♥ Mandarin Orange Cake ♥

You know how its a good thing children are so cute at times because it keeps you from killing them in their developing years? There are times when a parent needs a little insurance as well, especially during those teen years, where it wouldn’t hurt us to endear ourselves a little more from time to time to our spawn. If you happen to have a teenager casting heated glances your way, perhaps you should make this cake as your own life insurance policy. Who knows, they just might decide you’re cool again!

This has always been my favorite cake, although I don’t remember Mama actually making it any time other than our yearly family reunion. She would make it three days before, set it at eye level in the fridge (not sure if that was intentional or not), and keep it there, untouched, until the reunion day. It was pure torture.

On the day of the reunion, her father would hook a huge flatbed trailer up to his tractor and pull it up alongside their farmhouse. The ladies would then appear with an assortment of tablecloths and sheets to cover the wagon before everyone started placing their dishes upon our makeshift table. I would watch for two things : my mom’s Mandarin Orange Cake and whichever little old lady had deviled eggs with red stuff (paprika) sprinkled on top.

My mother made this cake for our family reunion this year, which was actually canceled due to rain. She lives over half an hour from me, but knowing this was sitting in her fridge was just as torturous as it was when I lived at home.

The photos are a little dark. I hope you’ll pardon that in lieu of the wonderful idea of it all!

The cast of characters for the cake: Yellow Cake Mix, 11 oz Can Mandarin Oranges, 4 Eggs, 1/2 C oil

(Don’t worry, recipe at bottom of page).

Grease and flour (Or just use Baker’s Joy or Crisco with Flour spray) three eight inch cake pans. Preheat Oven to 350.

Dice mandarin oranges, save the juice because all of that goes in with them.

Place all ingredients (Eggs, oil, mandarin oranges, and cake mix) in mixing bowl and mix until well blended, about two minutes.

It Vill Look Like Dis….. (That is my Count Dracula accent, just in case you didn’t realize it. I have no idea why I broke into it midway through a mandarin orange cake tutorial but…eh.

Divide batter evenly among the three prepared pans.

TIME TO MAKE FROSTING!

THE BEST BEST BEST BEST BEST PART!!!!

(I really like this frosting!)

You CAN use sugar free pudding and lite or fat free cool whip here! Don’t drain your pineapple!

Mix pudding mix and pineapple together until well blended.

Fold in Cool Whip.

(We did this tutorial earlier in our food blogging careers and that’s why it is not as thorough with the photographs as they usually are.)

Place first layer on plate, top with icing and then place other layer on top, repeat until you have all layers on.

(Go ahead and eat some of the icing, we’ll skimp later so you have enough).

Continue until your entire cake is iced!

Put it in the fridge, at eye level of the smallest people in your house, just to make the torture complete. For the next three days remind them its in there with little statements like

“Don’t you mess with my cake! Thats for the reunion!” each and every time they open the fridge, just to make sure they don’t forget.

This my all time, bar none, without question, most favorite summer cake!

 

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Mandarin Orange Cake

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 1 box Yellow Cake Mix
• 1 (11 oz) can Mandarin oranges diced, undrained
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup oil
• Frosting:
• 1 sm. (3.4 ounce) Box instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 (13 oz) cool whip
• 1 -8 ounce Can crushed pineapple, undrained

Instructions

1. Mix all cake ingredients together well. Pour into 3 greased and floured round cake pans*. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
2. For frosting, mix pudding mix and pineapple together with spoon. Fold in cool whip until well blended. Frost cake. Keep refrigerated. Best if made 2 or 3 days ahead and refrigerated before serving.
3. *Note: I usually make mine in a 9x13 pan just to save the trouble of fooling with the layers. I'm just lazy that way :)

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Posted by Christy Jordan on Aug 19 2008. Filed under Cake, Dessert. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry