angel lush cakes

The Littles and I try to venture North to my mom's house at least once a week throughout the Summer months to spend extended time with her. I don't get to visit as often when our little ones are in school, so I seize the lazy days of Summer to spend extra time with her.

During one of my visits she surprised me with two cookbooks.

They weren't just any ol' cookbooks though . . . they were hers!

I remember one of them from my growing up years . . . and the other was one that was given to her by her family and friends as a wedding gift. They filled it with their favorite recipes; and over the years, my mom has added her favorite recipes, too . . . and now I have them! I'm pretty sure I heard my heart sing that day!

We spent upwards of 4 hours combing through the cookbooks and loose-leaf recipe cards and papers . . . It was so much fun!

It's a treasure to have so many of my maternal grandma and great-grandma's recipes . . . and the best part is that so many of them are written in their own hand-writing!

We also found recipes from my dad's Kansas family, most of which were from his sisters. These also mean a lot to me because our family spent Summers in Kansas every year . . . so I have fond memories of all my aunts and cousins great home-cooking!

The recipe that I'm sharing with you today is one that my dad's family shared with my mom more than a decade ago, as Angel Food was my dad's favorite cake. It's fun to have a pretty and delicious twist on one of his favorites.

Although the real Angel Lush recipe calls for angel food cake, I thought I would bake a white vanilla cake instead. (I'm more of a cake gal!)

It's ridiculous how easy this cake is to prepare and assemble! And if you buy an Angel Food from your local bakery or market, then it'll be that much faster to put together.

The light and fluffy vanilla and pineapple pudding filling is delicious! The vanilla pudding 'warms up' the pineapple juices giving it a more tender sweetness, and the fresh berries brighten up the whole cake. YUM!

Since my from-scratch white cake recipe yield a crumb that's too tender for this kind of cake, I used a moist vanilla cake mix, and then added and an extra teaspoon of vanilla to the batter. And voila, you have my version of an Angel Lush Cake!

This beautiful cake can also be made into mini cakes and cupcakes . . . and topped with a single berry or combination of fresh berries. I chose strawberries because they're absolutely gorgeous and ripe this time of year!

I will be making Angel Lush Cupcakes for my mom's Annual End-of-Summer Family Gathering this weekend. I'll post a photo on Facebook or Instagram so that you can see how darling they are!

I hope I've inspired you to whip up one more Summer-inspired dessert before this beautiful season ends!

angel lush cakes

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1 20-ounce can CRUSHED pineapple, undrained

1 3.4-ounce package instant vanilla pudding   

1 8-ounce package Cool Whip whipped topping

1 10-ounce package round angel food cake, cut into 3 (or 4 layers)

fresh seasonal berries

.     .     .     .     .

Preparation

Mix pineapple and dry pudding mix in medium bowl. Gently stir in whipped topping.

Stack cake layers on plate, spreading pudding mixture between layers and on top of cake.

Refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve. Garnish with your favorite seasonal berries.

Enjoy!

 

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