Pig Pickin’ Cake
Southern Recipe Posted by Grace Mannon.
Though I’ve never been to a true, real-life pig pickin’, I’ve eaten my share of pulled pork. However, this is not a post about that juicy, fall-apart, melt-in-your-mouth creation–we’ll save that for another day.
Today, I want to showcase a cake fondly known to many Southerners as the pig pickin’ cake, and no, I have no idea how it got that name. The base is a cake mix (though you can certainly make it from scratch) that gets dressed up and moistened with mandarin oranges and topped with a simple frosting made from whipped topping, pineapple, and pudding mix.
Because I usually feel the need to make some sort of change to any recipe I make, I added sweetened shredded coconut to the frosting and sprinkled toasted coconut on top. Take note: This is the type of cake that becomes more and more delicious the longer it sits in the refrigerator, so if you can possibly resist, chill it overnight at the very least!
Tropical Pig Pickin’ Cake
1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, juice reserved
4 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 (16 ounce) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease up three 8- or 9-inch round cake pans.
Mix together the cake mix, mandarin oranges with juice, eggs, and oil; combine well. Pour batter into the prepared pans. Note: The layers will be thin, especially if you’re using 9-inch rounds.
Bake at for 20 to 25 minutes (longer for 8-inch pans), or until cakes test done. Cool layers on wire racks.
To make the frosting, fold together the whipped topping, drained pineapple, coconut flakes and instant pudding mix. Fill and frost the cooled cake. Refrigerate until ready to eat, then sprinkle on the toasted coconut and serve!
Enjoy this southern recipe in this collection of our southern cuisine – let’s gather the best southern food ideas for The Southern Coterie cookbook.
Related Posts
@E Butler: it’s sad but true! you’d better believe that i’ll be heading to a pig pickin’ the first chance i get!
I’ve heard that the name was originally “Pea Picking Cake as in Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “It’s Pea picking good!”. It was in a cookbook by him, (or perhaps by his sponsor Martha White.)