Lemon Curd Icebox Cake

Brett and I were talking about his upcoming birthday.  It's not til Oct 24 - he likes to plan ahead. I wonder who he gets that from?  Anyhow, he mentioned that he'd like me to make a lemon cake for his party. Wha?! Is this the same boy who requests peanut butter-flavored anything whenever he can?  I'm really not sure what to make of this.  But I figured I oughta try out some lemon cake recipes so I can find the perfect one for the Falzone family party.

First up: Lemon Curd Icebox Cake from The Cake Mix Doctor Returns.  It doesn't get much easier than this - add 1/3 cup lemon curd to your usual ingredients for the cake mix. Yep, that's it.

It's not too exciting to look at - just a cake covered in Cool Whip.

Cake. Covered in Cool Whip.

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. The recipe calls for you to mix 2/3 of the lemon curd in with whipped cream.  But I wanted to separate the two to boost the lemon flavor.  So I spread the lemon curd over the cake right after I pulled it from the oven (spooning it on, then spreading it out with a spatula after it melted a touch).  I'd definitely do it this way again.
2. I don't like lemon cake mix (I always feel like it has a weird chemical taste), and I didn't have a yellow cake mix. So I substituted a white cake mix. Worked just fine. 
3. Chuck's review: this cake tastes like summer.  Brett's review: "mmmmm. Lemon." My review: "holy crap, that was easy to make...oh and it tastes good."
4. Probably not the front runner for Brett's bday cake (which I've decided must have buttercream or cream cheese frosting), but great cake nonetheless.

Lemon Curd Icebox Cake

For the cake:
1 pkg (18.25 oz) plain yellow or lemon cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup lemon curd (from a 10 oz jar)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

For the topping:
10 oz cool whip (or...you can be fancy and whip 1 cup heavy cream + 1 tbls powdered sugar)
2/3 cup lemon curd (remainder of lemon curd)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour 9x13 pan.
2. Place cake mix, water, 1/3 cup lemon curd, oil, and eggs in large mixing bowl. Beat on low speed 30 seconds til incorporated. Scrape down side of bowl if needed.  Increase mixer to medium and beat 1 1/2 min til batter is thick and well combined. Pour batter into pan and place in oven.
3. Bake til cake is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with a finger, 30-35 minutes. Transfer to wire wrack and let cool to room temperature, 25 minutes.
4. When the cake has cooled, fold lemon curd in to Cool Whip or whipped cream. Spread over cooled cake with spatula. Cover and refrigerate to chill at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.