Jello Cake

This past week brought the birthday of a good friend and coworker. To help her celebrate the auspicious occasion, I decided to make her a Jello Cake (and it didn't have anything to do with the fact that she basically said "if you guys love me, you'll make me something yummy for my b-day" - nope, nothing to do with that what so ever). So, yeah, I know, jello cake, it sounds weird (especially if you're not from the mid-west), but it's something I knew she liked, and something I personally love so if there were leftovers there wasn't a problem! You can make so many different variations of this, but I made a white/strawberry cake.

What I used:
1 box white cake mix
unsweetened applesauce (to replace oil in cake mix recipe)
egg substitute (to replace eggs in cake mix recipe)
1 small box strawberry jello
1 tub whip topping
Non-stick cooking spray

How I made it:

1. Preheat oven to whatever your cake mix requires.
    Spray 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Prepare cake mix as directed on box using the "low fat" method
    (you can use the regular method as well, I just prefer the low fat
    way). If your cake mix doesn't specifically describe a low fat
    method simply replace any oil with an equal amount of
    unsweetened applesauce, and use the egg substitute instead of
    whole eggs.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake as directed on box. When
    it's done, remove from oven and let cool. I usually wait at least an
    hour, but you can also speed up the process by putting the warm
    cake in the refrigerator (if using a glass pan, please be sure to wait
    10-15 minutes before doing that, you don't want your glass dish to
    go from hot to cold too fast).

4. When the cake has cooled, poke holes in it. I find that using a
    chopstick or the round end of a mixing spoon works well.

5. Prepare jello as directed on box and gently pour over the "holey"
    cake. Let the cake absorb the liquid and then place in the
    refrigerator until the jello sets (I usually leave it in there overnight).

6. When the jello has set, "frost" the cake with whipped topping (go
    ahead, use the whole tub) and serve. Any leftovers (as if!) should
    be refrigerated.

Happy Birthday, Crystal!

The Verdict: Delicious! (as usual). The thing about jello cake is that it's never heavy or overly sweet, always light and moist. It was a big hit at work as well, and I had to practically beat them off with a stick to save a piece for TheHusband.

What I'd do different: Absolutely nothing. I've made this cake so many times I've got this down pat. Plus it helps that it's super easy to begin with.   Really the only thing to do differently is to make a different kind.

Variations: Endless, but another favorite in the ATC (All Things Created) house involves using chocolate cake and cherry jello with chocolate whipped topping. The flavor combinations really are endless, depending on how adventurous you are and what kinds of cake mix, jello, and whip topping your local grocery store carries.