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This Southern classic Pig Pickin’ Cake is made with box cake mix combined with mandarin oranges and a pineapple Cool Whip frosting. It’s fruity, tropical, and ridiculously easy to make!
If sunshine could be packaged up into a dessert, it would be this pig pickin’ cake recipe (aka sunshine cake). The base is a combination of box cake mix and mandarin oranges and the frosting is Cool Whip, vanilla pudding, and pineapple. But the best part is the prep! It’s so, so easy. 10 minutes of prep is all you need! (Of course, the cake does need to cool before frosting!) This mandarin orange cake is always such a huge hit for picnics or barbecues!
Why Everyone Needs To Try This Pig Pickin’ Cake Recipe
- Fruity and tropical. This cake is made with mandarin orange slices and crushed pineapple which give it the perfect tropical flavor! It’s especially wonderful in the summer months.
- Ridiculously easy to make. Pig pickin’ cake starts with box cake mix, which means no measuring dry ingredients. Everything is literally dumped into a bowl, mixed, and dumped into the baking dish. So easy!
- Moist cake, fluffy frosting. The cake is dense and moist while the whipped topping is light and fluffy in this recipe. The combination of the two textures is one of the things I love moist about it!
Recipe Ingredients
Both the cake and the frosting are made with just a few ingredients. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
Ingredients for cake:
- Cake mix – I used yellow cake, but white would work as well.
- Mandarin oranges – I used a 15-ounce can and removed 1/4 cup of juice to prevent it from being too wet. If you can only find cans of mandarins in an 11 ounce can, use all the fruit and juice instead of removing ¼ cup.
- Eggs – Give the cake shape.
- Vegetable oil – Adds extra moisture.
- Vanilla extract
Ingredients for Frosting:
- Crushed pineapple – Be sure to drain it very well to avoid a too-wet frosting.
- Cool Whip – Thawed.
- Vanilla instant pudding mix – Adds flavor to the frosting.
How To Make Pig Pickin’ Cake
When I say this cake is easy to make, I mean it!
- Prep. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray the baking dish with non-stick spray and coat with a bit of flour.
- Make the cake batter. Combine the cake mix, oranges and juice, eggs, vanilla, and vegetable oil. Beat on low for 2 minutes.
- Bake. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
- Make the frosting. Combine the Cool Whip, pineapple, and instant pudding in a bowl until fully combined.
- Frost the cake. Spread the frosting evenly over the cake. Add more mandarin oranges as a garnish if desired. Cover and refrigerate or enjoy immediately.
Tips & Tricks
Here are a few important things to remember when making this pig pickin’ cake.
- Drain the pineapple well. To remove as much liquid as possible from the pineapple, I poured it into a colander and squeezed out the extra juice before making the frosting.
- Make it sweeter. I used mandarins and pineapple that were packaged in water which yielded a sweet, but not overly sweet cake. If you want to add to the overall sweetness, use mandarins and pineapple that are canned in light syrup.
- Grease and flour the pan. It’s important to grease and flour the pan well because this batter WILL stick to the pan. Just make sure to shake out any excess flour!
How to Store Leftovers
This pig pickin’ cake should be stored in the refrigerator covered for up to 3-4 days.
Add as Google Trusted SourcePig Pickin’ Cake
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce yellow cake mix
- 15.25 ounce can mandarin oranges, reserving ¼ cup of juice
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Whipped Pineapple Frosting:
- 20 ounce can crushed pineapple, well-drained
- 16 ounces whipped cream, (such as Cool Whip), thawed
- 3.4 ounce instant vanilla pudding
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a 9×13 glass or metal pan with non-stick spray and a bit of flour around the bottom and edges. Discard remaining flour. Set aside.
- Add the cake mix, can of mandarin oranges less ¼ cup of the juice, eggs, vanilla and vegetable oil to a mixing bowl. Beat on low for 2 minutes until well combined.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Once the cake is ready to frost, add the Cool Whip, drained pineapple and instant pudding to a large bowl. Stir to fully combine.
- Add the frosting to the cake and spread evenly. Add mandarin oranges as garnish if desired.
- Serve or cover and refrigerate.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Have you tried shredded coconut in the frosting mix? This looks light and delicious.
This is just a Mandarin Orange cake & yes it’s very good & moist.
Flavors are summery and light!!! An easy dessert to whip up
Thanks Bonnie!