Happy Cake!

With the long weekend ahead, I thought I'd share a simple recipe that is perfectly suitable for a picnic get-together. Also known as Sunshine Cake, this simple recipe for Happy Cake came to me when I was at Needle in a Haystack Retreat earlier this year. Whenever quilters get together to sew, the conversation swirls around sewing and so many other things, too. Including easy recipes. And this one fits the bill. Enjoy!

Just a few simple ingredients that may already be in your pantry: lemon cake mix (could be yellow or white, too!), lemon flavored instant pudding mix, a large can of mandarin oranges, and a large can of pineapple, non-dairy whipped topping, and some sort of garnish--in my case crushed sour lemon ball candies--the garnish is optional.

Preheat the oven following the cake mix directions, and mix together the cake mix and the mandarin oranges, complete with any liquid in the can. . .

Mix it up good! And spread it in a greased and floured 9x13" baking pan.

Bake following the temperature and timing instructions on the cake mix box. Cool completely.

While the cake is baking and cooling, mix together the undrained pineapple and the pudding mix. Place the mixture in the refrigerator to set. When the cake is done and cooled, fold the pineapple mixture with the whipped topping.

Spread the pineapple topping on the cake and garnish as desired. I'm not sure I would use the crushed candy next time. When I placed the frosted cake in the refrigerator the candy dissolved, leaving nice lemony flavor but pools of liquid lemon drops. Not bad, but not appealing. Next time I might add some lemon zest or just leave it alone!

Yum!

As promised last week, here are a couple more row patterns that I wrote for the Row by Row Experience. Some details about Row by Row:

 - It starts on July 1
 - You travel from shop to shop (1,250 of them are participating in the US and Canada!)
 - Pick up a free pattern
 - Repeat until you have at least 8 rows then put a quilt together using the patterns you collected to be eligible for great prizes
 - Or keep repeating, collecting, and sewing rows to your heart's content. Make a quilt, or a table runner, or whatever you like from the row patterns you collected for a memento of a great summer-long quilt shop hop.

Head to Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and Sew Special to pick up the row pattern for Winter Cardinals.

And, last, but not least, Calico Gals in Syracuse, New York, the home of the Row by Row Experience is where you can pick up the pattern for Flurrious Winter.

These two rows have an extra border sewn on to the actual row so you can turn the row into a unique table topper or wall-hanging. Of course, you can ask for kits for everything at both shops! The row pattern is free for the asking when you stop in the store.

You can find more information and answers to your questions on the Row by Row Experience website.

If you pick up one of the row patterns I wrote, tell the shop owner I said, "Hey!"

This week I'm at Adirondack Quilt Camp in Long Lake, NY. Between the quilty classes I'm teaching I took advantage of a few minutes on the beach right around sunset. . . . (I seriously need a pedicure!!)

Life is good!

Happy Stitching!
joan