{recipe} Cherry Dream Cake

Here is another recipe I tested as the designated Baker Extraordinaire at work.  For each birthday/holiday/office party I have brought in something special.  This cake was for our secretary's birthday. She's not a fan of chocolate or heavily sweet things, so following an extensive food blog recipe search, I came up with this beauty from allrecipes: Cherry Dream Cake.

(Sorry for the poor picture.  I forgot to take a picture before we pigged out, and all I had on me was my phone...)

(I have also seen the cake part of this recipe referred to as Jello Poke Cake, and I bet it can be made with any flavor Jello you want.) I made a few 'lite' changes to the recipe: a) sugar-free cherry jello, b) 'lite' cherry pie filling. I also used a different frosting recipe than what was originally listed. For the frosting I used 'lite' cool-whip, and substituted almond extract for the vanilla in order to enhance the cherry flavor. I hope you followed all that. I'll rewrite the entire recipe below with all my changes. It was soooooooo yummy, and received lots of compliments from everyone in the office. I decided after I made it, that I should have poked twice as many holes in it to get lots of red showing in the cake. It was good nonetheless, and was gone by the 2nd day in the office. Here's the recipe as I made it, with my changes in parentheses:

CHERRY DREAM CAKE (adapted from allrecipes.com)

1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package (SUGAR-FREE) cherry gelatin
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 (8 ounce) container (LITE) whipped topping
1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla (ALMOND) extract
1 (21 ounce) can (LITE) cherry pie filling

Prepare cake mix according to package directions, using a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Cool cake on a wire rack for 3-5 minutes. Poke holes in cake with a meat fork; gradually pour gelatin over cake. cool for 15 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix with milk and vanilla (ALMOND EXTRACT) Mix until smooth. Gently fold in whipped topping until no streaks remain. Carefully spread over cake. Top with the pie filling. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

I'm testing a new recipe and an old favorite for Valentine's day, so stay tuned next week!