sometimes you feel like a nut...

...sometimes you don't.

Remember that jingle for Almond Joy and Mounds? Apparently it was most prevalent in the 70s, but since I remember it and I hadn't yet graced the earth with my presence (I kid, I kid--is there actually anyone that smug?), I guess it carried on over into the 80s.

Although I often feel like a nut (in more ways than one), I won't lie--I prefer Mounds. There's something annoying to me about a big ol' hard hunk of almond in the middle of an otherwise soft, sweet bar. That said, I won't turn down an Almond Joy; I just wish the almonds were sliced and scattered.

The cake I made for our Easter meal (which incidentally doubled as my birthday celebration) was no massive undertaking. I had limited resources with which to work, and this was the best I could do. Thankfully, even though I was forced to morph into Sandra Lee for a hot second, the cake was delicious.

Inspired by the undeniably tasty Almond Joy bar, I combined a devil's food cake mix with the usual suspects, as well as almond extract (hardly a suitable replacement for almonds, but what can ya do?), coconut cream pudding mix, and flaked coconut. If I had had some sliced almonds at my disposal, they would've gone in as well.

The result was a perfectly pretty and quite tasty dessert. It was a wee bit on the dry side around the edges, but that was effectively remedied with some vanilla ice cream or, even more deliciously, some leftover cream of coconut.  I briefly considered going all out with the semi-homemade notion and frosting with Cool wHip, but regained my senses just in time.

Almond-less Almond Joy Cake
(based on this recipe)

1 box devil's food cake mix
1 (3.4 oz) box coconut cream instant pudding and pie filling
4 large eggs
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water oil, and extract in large bowl. Beat until moistened. Stir in coconut and pour into pan.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.