Lemon Cake with an Apricot Caramel Glaze

Ah, sweet lemons. I love them. 

They smell sour, taste sour, and somehow get away with it. All the time!

I can't get away with acting and smelling sour EVER! Someone is always there to tell me about it and read my the riot act. 

I envy these little juicy fruits. They're sassy, and loving it. And everyone else seems to agree that sassy is okay for these little yellow bulbs. 

It just doesn't seem fair. Why can they get away with being sassy and I can't?

Oh, well, that will take too long and I have only a few minutes to tell you that my honey's nieces, nephew, and their friends ate almost the entire pan. 

They had no idea it was healthy and they ate at least three pieces each! I kid you not. Their mom was worried about sugar and I couldn't get her alone to tell her that things would be okay. 

This is another July 4th winner. Easy to make (aka- starts with a cake mix), but fresh flavors make this a surprisingly light cake... perfect for a hot summer evening!

Okay, let's get started!

Lemon Cake with Caramel Apricot Glaze

1 Package Yellow Cake Mix (Sugar free if you can find it)
3 tbsp. Lemon Juice
2 tbsp. Lemon Zest
1 Egg
1 Cup No Sugar Added Apple Sauce
1/2 Cup Water



Caramel Apricot Glaze:

1 Cup Apricots
1/2 Cup Sugar Free Caramel Sauce
1/2 Cup Sugar Free Maple Syrup
3 tbsp. Lemon Juice
1/2 Cup Graham Crackers; smashed into dust 


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 X 12 baking dish
2. In a large bowl combine the cake mix, lemon juice, lemon zest, egg, apple sauce, water. Pour into the baking dish and bake in the oven for 33-40 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.

3. Let the cake cool. Meanwhile combine the apricots, caramel sauce, and lemon juice in a food processor and process until smooth. 

4. Then spread over the top of the cooled lemon cake.Top with the graham cracker dust. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Garnish with thinly sliced strawberries if desired.

Servings: 24

Nutritional Skinny:

127 calories / 2 g fat / 27 g carbohydrates / 1 g fiber / 1.7 g protein
  
Mental Health Benefit: By eliminating all of the oil from the original bake box recipe we have eliminated almost all of the fat. And by substituting apple sauce we are increasing the fiber and adding vitamins A, C, and bringing antioxidants to this party with the apricots. Not to mention that we are adding fruit to this recipe with the caramel apricot glaze that tastes delicious with the tart lemon and compliments the caramel perfectly. In short, this recipe went from 240 calories to a small 127. That's a savings of over 100 calories!


Deliciously nutritious. That's what I'm about!