Lemon Comstock Cake

A two ingredient dessert? Really? My ancestral frugal, make-due-with-what-you-have grandmothers would have loved this! But then there was the next generation of cooks, those iconic 1950’s women who worked to win baking contests and outdo the neighbors. Then there’s my generation, women who gave themselves permission to go buy a cake from a large food chain….and today we buy them from large discount warehouses. Are two ingredient foods our current compromise to the we-really-want-to-be-proud bakers dilemma?

I’m going for it. Today I embrace the two ingredient Lemon bars! It’s only ingredients are a box of Angel food cake mix and lemon pie filling. Which, by the way, varies from recipe to recipe. How can that be true? I know. I agree. There are only 2 ingredients and people don’t agree. The angel food cake mix is the standard but the amount of lemon pie filling appears to be up for discussion. It ranges from 1 can, 1 large can, and 2 cans. So little ingredients and yet we still enjoy a good rollicking discussion about how much of what to put in. And although the directions state to stir them together and bake, again we have a variety of times. I am told to bake to 20, 25 or 30 minutes. Maybe this is really proof that we love a good rollicking discussion amongst ourselves.

All I am thinking is, goodness, two ingredients and it can still become a disaster.

I have decided to choose the 2, 15 oz cans of Lemon Pie Filling.

The first problem, the only cans I found are 21 oz. Goodness, I have to do math and measure. I can do this, I have many college credits…:)…So my 2, 21 oz cans equal 42 oz. I need 30 oz. So I need to ditch what is approximately 25% of my pie filling….or….. half of one can….!… ok.

Opening cans, I just tasted the pie filling. And can I just say, Yum! Good job Comstock! Into the bowl goes one package of cake mix, and 30 oz of pie filling.

I am careful to fold more than stir. Too many people who failed stated that they had used an electric mixer. Others who claimed failure stated that they had mixed vigorously. I am gently, delicately folding.

Another dispute was whether or not to grease the pan. I am greasing very, very lightly as middle compromise. It pours like regular batter.

Timing? I will begin peeking into the oven after 20 minutes and then decide if it needs more time.

At 25 minutes, it still looks like it needs a bit more, I will go with the 30 minutes.

Voila! Except for the knife marks to test done It looks lovely. I am happy.

I let it cool 10 minutes. I find it hard to wait to taste.

One piece out, I decorate it with refined sugar…and YUM! It really is an extremely moist Lemon Angel Food Cake.

I may just go onto the Two Ingredient Lemon Mouse.