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This soft, citrusy cake is easy to make with a yellow cake mix, mandarin oranges, pineapple juice, and a cool coconut frosting. The mandarin oranges go right into the batter for tiny sweet bursts, while pineapple juice soaks into the warm layers. You’re going to love how sunny and special it tastes with minimal fuss.
Why You’ll Love It
- Easy starting point — a yellow cake mix keeps prep simple, but the finished cake tastes much more special.
- Extra-moist layers — reserved pineapple juice soaks into the warm cake for incredible flavor and texture.
- Cool, fluffy frosting — whipped topping, Pudding mix, crushed pineapple, and coconut make a creamy tropical topping.
- Makes about 15 servings — plenty for sharing or enjoying as leftovers.
Ingredient Notes
Use a regular yellow cake mix—the standard-size box. Nothing fancy needed. I’ve used store brands and name brands; once it was whatever was on sale at the Food Lion, and nobody filed a complaint.
The mandarin oranges go in undrained. That sounds odd if you haven’t made this before, but trust me. The mixer breaks them up and they become part of the batter, leaving little orange flecks and sweetness behind. Don’t drain them and don’t mash them first. Let the mixer do its noisy little job.
For the crushed pineapple, save the juice separately because you’ll pour it over the baked cake. The pineapple itself goes in the frosting. I use canned crushed pineapple in juice, not heavy syrup. The recipe is sweet enough already, for heaven’s sake.
The Pudding mix can be instant French vanilla or pistachio. French vanilla is a reliable pick here, while pistachio turns the frosting green-ish. Still, French vanilla is my pick here.
As for coconut, use somewhere between 1 and 1 1/2 cups, depending on how coconut-forward you want it. I like the full amount. Long shreds can be more noticeable, though the cake is still delicious either way. Human beings are mysterious.
Ingredients
- 1 package yellow cake mix
- 1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges, undrained
- 1 stick Butter, melted
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, with the juice reserved for pouring over the cake and the pineapple saved for frosting
- 12 ounces whipped topping, thawed
- 1 box (3.4 ounces) instant French vanilla pudding mix, or pistachio if that’s your thing
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut—I use closer to 1 1/2 cups because I apparently enjoy making decisions difficult for picky eaters
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Really get into the edges and bottoms of those pans. I know everyone says that, and then we all rush through it anyway, but this is not the day to leave a patch bare and pray for the best. Cake sticking to a pan can sour a perfectly decent afternoon.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the yellow cake mix, undrained mandarin oranges, melted Butter, vegetable oil, and eggs. Mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes. The oranges will break apart as you mix, which is exactly what you want. At first the batter can look a little questionable—sort of lumpy and orange-speckled—but keep going. It comes together.
Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. I start checking around 22 minutes because my oven runs hot when it feels like it, especially in warm weather. Appliances have personalities. Mine is moody.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. While they are still warm, poke holes all over the tops. I use a fork most of the time, though the handle of a wooden spoon works for bigger holes if you want more juice to sink in. Drizzle the reserved pineapple juice evenly over both cake layers. Don’t dump it all in one spot like I did the first time; it will puddle and make one little section oddly soggy. Spread it around and let the cake drink it up.
For the frosting, stir together the thawed whipped topping, instant pudding mix, crushed pineapple, and shredded coconut. Mix it well enough that the pudding mix has dissolved and you don’t have dry little powdery pockets hiding in there. Nobody wants to bite into one of those. It’s like getting a mouthful of chalk at the end of a perfectly lovely dessert—just rude.
Let the cakes cool completely before frosting them. Completely. I know the frosting looks ready and the kitchen smells wonderful, but warm cake and whipped topping are not friends. Put one cake layer on your plate or stand, spread on frosting, add the second layer, then frost the top and sides. Or, if you’re not in the mood to fuss with pretty layers, do your best and call it homemade. That has covered a multitude of sins in my kitchen.
Variations
This cake can be made with pistachio pudding, and it gives the frosting a pale green tint that looks kind of festive. I prefer the French vanilla version, though I suppose that’s partly habit. The pistachio does have a nice flavor with the pineapple and coconut—more of that old-fashioned grocery-store bakery feeling, in a good way.
I have also seen people leave out the coconut, which you can do if someone truly cannot stand it. The cake will still be soft and fruity, just less tropical. Personally, I think the coconut gives the frosting texture and keeps it from tasting too much like a pudding cup. But I’m not here to start a family argument. We have enough of those over thermostats and whether the dishwasher needs to be loaded “correctly.”
I tried adding extra mandarin oranges between the layers. It wasn’t terrible, but the layers slid around like they were trying to escape, and cutting clean slices became a lost cause. Delicious mess, sure. But I wouldn’t bother again.
Storage & Reheating
Keep this cake covered in the refrigerator because of the whipped topping frosting. It holds up nicely for about 3 days, maybe 4 if your refrigerator is cold and nobody has been opening the door every six minutes looking for snacks.
I don’t reheat it. Please don’t reheat it. This is a chilled, creamy cake, and warming it would turn the frosting into something sad and slippery. Let a slice sit on the counter for 10 or 15 minutes if you don’t like your cake ice-cold, but that’s all it needs.
The leftovers are honestly wonderful after chilling. The pineapple juice has had more time to settle into the cake, and the frosting firms up a bit.
Final Notes
There’s something about this cake that brings to mind loud evenings when towels were always needed and the kitchen stayed busy. Not the wet bathing suits on the floor, mind you. I am sentimental, not delusional.
Make this when you need a dessert that feels sunny, even if it’s raining outside or you’ve had one of those days where the mail is mostly bills and your hair won’t cooperate. Make it for a backyard dinner, or simply because there’s a can of pineapple sitting in the pantry and you’re sick of looking at it.
And if you happen to lick a little frosting off your finger before serving—well. That’s just quality control.
Finger Lickin' Good Cake
Ingredients Â
- 1 package yellow cake mix
- 1 can mandarin oranges 11 ounces, undrained
- 1 stick butter melted
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 can crushed pineapple 20 ounces, juice reserved for pouring over the cake and pineapple saved for frosting
- 12 ounces whipped topping thawed
- 1 box instant French vanilla pudding mix 3.4 ounces; or use pistachio pudding mix
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut use closer to 1 1/2 cups for more coconut flavor
InstructionsÂ
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, then grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, making sure to coat the edges and bottoms well.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the yellow cake mix, undrained mandarin oranges, melted butter, vegetable oil, and eggs.
- Mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes, letting the mandarin oranges break apart into the batter.
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then while they are still warm, poke holes all over the tops with a fork or the handle of a wooden spoon.
- Drizzle the reserved pineapple juice evenly over both warm cake layers, spreading it around so it soaks in without puddling in one spot.
- Stir together the thawed whipped topping, instant pudding mix, crushed pineapple, and shredded coconut until the pudding mix is fully dissolved and no dry pockets remain.
- Let the cake layers cool completely before frosting so the whipped topping frosting does not melt.
- Place one cake layer on a plate or cake stand, spread frosting over it, add the second layer, then frost the top and sides before serving chilled.