This Mandarin Orange Cake Recipe is the stuff of legends. You may have grown up calling it Pig Pickin Cake. Everyone who tries this cake needs the recipe and then is shocked by how few ingredients you need to make it.
You only need SEVEN ingredients to make this orange pineapple cake, and that includes the frosting!
This is a classic cake recipe that lots of you grew up eating and loving at family gatherings, church picnics, and back yard BBQs. I got this recipe from my neighbor and fell in love immediately.
Anywhere she takes this cake people need the recipe. And for good reason. It is moist, packed with flavor, and best of all it is super easy to throw together.
I made this cake for work and it was a winner! Everyone loved it, I will be making this again and again. Thank you!
Ingredients for Orange Cake
One of the best parts about this cake is how few ingredients you need to make it!
- Yellow Cake Mix: You can pick your favorite brand. Or you can even use a homemade recipe yellow cake mix.
- Mandarin Oranges: These are for the cake and you will want to buy a can of these and not use a fresh mandarin orange, because you are using the juice too and want them completely peeled like you get in the can.
- Oil: I love using vegetable oil most for recipes like this.
- Eggs
- Cool Whip: You can also use my recipe for stabilized whipped cream.
- Vanilla Pudding Mix: This is for the frosting and you want to make sure you buy instant pudding mix, not the cook and serve kind. You will just be using the dry mix.
- Crushed Pineapple: You will be using a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple for the frosting, and you will use both the juice and the fruit.
How to Make Pig Pickin Cake
- Make the cake. Combine the cake mix (you are not following the instructions on the box or using the ingredients it calls for), mandarin oranges, eggs, and oil. Pour into a 9 by 13 inch pan and bake for 40 minutes.
- Make the frosting. Combine the cool whip, the undrained pineapples, and the dry pudding mix. Beat until smooth.
- Frost the cake. Once the cake is completely cooled, frost it with the frosting, serve and enjoy.
Making Ahead and Storing
For best results, this cake should be made right before serving or up to 24 hours in advance.
Leftovers should be covered and stored in the refrigerator. They can be stored for up to four days.
FAQ
Nope! You can add them as they are in the can. They will break up a little as your mixing all the ingredients together, and that is just perfect.
Correct! The pineapple and the juice go into the frosting. I promise it won’t be too runny. Don’t forget that you re also adding dry pudding mix.
Nope! They get added without draining.
No. Whipped cream isn’t stable and it alone can’t be used as a frosting. You can, however, use my stabilized whipped cream recipe in place of Cool Whip.
Bundt cakes are really tricky and can’t be made straight from another cake recipe without tweaks being made.
Other Easy Desserts
I have lots of great dessert recipes that take short cuts from store bought ingredients. I love baking from scratch, but I love how fun and easy these are for the kids to make too!
If you make this great orange pineapple cake or any of my other desserts be sure to leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
Mandarin Orange Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 box yellow cake mix (just the dry cake mix – 15.25 ounces)
- 1 15 ounce can mandarin oranges (undrained)
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
For the Frosting
- 12 ounces cool whip (or our recipe for stabilized whipped cream)
- 1 20 ounce can crushed pineapple undrained
- 1 3.4 ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix (just the pudding mix)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 by 13 inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, with a hand mixer or a spoon, mix together the yellow cake mix, the can of mandarin oranges, the eggs and the vegetable oil. Pour into the prepare pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, being careful not to over bake.
- Let the cake completely cool.
- In a large bowl whip together the cool whip, pineapple, and vanilla pudding mix. Spread over the cooled cake and serve!
Michelle says
I made this cake for work and it was a winner! Everyone loved it, next time I will add more whole pieces of mandarin. I will be making this again and again. Thank you!
I’m so glad you liked it, Michelle!
Nancy says
Hi, I want to make your East Mandarin Orange cake. For the frosting it uses crushed pineapple. Could I use more mandarin oranges instead of pineapple
I haven’t tried that, but I can’t think of a reason why it wouldn’t work.
Kathy says
I made this cake for a Mothers Day dessert. It was a hit. I was in a hurry and didn’t read the recipe carefully enough. I put the dry pudding mix in the cake mix instead of the frosting mixture. Doh! I was glad I had an extra box of pudding mix to then add to the frosting. The cake turned out well in spite of my mishap. It was even better the second day.
I’m so happy you liked it! And glad to hear that it holds up even with an oops.
Linda Spencer says
Will this work for an orange bread. Sounds so simple but would like to bake in small loaf pans for gift giving, minus frosting.
It’s a really moist cake. I don’t think it would work great for slicing into slices of bread.
Doris says
Can you make this cake in a bundt pan?
Cake recipes don’t easily translate to bundt cakes because the way they bake up is so vastly different. You would need to test and alter the recipe first.
Dee says
I know this sounds odd – can this be frozen? Cooking and baking for one – this is a lot of cake.
Yes! I actually think this would freeze really well.
Dee says
Wow! I love this recipe, it is our family go to for birthday cakes, everyone loves it.
The only thing we do differently is make it a 3 layer cake, divide the batter in 3 9”round cake pans and bake 25 minutes, always delicious!
(We also use Duncan Hines Golden yellow cake mix and instant French vanilla pudding mix in the cool whip-I think I will try your stabilized whip cream next time, that sounds delish too!)
So fun as a layer cake!
Donna Thompson says
I made this cake for a potluck yesterday. It’s really good! Everyone that tried it loved it, including me! Besides that, it was really easy to make.
I’m so glad it was a hit!
Betty BERUBE says
I prefer using fresh mandarin oranges I keep looking for a recipe that uses mandarin oranges not can ones. Can you please help me.
The issue with using fresh is that the skin on them will mess up the texture of the cake. That is why you always see the recipes using canned.
Judy says
Can’t wait to get more ideas!!
Hi Judy! You can always sign up for my email series here, I email out new ideas every Monday and Friday.