Southern Soul Food Pig Pickin Cake
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Delight your family and friends with a Southern soul food pig pickin cake—the only citrusy orange-infused cake with pineapple frosting!
If you’ve ever had a pig pickin cake, you know it’s a unique homemade cake that’s light and fresh with an orange zest.
What is a pig pickin cake?
A soul food pig pickin cake is a moist yellow cake with sweet mandarin oranges baked into the cake. It’s then covered with a fluffy whipped cream frosting full of crushed pineapples.
Pig pickin cake is a simple dump cake recipe with a hint of vanilla extract and mellow sweetness.
The pineapple in the frosting gives it a sweet, citrusy flavor, and the whipped cream makes it light and fluffy. The cake is then topped with mandarin oranges to garnish.
Why is it called pig pickin cake?
Not because it’s made with pork or anything from the pig!
The unique name for this cake originated from the Southern barbecue tradition called “pig pickin.” At a pig picking, a whole pig is cooked and served as guests gather and “pick” the tender meat from the roasted pig.
Folks bring their favorite potluck dishes and desserts to pig pickin events. Pig pickin cake was the favorite dessert among the potluck cake testers from all the dessert dishes.
Ingredients
Yellow cake with a fruit-filled whipped topping, pineapple, vanilla pudding, and mandarin oranges creates a one-of-a-kind cake that’s just as unique as its name.
- Sifted flour and baking powder – These two ingredients ay the foundation for the cake.
- Granulated sugar – Sweetens the cake.
- Salt – Balances the cake’s sweetness.
- Cold butter – Enriches the batter, offering a creamy texture.
- Eggs – Eggs bind the mix, ensuring cohesion.
- Canned mandarin oranges and mandarin juice – Mandarins are essential to the cake’s unique, refreshing lightness, creating a moist cake crumb that’s hard to replicate because the fruit is added directly to the cake batter.
- Vanilla extract – Infuses the cake with a deep, rich essence.
Soul food pig pickin cake frosting
- Crushed pineapple and pineapple juice – Pineapple is also part of the cake’s unique and refreshing lightness because the fruit is added directly to the cake’s frosting.
- Instant vanilla pudding – Adds a unique, deep, rich essence, making every bite a decadent pleasure. Use instant vanilla pudding, so you won’t need to pre-mix or make it—just pour it in!
- Powdered sugar – Adds a delicate sweetness.
- Whipped cream – Adds a luxurious smoothness, firmness, and flavor to the frosting.
Can you use fresh pineapple?
Yes, fresh, juicy pineapple is also excellent for the recipe. However, I prefer the pineapple to be canned, as it adds much more flavor and moisture to the cake!
How to make a traditional pig pickin cake
Crafting this cake demands precision and love because it’s a time-honored classic and iconic soul food recipe. The best part about soul food pig pickin cake is how easy it is to make this Southern dessert at home!
Top it off with a Cool Whip pineapple-frosting and peeled mandarin slices to decorate. And voila! You’ve got yourself a playful finishing touch to make this easy dump cake recipe stand out.
- Sift the flour and mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- Add the butter to the flour mixture by cutting into small pats.
- Add the wet ingredients to the mix: eggs, mandarin orange juice, and vanilla extract.
- Mix again, then add the mandarin oranges to the cake batter.
- Pour the mixture into the cake pan and bake.
- Set the cake pan on a baking rack to cool once removed from the oven.
- Carefully turn the cake from the pan and onto a baker’s cooling rack to cool.
How to make pig pickin cake frosting
The crowning glory to a pig pickin cake is a light and airy frosting made with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and a swirl of whipped cream embellished with mandarin oranges.
- Drain the crushed pineapple and juice from the can.
- Add the instant pudding to the pineapple juice.
- Add the powdered sugar and whisk again.
- Then, stir in the whipped cream until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the set-aside drained pineapple to the frosting.
- Frost the cake.
- Cover and refrigerate the frosted cake.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Watch the recipe video with key moments for making pig pickin cake.
Toppings for pig pickin cake
Other topping variations include chopped pecans, walnuts, or, for a pop of color, a cherry on top of each slice. Shaved coconut sprinkled on top for texture. You can also add cream cheese to the cake frosting.
How to store leftovers
Keep the cake in the fridge due to the whipped topping on it. It can stay in the refrigerator for up to five days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
What is the difference between pig pickin’ cake and hummingbird cake?
Pig pickin cake is a homemade citrusy yellow cake of Southern tradition.
In contrast, hummingbird cake is a banana-pineapple spice cake originating from Jamaica.
Pig pickin cake is made with mandarin oranges and crushed pineapple, while hummingbird cake is made with bananas and pineapple.
What to serve with pig pickin cake
This cake is an excellent choice for an outdoor event with a crowd. Pig pickin cake was made for BBQ events and pairs well with any heavy meat main dish because it’s a complimentary zesty and refreshing dessert!
Equipment
- Flour sifter
- Handheld or electric stand mixer
- Bundt cake pan
Ingredients
Ingredients for a Southern soul food original pig pickin cake recipe
- 2 ½ cups flour sifted
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter cold
- 4 eggs
- 28 oz mandarin oranges 2 cans
- 1 cup orange juice from the canned mandarin oranges
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients 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
Instructions for Southern soul food pig pickin cake
- Sift the flour and add the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix well until blended.
- Then cut the butter into small pats and use and use an electric mixer to combine it with the flour mixture. Mix until the texture is very fine, like sand, and the butter is completely and evenly distributed.
- Add the eggs, mandarin orange juice, and vanilla extract.
- Mix again on medium speed for 3-5 minutes until the cake batter is smooth and silky.
- Next, add the mandarin oranges to the cake and hand stir them into the cake batter.
- Pour the mixture into a cake pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes in the conventional oven or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. (I used a Bundt pan when making this pig pickin cake recipe.)
- Remove the baked pig pickin cake from the oven and set the cake pan on a baking rack to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Then carefully turn the cake out of the pan and onto a baker’s cooling rack.
- Allow the cake to cool to room temperature for at least 2 hours before frosting.
Instructions for the Southern soul food pig pickin cake frosting
- Drain the pineapple juice from the crushed pineapples and set the crushed pineapple aside.
- Add the instant pudding to the pineapple juice, and either by hand or on low speed with an electric mixer, whisk until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar and whisk again until smooth.
- Then stir in the whipped cream until the mixture is combined and smooth.
- Now gently mix the set aside drained pineapple into the whipped cream frosting.
- Next, spread the pineapple mixture onto the cooled cake.
- Cover and refrigerate the frosted cake for about two hours to let the icing set.
- Slice and serve this Southern soul food pig pickin cake and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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A unique recipe that you must give a try. 😋