Pistachio Cake

I got this semi- homemade recipe from my Grandmother Dukes a long time ago and thought it would be delicious. So when I was looking for a fun treat for St. Patrick's Day I knew this wound be great.  You can easily make this cake a little more diet friendly by substituting all of the full fat and high calorie ingredients with fat-free or low calorie options instead.

Ingredients: 

For the Cake

• 1 Box (18.25 oz) white cake mix
• 1 package (3.4 oz) instant pudding, pistachio flavored
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 can lemon-lime soda (such as sprite or 7up)

For the Frosting

• 1 package (3.4 oz) instant pudding, pistachio flavored 
•  1 1/2 cups milk
• 8oz frozen whipped cream, thawed (such as cool whip)
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios 

Directions:
For the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. In a large bowl mix together cake mix, 1 package of pudding, eggs, vegetable oil, and soda.
3. Place in cake pan of choice and cook according to the directions on the back of the cake mix box.  
4. After baking remove form oven to cool on wire cooling rack. After 10 minutes invert cake pans to free cake and cool completely.

For the Frosting

1. Mix milk and remaining package of pudding on high for 2-3 minutes till pudding is thickened. 
2. Fold in whipping cream and refrigerate till ready to frost cake.  
3. After frosting garnish with chopped pistachios. 

Baking Tip:
A friend of mine introduced me to cake strips a few years ago and I swear by them. They help your cakes stay level (great when you are doing a tiered cake) and they keep the entire cake moist. So no more dry edges. I highly recommended them for baking!