Lime Coconut Cake

What happens when you are A) Completely out of recipes to post on your blog, and B)moving in one week, and don't have time to bake from scratch?  You bust out your emergency cake mix and dress it up!  I usually don't use cake mixes, because I think that scratch is way better, but if you are in a pinch, you can usually play with a mix and create something better than the box.  


With this cake, I simply substituted lime juice for the water, butter for the oil, and threw in some coconut.  Add some lime zest and coconut extract to store bought cream cheese frosting (I know, strike two!!) and you get something a little better than store bought.  Super fast, super easy, and super yummy!


Lime Coconut Cake


Cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup lime juice
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted
3 eggs
1 cup coconut


Frosting:
2 containers cream cheese frosting
1 Tablespoon lime zest
1/4 to 1/2 coconut extract


Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease and lightly flour 2 9-inch round cake pans.


In a medium bowl, beat together the cake mix, lime juice, melted butter, eggs, and coconut, until well incorporated.  Divide the batter between the prepared  cake pans, and spread evenly.  Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in the pans for about 10 minutes.  Turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.


For the frosting, stir together the frosting, lime zest, and coconut extract until blended.  Spread the frosting between the cake layers and over the top and sides of the cake.  Makes about 12 servings.


Enjoy!  -Cardamommy