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Sunshine Cake made in a 9x13 pan with mayo, pineapple and mandrin oranges.

Sunshine Cake

Sunshine Cake is a dense and incredibly moist chilled cake made with mayonnaise, crushed pineapple, and mandarin oranges in a 9x13 pan.
Servings: 12 Servings
Chef Alli
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

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Ingredients
 

For the Cake

  • 13 ounce yellow cake mix
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 20 ounce can crushed pineapple drained and juice reserved
  • 1/3 cup reserved pineapple juice

For the Frosting

  • 8 ounce container frozen whipped topping fully thawed
  • 3 ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 20 ounce can mandarin oranges well drained

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with nonstick spray; reserve.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, mayonnaise, reserved pineapple juice, and half of the can of crushed pineapple. (You will use the remaining half of the crushed pineapple for the frosting.)
    13 ounce yellow cake mix, 3 large eggs, 1 cup mayonnaise, 20 ounce can crushed pineapple, 1/3 cup reserved pineapple juice
  • Using an electric hand mixer on low speed to beat the ingredients together. Increase the speed to high and beat the batter for 1 minute.
  • Spread the prepared cake batter into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
  • Bake, uncovered, on the center oven rack for 30-35 minutes, just until a toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean.
  • Remove the cake from the oven and immediately cover the pan with a sheet of foil; let the covered cake cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
  • Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, gently fold together the whipped topping, pudding mix, half of the mandarin oranges, and the remaining half of the crushed pineapple. Chill the frosting while the cake continues to cool.
    8 ounce container frozen whipped topping, 3 ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix, 20 ounce can mandarin oranges
  • Spread the chilled frosting over the cooled cake, then decorate the top of the cake with remaming can of well drained mandarin orange slices, as desired.
  • Cover the cake and chill well, at least 8-10 hours. Cake is best served very well chilled.

Notes

  1. Make sure to cover the hot cake with foil traps the heat and creates condensation that goes down into the cake making it super dense and moist.
  2. Once the cake is fully cooled, chill very well before adding the frosting. Chill again for serving it as the best eating experience. Because this cake is so dense, it takes a good 8-10 hours to be fully chilled.
  3. Don't be weird-ed out by the mayonnaise as part of the cake batter! We think of mayonnaise for sandwiches and savory dishes, but technically, mayonnaise is just whipped eggs so it's perfect for making a very moist cake.

Nutrition

Calories: 291kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 4gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 503mgPotassium: 177mgFiber: 2gSugar: 33gVitamin A: 674IUVitamin C: 19mgCalcium: 131mgIron: 1mg
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