Recipe Summary
A super easy cake to enjoy during the warmer months, Pea Pickers Cake, with a subtle hint of mandarin oranges and crushed pineapple!
0gFat
0gProtein
Yes, Pea Pickers Cake, that’s the name!
Completely southern and completely tasty. I remember going to my BFF’s and her mom would always be up to something delicious in the kitchen. In the late of summer and fall, she would always be making up Apple Cakes/Breads to share, and we always looked forward to them. Then one day this cake happened! Pea Pickin’ Cake. Of course, I wanted it all, but I did share as my manners screamed in my ear telling me to. Gaaahhh, dagnabit! BUT the good news now, is that I’m all grown up and can make it all by myself. Still, I share, and *secretly* I may or may not keep an extra bit of the frosting for myself. 😉
Why Is It Called Pea Pickin’ Cake?
The name has a few origin stories floating around and nobody agrees on exactly which one is right, which is pretty typical for a recipe this old and this Southern.
The most widely accepted story ties it to the tobacco and cotton fields of the rural South, where farm workers and field hands would gather for outdoor celebrations after a long harvest season. A light, easy cake that could be made in large quantities and transported to a outdoor gathering was exactly what those occasions called for, and this one fit the bill perfectly. Over time the cake became associated with that kind of communal, outdoor eating and the name stuck.
Others connect the name more literally to pea harvests specifically, where similar end of season gatherings were common in farming communities across the Carolinas and Georgia. The cake would show up at church suppers, potlucks, and family reunions alongside whatever else came out of the season’s work.
What everyone does agree on is that Pea Pickin’ Cake, sometimes written as Pea Pickers Cake, is a Southern institution. Mandarin oranges in the cake, pineapple whipped topping over everything, and a lightness that makes it the kind of dessert people go back for a second slice of even when they swore they wouldn’t. Whatever the origin, it earned its place on the table a long time ago.
This Pea Pickin’ Cake is so easy to make, and I have found that keeping a stash of the ingredients in the cupboard can save you in a pinch if you need want to satisfy that sweet tooth.
I’ve been a bit obsessed with my bundt pan lately and I’ve found that this cake lends itself nicely to being prepared in that notorious pan. All though, if you prefer, you can bake 2 – 3 layers in eight or nine inch pans, frosting in between and all around.
This cake has a light and delicate crumb and I love the rough texture that the crushed pineapple gives this fluffy frosting! It’s a great dessert to share with friends and family and celebrate the warmer weather!
Make-Ahead Tips
Here’s something worth knowing about Pea Pickin’ Cake: it’s actually better the next day. This is not a cake that suffers from being made ahead. It improves. The whipped topping settles into the layers overnight, the mandarin orange flavor deepens, and the whole thing comes together in a way that a freshly assembled cake simply hasn’t had time to do yet.
Make it the day before. Bake the cake layers, let them cool completely, assemble with the pineapple whipped topping, cover loosely, and refrigerate overnight. Pull it out about 15 minutes before serving to take the chill off. This is genuinely the best way to serve it.
Keep it refrigerated. Because of the whipped topping, this cake needs to stay cold. It will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days covered tightly. The texture actually stays remarkably good over that time, another reason it’s such a reliable choice for potlucks and gatherings where you need to get ahead of the cooking.
Freezing. The unfrosted cake layers freeze well for up to 2 months. Wrap each layer tightly in plastic wrap then foil and freeze flat. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and assemble with fresh whipped topping before serving. The assembled cake with topping does not freeze well, so save the freezing for the layers only.
Enjoy!
Pea Pickers Cake
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour your pan.
- In a large bowl, add the Cake Mix, Oil, Mandarin Oranges and juice, and Eggs, mix on low and then increasing to medium speed and mix until well combined and the oranges have broken apart, about 5 - 8 minutes.
- Pour the batter into a greased and floured cake pan, and bake for about 40 - 45 minutes for a (12-cup) bundt pan or 25 - 30 minutes in a round pan, bake until the top is golden, and test with a cake tester, knife or skewer to see if when inserted, it comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool.
- In a large bowl, mix together the Cool Whip, drained Pineapple and Vanilla Pudding.
- If the frosting is too stiff, you can add in the Pineapple juice a little at a time until you have your desired consistency.
