In our family, when it’s someone’s birthday, THEY get to pick what kind of cake they want! And quite often, the cake that is chosen is our Pea Pickin’ Cake.

What? What in the world is a Pea Pickin’ Cake?! I know y’all are wondering…and honestly, I’m not entirely sure the exact history of this cake! Some say it came out of a Methodist Church in Atlanta, some say it came from the country singer Tennessee Ernie Ford, and some say it’s just a traditional southern cake recipe that everyone loves. There’s even a variation of it called a Pig Pickin’ Cake (which is even more confusing than Pea Pickin’, if you ask me, that includes coconuts and pecans!)

So, I’m for sure that there are other Pea Pickin’ Cakes out there, but this is the recipe that our family has used for years…and it’s foolproof, I tell you. Not to mention DELICIOUS. (And it’s the perfect way to say farewell to Summer and look forward to Fall!) Let’s dig in!

Pea Pickin’ Cake

1 yellow cake mix

1/2 cup oil

4 eggs

1 11-ounce can Mandarin Oranges (I half-drained my can)

1. Mix all together.

2. Bake in three separate round pans (greased and floured) in an oven heated to 325 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

3. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove from round cake pan and cool completely.

You can see that the layers aren’t too thick. That just makes them stack well!

No worries, wait until you see the final result!

4. When the cake is entirely cooled, mix…

1 9-ounce tub of whipped topping,

1 large can crushed pineapple, drained

1 large vanilla instant pudding mix

Can you see how hard it is to drain CRUSHED pineapple?! It still turned out okay, though!

5. Frost to taste and enjoy!

I got about halfway-through frosting it and thought that it actually would make a great “naked” cake! The kind that aren’t iced all the way, like this:

The colors are so golden and pretty! But I prefer to ice mine like this:

YES, it IS as good as it looks!

It is SO yummy and light and moist!

Hint: if you think the icing might be too thin after you mix it, chill it in the fridge for a while. That pudding mix will thicken it right up!

If you are interested in pastry classes and to learn more about professional cake baking, visit the website of my dear friends in Culinary Lab School.

Pea Pickin' Cake 2016-09-28 23:47:22 Write a review Save Recipe Print Ingredients 1 yellow cake mix 1/2 cup oil 4 eggs 1 11-ounce can Mandarin Oranges (I half-drained my can) 1 9-ounce tub of whipped topping, 1 large can crushed pineapple, drained 1 large vanilla instant pudding mix Instructions Mix all together. Bake in three separate round pans (greased and floured) in an oven heated to 325 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool in pans for 15 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely. When the cake is entirely cooled, mix whipped topping, crushed pineapple and pudding. Frost to taste and enjoy! The Road to Domestication https://theroadtodomestication.com/

I sure hope you get a chance to try this one – I promise, you won’t regret it!

Due to the amount of comments from all of my wonderful readers, it is not always possible for me to respond to each one. However, I absolutely do read them all, and if you’d like to address something specific, or have a question for me, please don’t hesitate to email me at Kristen@theroadtodomestication.com. I will respond to your email as soon as possible! Thank you for visiting the blog!