Julie Clark
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Mandarin Orange Cake
No one will believe this cake starts with a cake mix! Best ever Mandarin Orange Cake is one of the easiest cake recipes. It’s light and fruit-filled…delicious!
Everyone LOVES this pig pickin’ cake. And when I say that I’m not exaggerating. I haven’t met anyone who dislikes it! There are mandarin oranges whipped into the cake batter and a fluffy pineapple frosting covering the top.
Make it as a layer cake or in a 9×13 pan as we show here. You’ll love it for picnics and potlucks!
Why you’ll love this cake:
- semi homemade with a box cake mix and pudding mix
- extra moist from the mandarin oranges
- orange and pineapple flavor
- fresh and light
- great make ahead cake
What is pig pickin’ cake?
I have seen this mandarin orange cake called every name under the sun. Pig pickin’ cake, pea pickin’ cake, mandarin orange cake, pineapple sunset cake. It’s easier than ever because it starts with a box cake mix. It has mandarin oranges beaten in the batter and pineapple in the whipped frosting.
How to Make Mandarin Orange Cake
Get ready for the easiest fruit cake ever. Ready? Because if you’re not, it’s so quick you might miss it.
- Prepare. Prepare cake batter according to the directions on the box.
- Mix. Beat in the drained oranges until blended.
- Bake.Pour into a greased 9×13″ baking pan. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool.
**And here’s a pro tip for even more flavor. Save the pineapple juice when you drain the pineapple and use it in place of water when whipping up the cake batter. Delicious!**
Pineapple Pudding Frosting
This whipped cream frosting has to be one of my favorites…and not just because it is easy! It is light, fluffy and fresh. Not too sweet, but cool and creamy.
If you want to keep it easy, use Cool Whip. For those of you who don’t like whipped topping use a stabilized whipped cream and make as directed.
How to Store Mandarin Orange Cake
Be sure to store this cake in the refrigerator in an airtight container. You won’t want that whipped frosting to melt off!
Mandarin Orange Cake Recipe
No one will believe this cake starts with a cake mix! Best ever Mandarin Orange Cake is one of the easiest cake recipes. It’s light and fruit-filled…delicious!
Servings 12
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix (plus ingredients the box mix calls for)
- 11 ounces mandarin oranges (drained)
- 20 ounces crushed pineapple (drained)
- 3.4 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix (dry)
- 12 ounces Cool Whip or stabilized whipped cream
Instructions
- Prepare cake batter according to the directions on the box.
- Beat in the drained oranges until blended.
- Pour into a greased 9×13" baking pan.
- Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool.
- In a bowl, combine the drained pineapple and dry vanilla pudding mix.
- Fold in the Cool Whip.
- Spread the frosting over the top of the cake.
- Store this cake in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
You can also make this into a layer cake! Bake the cake layers in 2 8″ cake pans for 22-25 minutes or until they test done.
The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 12 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 273kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 386mg | Potassium: 152mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Vitamin C: 11.4mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 1.1mg
Other Fruit Cake Recipes
Tools to Make This Cake
- Stand Mixer: A hand mixer will work, but I always find it easier to make cake batter and whipped cream with a stand mixer.
- 8” Round Cake Pan: These are my favorite pans!
- Straight Icing Spatula: The long straight spatula makes it easy to smooth frosting.
Must Have Cake Mix Recipes! Sometimes you need a shortcut. Just because time is in limited supply, it doesn’t mean that flavor and fun have to be! Our cookbook has 20 cakes and cupcakes that all start with a cake mix but end up as a beautiful dessert no one will be able to resist. Click here to read about it!
Fantastic ; I added cherries to the top but next time I may arrange orange and cherries. can you use the juice of the mandarin orange in place of water in the mix?
This was always a hit at Moms work Pot-lucks. She would make this into cupcakes so everyone got some. So tasty and light, can never get enough!
I made this except I used orange jello powder instead of the pudding for the frosting because that’s what I had on hand. It was so delicious. Family loved it.