarch.

While stirring the bubbling pineapples, add this mixture and keep stirring.  In 2-3 minutes you'll notice the color of your mix turn from a milky white to an opaque cream and it'll thicken considerably.  Cook for a total of five minutes while stirring and remove from heat.  Place in a heat safe bowl and refrigerate.

When cake is done, remove from oven and cool completely.

Frost with whipped topping and spoon cooled pineapple mixture over top.

Your taste buds will love you forever.

The corners are my favorites.

Here's the kicker.  You can make the low-fat version of this cake by using simple substitutions in the cake mix like applesauce for oil, liquid eggs (lite) for the eggs, sugar free pudding mix and light topping!  You can find great hacks here!! If you do a lighter version, let me know your thoughts!  I find that the cake is usually denser if I use applesauce in place of oil, but other than that, it's still just as tasty!