Sprite Cake

Recently, one of my dearest friends in the world lost her mama. I cried with her for days — via text, phone, and when the time came at the funeral. Conversation has never run dry between us, but even with one of my nearest and dearest friends I struggled to find words. At least the right words.

What do you say when someone you love is grieving?

They say the firsts are the worst. Thanksgiving was the first of the firsts for Lulu. Two short weeks after her mama passed away, Lulu’s home would be filled with her people — children from college, family from out of town, friends from near and far. An incredible cook and gracious hostess, I wondered if the magic Lulu sprinkles in her kitchen might be dulled by fresh sorrow.

I reached for the cookbook that sits just above my desk in the kitchen. A hard bound, beautiful book filled with decades of family recipes Lulu — a writer and artist — published for her relatives for Christmas one year. She gave me a copy of the family cookbook justifying I was the little sister she always wanted.

“Won’t it make her sad?” one of my girls asked. We flipped pages reading each recipe until we found just the right one.

“She’s already sad, sweetie. We can’t change that, but we can make one of her mama’s recipes and remember beside her.”

“I vote for Sprite Cake,” Littlest declared.

So the girls and I made Sprite Cake and later that night we sat forks-in-hand around Lulu’s kitchen island and ate half of it in one sitting. There were tears, plenty of laughter, and spilled milk to be sure. Where we were short on words we were long on love.

Love, after all, is best as an action verb.

Sprite Cake

★★★★★

4.7 from 3 reviews

Flavorful orange cake spiked with the lemon-lime flavor of Sprite, this nostalgic cake is like taking a walk down memory lane. Straight to your grandmother’s house.

• Author: from the recipe collection of Lulu Stegmann
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• For the Cake:
• 1 box Orange Cake mix
• 1 (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup oil
• 1 1/4 cup Sprite
• For the Icing:
• 1 (8.25 oz) can crushed pineapple
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 stick butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cake mix, pudding, eggs, oil, and Sprite until well combined. Pour batter evenly in two round cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
2. While cake is baking mix icing ingredients in a small sauce pan over low heat. Heat until very thick, stirring often.
3. Allow cakes and icing to cool.
4. Spread icing between layers, top, and sides of cake.
5. {instead of a layered cake you can also make a pretty bundt cake}