Holiday Lane Cake

We've made this fancy Southern cake doable for anybody. The shortcut? Cake mix and frosting mix. You're just in charge of the gooey filling and baking the cake, of course.

Yield: 1 (3-layer) cake

Ingredients

• 1  (18.25-ounce) package white cake mix (we tested with Duncan Hines)
• 3  large eggs
• 1 1/4  cups  milk
• 1/4  cup  vegetable oil
• Raisin-Nut Filling
• 1  (7.2-ounce) package fluffy white frosting mix (we tested with Betty Crocker)
• 1/2  cup  boiling water
• Garnish: maraschino cherries with stems

Preparation

Beat first 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes. Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 8 round cakepans. Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool on wire racks. Wrap cake layers in nonstick aluminum foil and freeze 30 minutes. (This step aids in frosting the finished product.)

Unwrap layers. Spread Raisin-Nut Filling between layers, reserving about 1 1/3 cups for top of cake.

Beat frosting mix and 1/2 cup boiling water at low speed 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl; beat at high speed 5 to 7 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Spread frosting on sides of cake. Spread reserved filling on top of cake. Let stand at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish, if desired.