This mandarin orange cake recipe is an easy, old-fashioned dessert made with cake mix, juicy mandarin oranges, and a light pineapple topping.
You might also know it as sunshine cake or pig pickin’ cake, and once you try it, you’ll understand why it’s been a potluck favorite for generations.
Old-Fashioned Mandarin Orange Cake Recipe
Using canned fruit and a cake mix, it doesn't get much easier than this light and fluffy cake.
Any way you look at it, you can bet on one thing – this mandarin dessert is delicious!
Why you'll love this Mandarin Orange Cake
This cake is often called sunshine cake thanks to its light, citrusy flavor and fluffy pineapple topping.
- This cake is easy to make and doesn't require any special ingredients
- Hundreds of family get togethers and church picnics have taste tested this cake. When that many people have taste tested a recipe, you know it’s family approved!
- It's made using a boxed cake mix. Yep, you can give me a cake recipe using a box mix any day of the week. I will add a few things to it and make it extra delicious, and I will proudly turn around and serve that bad boy. People will devour this delicious cake and you didn’t even break a sweat. That’s a dessert win, friends!
If you love easy desserts like this, you’ll also love my Orange Fluff Salad.
Cake Ingredients
I love that this cake only has a handful ingredients, one of them being a yellow cake mix. Hey, we take the short cuts where we can get them, and there’s certainly no shame in that.
Here’s what you need to make this cake.
- Yellow cake mix - use whatever your favorite brand it. I used the one from Aldi because it was there and…Aldi!!! 😉
- Vegetable oil - canola oil also works
- Cool Whip - or generic whipped topping. This is not the same as whipped cream.
- Eggs
- Vanilla instant pudding
- Canned crushed pineapple
- Canned mandarin oranges
How to Make This Mandarin Orange Cake Recipe
- Step 1: Grease a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, beat together cake mix, oil, and eggs for about 2 minutes until smooth.
- Step 2: Gently fold in the mandarin oranges (do not drain).
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- Step 3: Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
- Step 4: Mix Cool Whip and dry pudding mix until smooth. Fold in crushed pineapple.
- Step 5: Spread over cooled cake and refrigerate.
I recommend you take a spoonful for yourself before you top the cooled cake with the topping. 😉
- Step 6: If you'd like, add additional mandarin oranges to the top. Serve and enjoy!
Tip: Don’t drain the mandarin oranges - the juice adds moisture and flavor to the cake.
Does Mandarin Orange Cake need to be refrigerated?
Yes. Because this cake has cool whip in in, you’ll need to store it in the refrigerator. I like to top the pan with a lid or plastic wrap so it doesn’t pick up any odors from the fridge.
How long does orange cake last?
This cake will last 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
Recipe Variations
Instead of making this as a sheet cake, you can bake this in round cake pans to make a layer cake. Cool cakes as instructed, then frost the cake in between layers, on top of the cake and the sides of the cake.
Sunshine Cake with Mandarin Oranges and Pineapple
The cool whip frosting is super light and airy and not heavy at all. And the longer the cake sits, the moister the cake gets. Is moister a word?
Because if you’re anything like me you can't stand the word moist for some reason we don’t understand. It doesn’t really matter though, because the cake won’t be around too long.
Your people will gobble it up. Because it’s goooooood.
More Easy Potluck Desserts
If you make this mandarin orange cake recipe, leave a recipe rating or comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
Recipe
Mandarin Orange Cake
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I'll email it to you, so you can come back to it later!
Equipment
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 4 eggs
- 1 small can mandarin oranges with juice
FOR THE FROSTING
- 8 oz Cool Whip Whipped Topping
- 1 large can crushed pineapple undrained
- 3 oz package instant vanilla pudding
Instructions
- TO MAKE THE CAKE
- Heat oven to 350°F.
- Grease a 9x13 cake pan using non stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Using a large bowl and hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together oil, cake mix and eggs until well combined, about 2 minutes
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mandarin oranges into the cake batter.
- Pour batter into your prepared cake pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with crumbs. Let the cake cool completely.
- TO MAKE THE FROSTING
- In a medium bowl, combine Cool whip and dry pudding mix. Beat until blended. Add pineapple and fold in using a rubber spatula. Frost cake and refrigerate. Cut into squares to serve.
Video
Notes
Make Ahead Tip
You can make this cake a day in advance, just keep it covered in the fridge until ready to serve.Nutrition
This Farm Girl Cooks is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. Calories and other nutritional values vary depending on which brands were used.
Linda says
I'm confused on which size instant pudding to use... the large box or the smaller box. None of my boxes say 3.4 oz.
Becky says
Small can of mandarin oranges? What does that mean?
Deborah says
I've always done mine backwards, I think lol.
Pineapple in cake with juice instead of water and orange jello powder in cake mix then and orange jello and mandarin oranges in cool whip as frosting
Deanne Frieders says
Either way can work, and who knows....maybe I'm backwards!! 😉
Jean says
Do you drain the oranges before you mix them into the cake batter.
joannie Rell says
When you add the pineapple into the frosting do you first drain the juice from the pineapple?
Deanne Frieders says
There's no need to drain it. Enjoy!
Anita says
This is such a simple cake to bake, and even the frosting is very easy to put together. 🙂
Nart | Cooking with Nart says
Wow, pineapple and mandarin - such a great tropical combination!! I can easily find both fruits where I live so will definitely be trying the recipe!
Biana says
This looks so yummy, easy to make, and delicious! Looking forward to trying it.
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says
Oh wow, this looks amazing! And with so few ingredients too! I will definitely give this a go this week, thanks for the recipe 🙂
Krissy Allori says
This just looks like sunshine on a plate. I'm guessing it tastes like it too. I can just picture having this one Sunday after some great BBQ. Saving this for later!
Anita says
This is such a simple cake to bake, and even the frosting is very easy to put together. 🙂
Nart | Cooking with Nart says
Wow, pineapple and mandarin - such a great tropical combination!! I can easily find both fruits where I live so will definitely be trying the recipe!
Biana says
This looks so yummy, easy to make, and delicious! Looking forward to trying it.
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says
Oh wow, this looks amazing! And with so few ingredients too! I will definitely give this a go this week, thanks for the recipe 🙂
Krissy Allori says
This just looks like sunshine on a plate. I'm guessing it tastes like it too. I can just picture having this one Sunday after some great BBQ. Saving this for later!
Ramona says
This looks yummy but I am not sure what the substitute for the yellow cake mix could be here in the UK? Any idea?
Deanne Frieders says
Hmmmm, do you have boxed cake mix in the UK?
Ramona says
This looks yummy but I am not sure what the substitute for the yellow cake mix could be here in the UK? Any idea?
Tayo says
Such simple ingredients and a delicious looks recipe. I sure will be making this!
Deanne Frieders says
I hope you love it as much as we do!
Tayo says
Such simple ingredients and a delicious looks recipe. I sure will be making this!
Alex Ryder says
Well I'm rubbish at baking so it'd be box mix for me too! This looks super tasty, and I enjoyed reading it from the UK!