Pig Pickin' Cake is a southern recipe that's a favorite for taking to barbecues, potlucks, and church suppers. Bright mandarin oranges and sweet pineapple combine with boxed butter cake mix (or use this homemade mix) for a dessert that goes together quickly and just couldn't be easier.
Or, try this easy peach dump cake! It's always a favorite!

The biggest difference in Gramma GiGi's recipe (story at the end) and the others that I've seen is that hers contains a splash of spiced rum and uses real whipped cream that's been stabilized instead of whipped topping.
It's made in a 13x9-inch pan so it's easy to grab and go for potlucks and such - it's always one of the first things to disappear.
🥘 Ingredients
Pig Pickin' cake is truly one of the easiest desserts in the world. I love it for potlucks and church events because it always is a big hit.

- Yellow butter cake mix
- Butter
- Mandarin oranges
- Eggs
- Spiced rum (optional)
- Vanilla
- French vanilla instant pudding mix
- Heavy whipping cream
- Confectioner's (powdered) sugar
- Crushed pineapple.
🔪 Instructions

- Place the butter and cake mix in a bowl.
- Add the vanilla.
- Add the eggs.
- Mix well.
- Add the oranges and mix.
- Pour into a prepared pan and bake.
- Cool and frost with the topping (step by step images below).
- Chill.
- Enjoy!

- Add the pudding mix and powdered sugar to a bowl. Pour in pineapple juice.
- Mix until smooth. Set aside.
- Add Confectioner's sugar to chilled heavy cream in a large bowl
- Whip until fluffy.
- Fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture.
- Add pineapple and spread on top as directed.
💭 Tips
Expert Tip: Make sure the pineapple is drained very well and patted dry with paper towels before folding into the topping otherwise it will get watery.
- ALWAYS use room temperature ingredients unless otherwise noted in the recipe... except whipped cream, of course - that should be ice cold.
- This works really well with a homemade cake mix if you don't want to use boxed.
- You can also use my homemade whipped topping instead of whipped cream. 🙂 It's especially good if you are making it ahead of time or it will be outside in warm weather.
- Bourbon is a nice substitute for the rum.
- Add a teaspoonful of frozen orange juice concentrate to the reserved mandarin orange juice for more orange flavor.
- Substitute white chocolate instant pudding for the vanilla.
- Stir in some sweetened, flaked coconut to the topping.
- You can freeze this cake without the topping.
- You can make this into 2 8-inch layers and fill and frost it with the topping.
- Drizzle some of the pineapple juice over the warm cake to make it extra moist and give it more pineapple flavor.
- This dessert is better the second day.
- PS...there probably won't be any leftovers for the second day.

Related recipes
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🍽 Equipment
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This cake is so easy - there's no special ingredients at all. However, a covered baking pan makes it SO much easier to take to those potlucks!
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When I was a teenager I dated a guy who's great grandmother just absolutely adored me.
Every time I went to see her (even after we'd broken up) she had a Pig Pickin' Cake on the table. She'd smile and cut a big square of it, put it on one of her pretty bone china plates and push it to my side of the table.
She had a soft voice with a thick southeastern accent and she'd alway say she needed to "put some meat on you, honey!". I was pretty picky about what I ate but I absolutely could not resist that plate of goodness.
Apparently I still can't.
I hadn't thought about it in a long time... then a month or so ago my son was eating mandarin oranges and I had a flashback of her sweet smile and that luscious cake and I knew I had to find her recipe for it.
It was written in faded, shaky handwriting on the back of an electric bill envelope and I hadn't made it in probably 20 years or more.
Don't wait too long to make this cake! Invite some friends over for coffee and put this on the table - you'll definitely win the good neighbor award!
Looking for something deliciously different? Try this Boston Cream Pie Poke Cake!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe

Gramma GiGi's Pig Pickin' Cake
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 box yellow butter cake mix
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 14 ounces mandarin oranges, ½ cup juice reserved
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons spiced rum, optional
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting
- 4 ounce French vanilla instant pudding , dry - just use the powder
- 20 ounces crushed pineapple, juice reserved
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cup Confectioner's sugar
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 13x9-inch pan - set aside. Remove 2 tablespoons of the mandarin orange liquid and replace with 2 tablespoons of spiced rum (optional).
- Add the cake mix, butter, vanilla and eggs to the bowl of an electric mixer and blend on low for about 1 minute.
- Add the oranges and the reserved juice to the bowl. Mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
- Spoon into the prepared baking pan. Bake at 350F for 25 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely.
Frosting
- Blend the instant pudding mix, ½ cup Confectioner's, and reserved pineapple juice - set aside.
- Whip the cream with the remaining ¼ cup Confectioner's sugar until soft peaks form.
- Gently fold into the pudding mixture. Pat any remaining moisture off the pineapple with paper towel - fold into the topping.
- Spoon on the top of the cake. Refrigerate at least 4 hours - overnight is better. Be sure to keep leftovers in the fridge!
Notes
- ALWAYS use room temperature ingredients unless otherwise noted in the recipe... except whipped cream, of course - that should be ice cold.
- This works really well with a homemade cake mix if you don't want to use boxed.
- You can also use my homemade whipped topping instead of whipped cream. 🙂 It's especially good if you are making the cake ahead of time or it will be outside in warm weather.
- Bourbon is a nice substitute for the rum.
- Add a teaspoonful of frozen orange juice concentrate to the reserved mandarin orange juice for more orange flavor.
- Substitute white chocolate instant pudding for the vanilla.
- Stir in some sweetened, flaked coconut to the topping.
- You can freeze this cake without the topping.
- You can make this cake into 2 8-inch layers and fill and frost it with the topping.
- Drizzle some of the pineapple juice over the warm cake for a moister cake with more pineapple flavor.
- This cake is better the second day.
Debbie
BEST CAKE EVER!!! First time making it and it was awesome! This one gets a gazillion stars!!
Lana Drake
It's called Pea Pickin' Cake, I've known it as this for a while, all my life 🥰
Marye
There are a lot of names for it. 🙂 Here it's pig pickin' cake. A friend knows it as pig cake... LOL!
Barbara Tignor
Never heard of the Holy Cow Cake. Want to try it too !!!
MARYE AUDET-WHITE
It is SO good! Let me know what you think!
Laila Soubra
Can't wait to try this cake, looks addictive.
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
I don't think I'd be able to resist it either. And only an Italian mamma would say I need to put some meat on my bones -- although I was very thin at one time. Now, I'm waiting for the Holy Cow cake.
Marye Audet
LOL! She was not Italian - I think ALL southern mama's have some Italian genes
Lea Ann (Cooking on The Ranch)
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It's one I need to try soon. Pinning.
Marye Audet
Thanks! It's one of my favorites