Delicious Southern Citrus Cake Recipe

Delicious Southern Citrus Cake Recipe: Make Your Own Pig Pickin Cake at Home!

Delicious Southern Citrus Cake Recipe - Surprise your family and friends with a special Southern pig pickin cake – the only cake with a zesty orange flavor and pineapple frosting!

If you've tried a pig pickin cake before, you know it's a unique homemade treat that's really light and fresh!

What exactly is a pig pickin cake? Don't mix it up with pig-themed birthday cakes or cupcakes with pigs on them.

A Southern pig pickin cake is a moist yellow cake with sweet mandarin oranges baked in. Then, it's covered in a fluffy whipped cream frosting filled with crushed pineapples.

This cake is an easy dump cake recipe with a bit of vanilla extract for a gentle sweetness. The pineapple in the frosting gives it a sweet citrusy taste, and the whipped cream makes it light and fluffy. Finish it off by topping the cake with mandarin oranges.

But why is it called a pig pickin cake? It has nothing to do with pork or anything from a pig!

So, where does the name come from? It actually originated from a Southern barbecue tradition known as "pig pickin."

During a pig pickin, a whole pig is cooked, and guests gather to "pick" the tender meat from the roasted pig. People also bring their favorite potluck dishes and desserts to share.

Guess what? Pig pickin cake stood out as the favorite dessert among all the dishes at these potluck events.

What's in a pig pickin cake? A yellow cake with a fruity whipped topping, pineapple, vanilla pudding, and mandarin oranges make this cake truly one-of-a-kind, just like its name.

Curious about the instant pudding used? It's instant vanilla pudding. Here's a kitchen hack – you don't have to pre-mix it or make the pudding separately. It's even easier – just add the powdered instant pudding to the Cool Whip frosting mix for firmness and flavor!

 Delicious Southern Citrus Cake Recipe

Time:

• Preparation: 15 minutes
• Cooking: 45 minutes
• Frosting: 5 minutes
• Total: 1 hour and 5 minutes

Category: Dessert Style: Soul Food, Southern Food Servings: 12 Calories: 374 kcal

Ingredients:

For the Southern soul food original pig pickin cake:

• 2 ½ cups sifted flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup cold butter
• 4 eggs
• 14 oz mandarin oranges (1 can)
• ½ cup orange juice from the canned mandarin oranges
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the soul food pig pickin cake frosting:

• 20 oz crushed pineapple and the canned pineapple juice (1 can)
• 4 oz instant vanilla pudding
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 8 oz whipped cream (1 tub)

Instructions:

For the Southern soul food pig pickin cake:

1. Sift the flour and add it, along with baking powder, sugar, and salt, to a large mixing bowl. Mix well until blended.
2. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and use an electric mixer to combine it with the flour mixture until it reaches a fine, sandy texture, and the butter is evenly distributed.
3. Add eggs, mandarin orange juice, and vanilla extract.
4. Mix on medium speed for 3-5 minutes until the cake batter is smooth and silky.
5. Stir in the mandarin oranges by hand.
6. Pour the mixture into a cake pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes in a conventional oven or 35 minutes in an Instant Pot Omni Plus oven, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Allow the baked cake to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, then transfer it to a cooling rack.
8. Let the cake cool to room temperature for at least 2 hours before frosting.

For the Southern soul food pig pickin cake frosting:

1. Drain the pineapple juice from the crushed pineapples and set the crushed pineapple aside.
2. Add the instant pudding to the pineapple juice and whisk until smooth by hand or on low speed with an electric mixer.
3. Add the powdered sugar and whisk again until smooth.
4. Stir in the whipped cream until the mixture is smooth.
5. Gently mix the drained pineapple into the whipped cream frosting.
6. Spread the pineapple mixture onto the cooled cake.
7. Cover and refrigerate the frosted cake for about two hours to let the icing set.
8. Slice and serve this Southern soul food pig pickin cake and enjoy!