Mary's Lemon Cake a Herne Family Picnic Favorite!

 I have repeated this recipe a few times because it's one of my favorite cakes, filled with the spring and summer lemony goodness and memories of something my mother liked to make... 

I don't remember my mother making this cake. My mama was a brilliant woman besieged by the demons of depression and alcoholism, but this recipe was one that managed to get made occasionally... and then became one that I made for family parties. Not for Christmas, no... winter has its own bevy of deliciousness, doesn't it? But this lemon cake is a reminder of good times of days when I glimpsed the wonderful woman inside the sad shell she'd become. 

I was in my thirties before my parents stopped drinking. That was the first time I really got to know the true Mary Elizabeth Logan Herne.... and I use Logan Herne as my writing name at her request, so that people would know "I was hers"... It's a bittersweet thing to have such a shortened time with the person who gave you life, but I'm always grateful for those final ten years, a time when I could talk with her, sit with her, and glimpse the talented woman inside. 

My writing gift comes from her, so whenever I make lemon cake or bake pies (something my father loved) I bring up the good times... and shrug off the bad because if we wallow in the sorrows and sadnesses of life, we waste so much time. 

Too much time.

So here it is again, the lemon cake our whole family loves... and brought to you with that love attached!

This recipe is an old favorite. It's one of the few things my mother made after I was old enough to remember. By the time I was seven or eight, her alcoholism and depression had taken over and it wasn't until I was in my mid-thirties that I got to meet my mother sober. What a joyous thing that was!  Sure, there was a lot of water under the bridge, but I had God with me, all the time. Remember that song, Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel?  That song spoke to me in so many ways of God's redeeming love and protection.

This cake is tart/sweet, it's moist and tender, it's a perfect 'pick up a slice and eat' kind of picnic offering. I don't know where it originated (probably McCall's magazine or something like that) but it's a huge crowd pleaser whenever our family gets together. And yes...

It's Easy-Peasy!  :)

Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix
1 large package lemon Jello
4 eggs (I'm using my fresh eggs from the chicken coop!!!)
3/4 cup oil
1 cup water

Mix together. Beat on medium speed for 4 minutes.

Pour into greased and floured 13" x 9" pan....

Bake at 350 degrees (moderate oven) until cake is done. Cake is done when it springs back when lightly touched in middle OR when you insert a toothpick into the middle and all that clings to it are a few moist crumbs. To tell that you really must withdraw the toothpick from the cake. I may or may not have forgotten to mention that!  ;)

Cool 5 minutes. Or six or seven. Prick cake with wide-pronged meat fork... Prick thoroughly.

Each hole you make provides a channel of glazing deliciousness.

Make glaze:

3 cup 10 X sugar (can you tell this is an old recipe????)  Powdered sugar was often referred to as "10X" or Confectioner's sugar to make the distinction between that and normal grind sugar.
3/4 cup Lemon Juice
Whisk sugar and lemon juice together. Slowly drizzle over cake, allowing liquid to seep into all those precious little holes you made.

Amazingly delicious cold, warm or at room temperature. Seriously, sitting down and eating the ENTIRE THING is never a bad idea. You can always make more, right?

And there you have it, a Herne/Blodgett standby, an old favorite that's melt-in-your-mouth perfect for eating on a plate or out of hand! DELICIOUS and wonderful for 4th of July picnic spreads!