Mandarin Orange Cake
Ever heard of pig pickin cake? This is that cake. The one that shows up at Southern cookouts, gets devoured before the ribs hit the table, and somehow tastes even better straight from the fridge the next day. Made with juicy mandarin oranges and topped with a cool, creamy pineapple whipped cream frosting, this from-scratch version skips the box mix for even more flavor.
Servings 16
Calories 347kcal
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 16 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 4 eggs room temp
- 2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges
Frosting
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons mascarpone
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 8 ounces crushed pineapple drained
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Butter and flour a 9 x 13 inch cake pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a large measuring cup combine milk and vanilla.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar and orange zest until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk mixture, ending with the flour. Fold in 1 can of the mandarin oranges with the juice. Pour the cake mixture into the pan and tap to remove air bubbles.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes unitll a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled frost.
- Frosting: Beat cream on high speed in a stand mixture until it begins to thicken. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and mascarpone and beat until stiff peaks form. Add drained pineapple and spread over the cooled cake. Top with remaining mandarin orange slices.
Notes
- Store the frosted cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the cake.
- You can use all purpose flour instead of cake flour.
