How to Make a Pig Pickin' Cake (13 Steps)

For several decades, the Pig Pickin' Cake, also known as the Mandarin Orange Cake, has been a favorite choice of many for dessert. Receiving its name because of the consumer's propensity to pig out when eating it, the cake earned its reputation quickly, and its popularity grew fast. This cake appears to be complicated to make but it is very simple, requiring limited labor thanks to canned and instant foods used to make it.

Things You'll Need

1 box yellow or white cake mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 11-oz. can Mandarin oranges, undrained
Large mixing bowl
Mixer
3 prepared 8-inch cake pans
Spatula
1 toothpick

Hot pot holders
Wire cooling rack
1 8-oz. carton non-dairy whipped topping
1 8-oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 3.4-oz. package instant vanilla pudding
Medium mixing bowl
Serving plate
Frosting spatula

Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Put the cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil and Mandarin oranges plus their juice in the mixing bowl.
Mix until well blended and pour the batter into the three cake pans.
Put the pans in the oven and stagger them for equal heat circulation.
Bake the cake layers for about 25 or 30 minutes. Test to see if the cake is done by sticking the toothpick into the cake center. The cake is done if the toothpick comes out clean.
Cool the cake layers on the cooling rack for ten minutes in the pans and then remove the layers from the pans and return them to the cooling rack.

Frosting

Put the whipped topping mix, the crushed pineapple with juice and the instant vanilla pudding in the medium mixing bowl.
Mix these together using the mixer.
Scrape down sides to be sure all ingredients are incorporated into the frosting.

Assembly

Place the first layer of cake on the serving plate and spread a small amount of frosting on the top.
Place the second layer of cake on top of the first layer and then frost the top of the second layer.
Place the final layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake.
Put the finished cake in the refrigerator to allow the frosting to become more firm.

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