Pig Pickin' Cake

Today is my great niece Elizabeth's 11th birthday. Happy birthday, Lizzie! We decided to celebrate by making a Pig Pickin' Cake. "WHAT IS THAT?" you say! Pig Pickin' Cake is a local favorite here in our town in Northern California, and don't worry, the title does not cast aspersions on the person eating it. This cake is a grand tradition that originated in the south, enough said!! In order to better explain the history of this wonderful dessert, I'm going to About.com to give you the whole explanation as well as the recipe...then you can look at Lizzie's creation as we made her birthday cake. Click on this link:

Pig Pickin' Cake a.k.a. Mandarin Orange Cake a.k.a. Sunshine Cake

Now you know the whole story about Pig Pickin' Cake. You can buy one here in our town by The Cake Lady, or you can make your own and save a bunch of money!

Pour a Pillsbury Moist Supreme Classic Yellow Cake Mix into the mixer bowl. Chop fine an 11-ounce can of mandarin oranges and put in the bowl with the juice, or simply process in a food processor with the juice, then pour into the bowl. There should not be any large pieces of fruit in the cake. Crack four eggs into the bowl and add 1/2 cup of vegetable oil.

Beat for two minutes with the mixer.

Pour into three greased and floured 9 in. cake pans, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. I'm glad I checked the cakes at 20 minutes because they were done!

Let the cakes cool for an hour or two, then you are ready to put the frosting together.

Put an 8-ounce carton of frozen whipped topping in a bowl. I had bought a second one and added about half of it as well, just to make sure I had enough, and I'm glad I did, as all of it was used to frost the cake.
Stir in an 8-ounce can crushed pineapple with the juice. Add and stir in a 3.4 ounce box instant vanilla pudding. Stir well until ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Start frosting the layers and build that cake. Lizzie is left-handed and it is fascinating watching her learn how to spread frosting around! Didn't she do a wonderful job?

I can hear you asking, "Is it as good as The Cake Lady's?" The answer is, "I don't know because Lizzie liked the looks of it so much she took the whole thing home!" She promised to bring us some tomorrow, though... :D

Happy 11th birthday, Elizabeth!

Note: The cake is delicious. The cake layers are a pretty light golden orange color inside and are very moist and very tasty! The frosting is light and yummy with tiny pieces of pineapple...and it is just as good on days two and three as it is on day one!! The ingredients cost about $10.00 which is less than it costs to buy the cake, and it is very easy and quick to put together. All in all I give it 5/5 stars!! *****