Best Pig Pickin Cake

This is hands down the best Pig Pickin’ Cake (also known as a Sunshine Cake)! This is my sister’s recipe and let me tell you my Dad absolutely LOVED IT! Super easy to make using a yellow cake mix and canned fruit, this will fast become a family favorite!

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Why do they call it a pig pickin’ cake? Well apparently in the Southern states, when they would have a large event, they would roast a pig whole, and after the guests picked apart the pig, they would have this cake as a refreshing dessert afterward.

This yellow cake is full of mandrin oranges and pineapple and whipped topping and it’s just the perfect summertime dessert!

You will need:

1 (15.25 oz.) box yellow cake mix

½ cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges in juice, drain and reserve juice for batter

16 oz. Cool Whip, thawed

20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained well – discard juice

1 (3.4 oz.) package instant vanilla pudding mix, dry

Optional** more mandarin oranges and dried pineapple flowers to decorate cake

Directions for the Best Pig Pickin’ Cake:

Mix the cake with the eggs, oil and mandarin orange juice.  Fold in the mandarin oranges.

Divide batter into two prepared greased 8” round cake pans. Bake in preheated oven at 325 degrees F for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool cake completely. 

In a large bowl, combine the well drained crushed pineapple, dry pudding packet and Cool Whip

Frost cake with the pineapple Cool Whip mixture. Place in refrigerator to set for about 2 hours.

Decorate with mandarin oranges and dried pineapple flowers. To get my easy directions on how to make dried pineapple flowers click here.

For my easy Dried Pineapple Flowers, click here.