Monday, July 7, 2014

Battle of the Cakes!

I had a brief, friendly argument on Facebook concerning the difference between Pig-Pickin' Cake and Better Than Sex Cake. I'll give you the two recipes I've used or at least have eaten after having it baked by others, and let you decide.

Note: I'm darned if I can find the cookbook with my mom's recipe in it (it was one of those fund-raising cookbooks that gather recipes from ladies at the church), but here's one I found online. They're all pretty much the same, so no one's feathers should get ruffled.

Pig-Pickin' Cake
Called such because this is the cake you eat at a pig pickin'. That's where an entire pig is barbecued in one piece, poor thing, and the crowd picks from the poor, delicious corpse. Of course there's potato salad, slaw, corn on the cob, and sweet tea (with hard liquor available out in back of the barn) to accompany.

1 box yellow cake mix
1 11-oz. can mandarin oranges, undrained
4 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1 3.5 oz. pkg. vanilla INSTANT pudding mix (a very few recipes use a 6 oz. box)
1 15-oz. can of crushed pineapple, undrained
1 12-oz container of Cool Whip
OR an 8-oz can of pineapple with a 9-oz. Cool Whip, depending on how much frosting you need.

Preheat oven to 325°. Mix cake mix, oranges, eggs and oil. Batter will be thin!

Divide batter into three 8-inch pans (for the classic version) or two 9-inch pans or one 9x13 inch pan. Bake 30 min. or until cake tests done.

Combine pudding mix and pineapple (with juice). Fold in Cool Whip. Spread on cooled cake. Don't frost the sides; just slap the stuff between the layers and on top. Oh, you can frost the sides if you want to and have enough frosting. You have my permission. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

VARIATION: Ooh, I need to try this.

Before frosting, poke holes in your layers and pour the pineapple juice over them. Don't bother with the juice in your actual frosting.

Cake must be stored in fridge!

(Picture approximate to what I remember it looking like, without the chocolate scribbles, and substituting pecans for the walnuts shown. Also in making three layers, not four, and it being a yellow cake base and having the frosting between the layers and… Well, it looked sorta like this, in a cakish way.)

Better Than Sex Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
3 oz. vanilla instant pudding
1/2 c. water
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. oil
1 c. sour cream

Blend and beat well (probably in the neighborhood of 2 minutes once it's mixed). Stir in:

1 bar German chocolate, grated fine
6 oz. chocolate chips
1 c. chopped pecans, because you can't have a sex cake without some nuts

Grease and flour three 8- or 9-inch pans. Bake at 350° 35 to 40 min.

8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. butter
1 box confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Use a mixer to mix it until it's frosting consistency. This one gets frosting on the sides as well as between the layers and on top. If you're feeling creative, sprinkle a little toasted coconut and/or nuts on it all.