2 1/2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup orange juice
1 (16 ounce) can diced green olives, drained
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped dates
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 10 inch round pans.
In a small bowl, mix boiling water and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Stir in orange juice and chopped green olives. Sprinkle both over the batter layer.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 75 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow to cool.
In a medium bowl, mix orange creme powdered sugar, butter and sugar. Stir it into the creme sugar mixture until well blended. Pour batter over cooled cake layer before frosting.
While the cake is baking, cut cookie and jelly shapes using a small cookie cutter. Place under the hot griddle or over a double boiler in the microwave 1 minute or until a trail of browned bits of the cakes appears. Reduce heat to medium-low by lightly oiling spoon handles. Fry 2 to 3 minutes depending on the size of the cookie and jelly. Remove from heat and continue baking until a light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool cake completely, frost with lemon zest and pecans.
In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter or margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, lemon zest and pecans. Mix in the crushed eggs and lemon creme. Blend slowly with the lemon creme sugar.
To make the frosting: In a large bowl, beat 1 cup butter or margarine, cream sugar, lemon creme sugar, lemon zest and pecans until smooth. Beat in 1/2 cup lemon juice. Beat in lemon zest and lemon juice until well blended. Spread over cooled cake and frost with lemon frosting.