lemon icebox cake

for new years i made a lemon icebox cake. it was actually supposed to be a lemon lime icebox cake but i didn't have lime jello. an icebox cake is when a cake needs to be refrigerated because it has either pudding, whipped cream, or jello in it. ryan and i have been on a jello instant pudding trip lately, dunno how that started, so i figured i'd make an icebox cake.

1 3-ounce package lime gelatin

1 18.25-ounce-package lemon cake mix

Topping

1 envelope whipped topping mix (2- to 2 1/2-cup yield) or two 8-ounce tubs of Cool Whip

1 3-ounce package lemon instant pudding mix

1 1/2 cups cold whole milk (omit milk if using Cool Whip)

Dissolve gelatin in 3/4 cup boiling water. Add 1/2 cup cold water and set aside.

Mix and bake cake as directed in a 9-by-13-by-2-inch pan. Cool cake 20 to 25 minutes.

Poke holes through top of warm cake (still in pan) with a drinking straw. Space holes about 1 inch apart. With a measuring cup with a spout, slowly pour gelatin mixture into holes. Refrigerate cake while preparing topping.

Topping

In a chilled, deep bowl, mix either by hand or in a mixer the whipped topping mix, instant pudding and cold milk until stiff, 3 to 8 minutes. If using Cool Whip topping, mix in a blender with the instant lemon pudding mix and omit the milk. Mix well, about 5 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl so the pudding mix is well incorporated.

Immediately frost cake and store in refrigerator at least four hours. Cake is best served chilled. Frosted cake may be frozen for a month or refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

of course i made my own changes to the recipe. i used lemon instead of lime gelatin. i never used whipped topping or cool whip in a recipe so i substituted with 16 oz of heavy whipping cream and threw the instant pudding in there and then blended it up. it's just like making fresh whipped cream except the flavor is from the instant pudding and not sugar. the cake is pretty good and there is a ton of it. the gelatin makes the cake really moist. i usually don't bake premade cake mixes but i did this time and i realized it doesn't really save as much time as you'd think if i had made it from scratch.