Easy Pound Cake

Next week, my oldest cherub finishes his last day of Middle school and

my girl cherub finishes her first year of Middle school.

I think back; when we moved to Texas, my oldest cherub was the age my girl cherub is now.

I adore the time of life we are in.

I can't imagine anything different!

Those who have already launched your children; your wisdom tells me to enjoy it because time will fly!

Those who have just started out; you can't imagine how quickly the day will come when you'll be counting down the end of the school days and talking about colleges and SAT preparation with your little one.

I think back to the elementary days of the end of school and the hub-bub of teacher gifts!

What do we get?

When do we give it?

Do we get each teacher something different or their own "personalized" gift?

Oh, the quandary!

In Middle school -- those teachers kind of get the shaft!

They, too, work long hours.

They, too, teach creatively.

They, too, invest in my cherubs.

They, too, are our partner with our cherubs.

They, too, deserve a little treat!

So, I left school today and ran home to bake for them!

(Remember the above question of "what do we get?" . . . .it's still a question!)

Cakes it is!

I've never made this recipe before, but I think it's going to be amazing.

It's amazingly easy!

It smells amazing baking!

 . . .so, amazing it is!

I like that this cake is easily altered for whatever your mind can create!

Easy Pound Cake

1 box cake mix, any flavor
4 eggs
1 tsp. flavoring (vanilla, coffee, almond, vanilla nut . . . it depends on your flavor combination)
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated)
1 cup buttermilk (or milk, if you don't have buttermilk)*** see note below
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 box instant vanilla OR chocolate pudding (depending on the flavor you are making)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and beat for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides.  Beat another 1-2 minutes, until everything is well mixed and batter is thick.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until cake is done and toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.

You can make a simple glaze to drizzle over the cooled cake, using powdered sugar and either lemon juice (if it's citrus flavored) or milk, mixed with a little flavoring that you added to the cake.  If time doesn't allow, dust with a little powdered sugar on top and serve!

***One of the cakes I made was lemon.  I omitted the buttermilk and substituted 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1/2 cup of water.  I used vanilla pudding and "princess cake and cookie" flavoring from King Arthur.

*The other cake I made was chocolate and I used "triple chocolate" from Betty Crocker, chocolate pudding, and coffee flavoring, along with the buttermilk.

*This cake would be wonderful made with all vanilla ingredients and used to serve under mixed berries for the holiday weekend!