And to you. And to you there, with the garden dirt still fresh on your knees.
Isn’t the Spring time weather fabulous. It seems to have come to Utah early this year, and after a very mild winter at that! Wonderful and fabulous, honkity-honk, please don’t ruin things with talk of a drought, ok? Let’s just enjoy the sunshine for what it’s worth, alright? Thanks a grundle. You are such an easy going reader. Truly.
I have an easy, light and flavorful cake recipe for you today. It’s made with a mix, which I know many of you love. The ingredients are few and easy to find. Another bonus. The taste makes you think of sunny summer weather. The frosting is light, fluffy and refreshing. The cake is moist with a hint of orange.
I hope you make the cake. I hope you love it. I hope you get to run yourself around in the sunshine today flying a kite or something, or eating an ice cream cone, or playing a little bit of hop scotch on the sidewalk.
Please refrain from doing all three at the same time.
It’s just for you own safety. I don’t want you to fall down and skin your pretty little hands. Then you couldn’t make the cake, you know.
And this cake. It needs to be made. 🙂
39 comments
Jamie,
Have been making this yummy cake for years! It has to be refrigerated! Always tastes better the next day after stuff soaks in. This cake is loved by everyone that tries it. So easy to make too! I use an extra can of drained oranges to decorate with 'cause I use the whole other can in the cake.We mix by hand,not mixer.
This cake is awesome. Always a big hit, even with my father in law who hates fruit. I made it from Mommy's kitchen too!
Jamie that is one of my favorite cakes. My son loves it and swears he can eat the whole thing. It's such a wonderful cake for Spring and Summer. You did a great job and now I want to jump in the computer screen and have a slice. I wish we lived closer my friend because I would at your doorstep with a plate and fork in hand.
I have made this cake many times and it is wonderful. But as things go I had forgotten about it. Thanks for reminding me. It will be on moms table for Mothers Day.
I LOVE this cake, I call it Sunshine Cake and make it with a Starwberry cake mix. SO yummy!!
Thanks so much for this recipe! =)
Im going to try it!
I cannot wait to make this! My mother in law loves sweets, and since she's coming over this weekend…..guess what we're having!! You are awesome!
Do we need as much frosting if we make this in a 9×13?
Robyn,
You most likely don't need quite as much frosting if you are making it in a 9×13 pan. Good luck!
~Jamie
We call this a pig pickin' cake here in NC! 🙂 My preacher's wife just made this for a get together yesterday! My hubby took home I know at least an 1/8th of a cake! LOL
I have made this cake for years. About 5 years ago I decided to mix things up and do it exactly the same but with a Lemon Cake Mix and Lemon Instant Pudding. It is SO YUMMY and different! Try it!
Thank you for your beautiful ctuoribntion to the project! Your cookies were absolutely classic beauties Ali and I sincerely appreciate all the work you put in to baking a difference and in providing such a super tutorial for the readers.
I used to make this cake as well but haven't done so in years! I really LOVE this cake! Thanks for the reminder to make it 🙂
This was so yummy!!! I wish we could have waited a couple of hours for it to chill, but I wanted to have it for dinner tonight. Not dessert. It would have been even more fantastic if it was really cold. The frosting was delicious!
I remember my mom making this! I requested it when I go home for a visit in July!
I love this 🙂 I'm from Nc and we definitely call it pig picking cake yummy!
So I made this cake today for our activity day girls, and it turned out GREAT-except that the cake was so moist that it just fell to pieces. I couldn't get it to stay together or anything. I pieced it back together as best as I could, and then put the frosting on it. Still looked great, I just didn't know what to do about it falling apart! Any suggestions?
Hi Brooke,
I would try baking it a bit longer next time time, and be sure to leave it in the pan for 5-10 minutes after taking it out of the oven. That helps the cake stay together a bit more. Better luck next time!
~Jamie
PS…I teach the Activity Day Girls in my ward, too. Good times. 🙂
Articles like this really grease the shafts of kngelwdoe.
Lovely simple presentation & it sure does look moist!
[…] Fluffy Mandarin Orange Cake […]
[…] Mandarin Orange Cake […]
my grand daughter requested this cake for her 20th birthday my daughters all love this cake
[…] Mandarin Orange Cake […]
Jamie, many years ago when this recipe came out it called for the Duncan Hines Orange Supreme cake mix which you can still find (may limit release to spring time).
We always made in a 9 x 13 at least a day ahead of serving. After a day or two icing is not as attractive but the cake and icing are still great tasting.
Because of the Cool Whip we always kept in fridge.
If I were making this as a two layer cake I would freeze layers and then frost and refrigerate till use.
Great spring time dessert and super easy for Easter.
Martha,
Thanks for sharing your tips with us!
Best to you,
~Jamie
Can you use cook and serve pudding?
Tammy,
This recipe turns out best when using cook and serve pudding.
Best of luck to you!
~Jamie
Best cake ever!!
Lost the recipe which called for 2 cans of oranges with one drained. Lady also added 6 tbsp of flour, I think. Baked in 9×13.I think 4 eggs, but my memory is fuzzy Help!
You say its best with the cook and serve pudding in the icing. Use it just like instant is listed in ingredients ?
My husband made the cake and it didn’t rise. I also made the cake and it didn’t rise either. We followed the directions. We used a 9 x 13 and I did some cupcakes. Any advice? BTW even though it didn’t rise, it still tasted great.
The newer cake mixes only contain 15+ ounces of mix. When this recipe originated years ago the cake mixes contained 18+ ounces. Therefore the recipe calls for too much liquid. You can find online tips as to how much extra dry ingredients (flour, leavening ingredients) to make up for the shortage. Or the easier way is to buy second box of cake mix and measure out 3 ounces to add to the recipe.
[…] weekend to you all. I’ve got a great lineup of food for you this week, including a heavenly Mandarin Orange Cake, some super easy and delicious Shrimp Tacos and an amazing Chicken Tortilla […]
The ingredients that you have listed for the frosting say “instant pudding”, but you said in your comments here that it turns out best with “cook and serve” pudding. So which is it, Jamie? Instant or cook & serve? Please advise. By the way, just looking at the picture of this cake makes me want to devour the whole thing — LOL!
Hi, the jello cook and serve works fine too. I just made it that way and you can’t tell the difference. Hope that helps!
This cake was just awesome. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
[…] weekend to you all. I’ve got a great lineup of food for you this week, including a heavenly Mandarin Orange Cake, some super easy and delicious Shrimp Tacos and an amazing Chicken Tortilla Soup. I’ve […]
[…] weekend to you all. I’ve got a great lineup of food for you this week, including a heavenly Mandarin Orange Cake, some super easy and delicious Shrimp Tacos and an amazing Chicken Tortilla […]