Lemon Angel Torte

Doesn't that look yummy?  It may not be picture perfect, but it will taste like summer on this January day.  This cake was made with store-bought ingredients and went together very quickly.

I love to make things from scratch for several reasons.  1) It is usually cheaper, 2) It is usually healthier, and 3) I like to cook.  However, I am always on the look out for a deal.  If I can pick up ingredients for a semi-homemade meal or dessert, I will do it in a flash.  I got the Angel-food cake on a buy one get one free deal.  This one has been in the freezer.  The lemon curd is from a Jello mix I got on a clearance shelf.

The pudding is cook and serve.  I'm not a fan of instant puddings, but if you like them feel free to use them.  I called my mother when I was cooking the pudding.  A nice chat later and into the refrigerator it went.  I do tend to think instant pudding tastes different than the cook and serve stuff.  Maybe it is because I grew up eating it.  I don't really know, but I don't mind taking the time to cook it.  I have made lemon curd from scratch many times.  It is wonderful, but I didn't have the ingredients on hand to do that today.  My whole outlook is 'make do with what you have'.

So, I cooked and cooled the pudding.  I took the cake out of the freezer and let it defrost a little bit.  It is easier to slice or cube cake when it is still a little bit frozen.  I cut it into 3 pieces and layered the pudding between the layers.

I like to let some of the pudding ooze down the sides.  It always makes my kids say, "OOOOOOOO!"

I don't put pudding on the top, but you can if you like.  I prefer to top it with whipped topping.

The assembly took less than 5 minutes.  My son ran to get his camera because he wanted a picture.  Nothing warms my heart like my son getting excited about the things I make in the kitchen.

If the cake had broken up while cutting it, I would have layered the cake cubes and pudding in a bowl and topped it with the whipped topping.  Then instead of a torte, you have a trifle!  This would be very tasty with fruit too.  I didn't have any today and no one is going to complain.  You can use any type of cake and any type of pudding.  Let your imagination run wild!