The recipe for this delicious cake was given to me in 1978 by the secretary in Brett’s office when he was an instructor at NAS Millington. Our son had just been born and she took it upon herself to look after us, making sure we and our new baby were doing okay.

Lynn shared several recipes with me, from cookies to casseroles. I kind of laugh now whenever I make this cake because I’m not sure how we could have afforded the ingredients for it back then, but I do remember making it whenever I could because it’s so good. I always made it the “traditional” way too, with three layers, and I remember it barely fitting into my beloved Tupperware Caketaker.

For some reason unknown to me now I stopped making this cake for many, many years. Maybe because we got away from eating things like Cool Whip and instant pudding? Who knows? Anyway, I had totally forgotten about it but found the recipe when I was looking through my collection of recipes last year for something else. I made the cake as a surprise for Brett’s birthday and we fell in love with it all over again. Actually, I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t fall head over heels in love with Cake Delight. My grandchildren are notoriously picky when it comes to cakes but they gobble this one up and love, love, love the “frosting.”

Cake Delight is meant to be served cold, and needs to be stored in the refrigerator. I make it now in a 9″ X 13″ pan and works out just as well as when I made it with layers.

CAKE DELIGHT

Cake:

• 1 box yellow cake mix (Duncan Hines golden butter cake mix is recommended)
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 10.5-ounce can of mandarin oranges

Frosting:

• 1 8-ounce tub of non-dairy whipped cream
• 1 3.4-ounce package instant vanilla pudding
• 1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add the eggs and oil to the cake mix and beat well. Add the entire can of mandarin oranges (including the juice) to the batter and beat until the oranges are broken up and incorporated into the batter. Pour the batter into either three buttered 8″ round cake pans or a buttered 9″ x 13″ pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is done.

Cool the cake thoroughly.

When the cake is cool blend together the non-dairy whipped cream with the instant pudding, then fold in the crushed pineapple, including the juice. Let the mixture thicken and then frost the cake, either between the layers and up the sides and on top, or in a thick layer on the 9″ x 13″ cake. Chill the entire cake completely before serving; store leftovers in the refrigerator.