Cake Recipes
Watergate Cake with Cover-Up Frosting
This is a 1970s cake popular when the Watergate scandal was taking place.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 (18.25 ounce) box plain white cake mix*
- 1 (3.4 ounce) box instant pistachio pudding mix
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup ginger ale
- 3 large eggs
Cover-Up Frosting
- 1 (3.4 ounce) box instant pistachio pudding mix
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly mist a 13 x 9 inch pan with vegetable oil, then dust with flour**. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside.
Cake
- Place cake mix, pudding mix, oil, ginger ale and eggs into a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute.
- Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula.
- Place the pan in the oven.
- Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool completely, 30 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, prepare Cover-Up Frosting.
Cover-Up Frosting
- Whisk pudding mix and milk together in a large mixing bowl. It should thicken up but not set, from 2 to 3 minutes. Gently fold in whipped topping. Spread the top with frosting. You can sprinkle toasted nuts over the top, if desired.
- Store cake, covered, in the refrigerator.
Notes
* 18.25 ounce boxes of cake mix have been replaced by 16.5 ounce and 15.25 ounce boxes. To compensate for the volume loss in a 16 ounce box, whisk 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour into the dry cake mix before proceeding with the recipe. To compensate for the volume loss in a 15.25 ounce box, add 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.
** For best results, use our Pan Release!