- Once the cake has completely cooled, place on serving plate or stand.
- Generously frost cake and serve.
Notes
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This looks amazing! And it is an easy recipe to whip up which I LOVE!
Thank you Jenn!!! And yes, it’s so easy to bake up!
When we lived in Baton Rouge, Margaret Ann, my neighbor next door from Vicksburg, introduced me to the Pea Pickers Cake. Being a transplanted Yankee, I had never heard of or had this kind of cake before. It is simply amazing! More than forty years later, I am still making this luscious dessert, especially in the warmer months. My grandkids love it and it’s one of the few desserts my husband is interested in eating. Everyone I pass the recipe to has made it and loves it too and especially like that it is so easy to make. Your ingredients and measurements are exactly what my friend had in her recipe that she gave me back in 1979.
Hello Katherine! Thank you so much for your comment, I love to hear family food stories like this, you made my day and I’m so happy that y’all love it as much as I do!
You made my day with this recipe because I had it YEARS ago…a friend made it for my birthday…and I’ve lost track of the recipe over time. This cake looks fantastic!!!
I’m so glad to have made your day Paige!!! Thank you so much!
This cake looks so good!! I think I need to buy myself a bundt pan so that I can be obsessed with one too 😉
Yes! … you can make so many tasty treats in one. Thank you Cathleen!
Such an odd name, but looks and sounds delicious! 🙂
It is an odd name, and honestly I have no idea why, lol, thank you Leslie!
I lived in the South for a few years and never got to experience one of these cakes! I’m passing this along to a friend who I know would ADORE this recipe!
Thank you Mackenzie!
Intrigued by the name…the cake looks wonderful and sounds really good!
I know that name is kind of a head tilter, but it’s so good! Thank you Nicoletta!
This looks like such a beautiful cake, so moist and flavorful. Hard to resist!
Thank you Deborah! It is definitely hard to resist!
What a lovely cake?!! It looks so moist and flavorful. I can’t wait to try it.
Thank you Katie!
I’ve never heard of this cake before. The idea of the Mandarin orange with the butter cake sounds delish! Truly it sounds like the perfect, easy to whip up sweet treat in the summer time.
It is easy to make and perfect for summer. Thank you Lauren!
never heard of such cake,but looks like a great bake in no time and its looks so yum!
Thank you Prasanna!
Love the little bits of fruit mixed into this cake! I’d never guess that they were in there based on the name of it!
I know that name doesn’t exactly elude to the flavors! Thank you Ashley 🙂
That frosting looks pretty special.
Thanks Ben!
This frosting looks and sounds really good! What a lovely name for the cake!
Thank you Lois!!!
Love the name of this cake! And it sounds awesome!
Thank you Debs!
I’ve never heard of a pea pickers cake, but I’m totally intrigued now! I can see why you wanted it all to yourself!
Thank you Claire!!!
We cake it pig pickin’ cake in the south. Easy to make and so moist and delish!
I love that name too!!! It is so good and crazy easy to make 🙂
Yes, in my area of the south, it has always been called a pig-picking cake. It’s the perfect dessert after a pig-pickin’ and if you don’t know what that is, you are definitely not from the south! There is nothing like smoked pork, potato salad, slaw, bread, baked beans, and this wonderful cake!
Been making this cake for decades. And yes it is awesome. I seem to run out of frosting and all my spoons mysteriously get dirty when it is frosting time.?
You know you’re baking something irresistible, when you have a pile of dirty spoons from “taste testing”!
I grew up in the Midwest. There it was called Spring Fling Cake. Always delicious.
OH I love that name!!! Whatever the name, it taste amazing! Thank you Deanna!
You made my day with this recipe because I had it YEARS ago…a friend made it for my birthday…and I’ve lost track of the recipe over time. This cake looks fantastic!!!
I lived in the South for a few years and never got to experience one of these cakes! I’m passing this along to a friend who I know would ADORE this recipe!
This looks like such a beautiful cake, so moist and flavorful. Hard to resist!
What a lovely cake?!! It looks so moist and flavorful. I can’t wait to try it.
Love the name of this cake! And it sounds awesome!
Looks delicious…does it need to be kept refrigerated?
Thank you Josie! Yes, the cake should be stored in the refrigerator due to the topping, covered and up to 3 days. 🙂