Christy Jordan's Mandarin Orange Cake (aka a Sunshine Cake)

I am going to a end of summer/TX Independence Day celebration this weekend and I was asked to bring the dessert. One of the desserts will be Christy Jordan's Mandarin Orange Cake (aka a Sunshine Cake).

 

A little history about how this cake became a go to recipe for me. Two Easters ago, the parents of a good friend of mine invited Mr. and Mrs. K, Mrs. K's sister, my roommate and myself to their house for Easter. My friend told me how his parents were looking forward to what I would contribute to the meal since he had apparently told them about every meal I had cooked for him (and our other friends) over our 10 year friendship. No pressure to meet, or more importantly exceed, 10 years worth of compliments. /end sarcasm/

 

With Mrs. K joining us, I wanted to bring a lactose free dessert. Especially since I knew she couldn't have the Lemon Meringue Pie I was making for Mr. K and my friend's dad because it had sweetened condensed milk in it. So I turned to my cooking hero, Mrs. Christy Jordan.

 

And sure enough in her refrigerator cakes post I found the perfect recipe: Christy's Mandarin Orange Cake. It was lactose free. Easy to make. And the flavors would be perfect for a spring dessert.

 

My only concern was that I had never made it before. Christy claimed in her post that it was her favorite cake. So I knew it had to be good. But there is a difference in theoretically knowing something will be good and making it for the very first time to take to people with high expectations of your abilities. But what is the phrase when it comes to taking a risk... "go big or go home?" So I took the gamble to blindly trust Christy and a tropical flavor profile that I believed would be a good combination.

 

And Christy's Mandarin Orange Cake didn't let me down. It was a light cake that wasn't too sweet. His Mom enjoyed the cake. She said it was called a Sunshine  cake many years ago and that she hadn't had one in years. My roommate loved it. (Her favorite dessert that I make is close to a toss up between this cake, a traditional pecan pie and my strawberry pie. But I think this cake edges out the pies by a slight margin.) And if memory serves me, Mrs. K enjoys it as well. (I don't think Mr. K or my friend's dad could be tempted away from their Lemon Meringue Pie, their favorite dessert, to try the cake.)

 

I've made this a number of times since then and always receive glowing reviews and requests for the recipe.  

 

Christy Jordan's  Mandarin Orange Cake (aka a Sunshine Cake)

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 1 box Yellow Cake Mix
• 1 (11 oz) can Mandarin oranges diced, undrained (buy the 100% juice, instead of the syrup, to cut down on the sugar)
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup oil
• Frosting:
• 1 sm. (3.4 ounce) Box instant vanilla pudding mix (you use sugar free without impacting the flavor)
• 1 (13 oz) cool whip (can use reduced fat or fat free without impacting the flavor)
• 1 -8 ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained (buy the 100% juice, instead of the syrup, to cut down on the sugar)

 

Instructions

1. Mix all cake ingredients together well.
2. Pour into 3 greased and floured round cake pans*.
3. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
4. For frosting, mix pudding mix and pineapple together with spoon.
5. Fold in cool whip until well blended.
6. Frost cake.
7. Keep refrigerated. Best if made 2 or 3 days ahead and refrigerated before serving.

*Note: Christy usually makes her cakes in a 9x13 pan "just to save the trouble of fooling with the layers."

Concord Grape Muffins

Oh, well hello there, September! I didn't even notice you waltz in. I've been so distracted by the close of summer. 

August was just delightful this year, wasn't it? Full of friends, old and new (including one really new friend - - like, barely 1 month old new.)

(clockwise from top left) VA & Anderson at Emma Lou's Cafe in Louisville, KY;
AML & EDB at Pie Sisters in Georgetown (DC);
MC at the Bloomington, IN Farmers' Market;
S & Frances at Northside Social in Arlington, VA

But now that you're here, September, I suggest you pull up a chair and make yourself useful. I see you brought some Concord grapes from Grandpa Batman's garden. Wonderful. Grab a pairing knife, start cutting out those seeds, and let's see what we can do with these . . .

Confession: I ate five of these in one sitting.

Concord Grape Muffins

yields 12 delightful muffins

2 c flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 T baking powder (yes, tablespoon)

1/4 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

zest of one lemon

6 T butter

1/2 t vanilla

1 c milk

1 c Concord grapes, seeded**

coarse sugar, for sprinkling

-Preheat oven to 400. 
-Mix dry ingredients, including zest.
-Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender.
-Add vanilla & milk. Stir gently until just mixed.
-Carefully fold in seeded grapes.
-Divide evenly into muffin tins; sprinkle with sugar (if using).

**Seeding Concord grapes takes forever. Pull up a chair, and be warned that grapes can have anywhere from 1-4 seeds, so you need to pay attention. Also . . . Concord grapes are incredibly delicious, so you'll probably end up eating 2 grapes for every one grape that you seed. Factor in your own will power when planning both the number of grapes you'll need and the time it will take to seed them . . .