Pig Pickin' Cake — The Cake You Bake When One Candle Is Everything

Hannah's first birthday is this week — a year old, my youngest grandchild, the pandemic baby who arrived when I couldn't hold anyone and who I now hold as often as possible, making up for lost time with the urgency of a woman who knows that time is the one commodity she cannot produce more of. Hannah at one is walking — a determined, slightly wobbly walk that involves more falling than walking, technically, but the intention is there and the getting-up-after-falling is consistent and I admire the consistency because consistency in the face of falling is, essentially, my entire life philosophy.

David and Jennifer had a small party in White Plains. I brought the cake — a vanilla layer cake with buttercream frosting and exactly one candle, because one is the only number that matters today. Hannah attacked the cake with both hands and a method that can only be described as archaeological: she dug through the frosting layers with systematic thoroughness, extracting the cake beneath with the focus of a scientist. I photographed every stage of the excavation. The photos are in the phone, in the gallery, in the vault of images that I am building for the day when I will need to remember this — the small hands in the frosting, the frosting on the face, the laughter, the one candle, the one year, the one baby who is mine.

Marvin did not come to the party. The decision was quiet and necessary and I made it without consulting anyone because I have earned the right to make this decision: the trip is too far, the stimulation is too much, the confusion will be too great. I left him with Gloria. I drove to White Plains. I held my granddaughter on her first birthday. I came home. Marvin was in his chair. He said, "Where did you go?" I said, "To a birthday party." He said, "Whose?" I said, "Hannah's." He said, "Who's Hannah?" I said, "Your granddaughter." He said, "Oh, that's nice." The conversation was not nice. The conversation was the disease. But the birthday was nice. The cake was nice. The one candle was nice. And Hannah, with frosting on her face, was the nicest thing in the world.

The vanilla cake I brought to White Plains was made with exactly the kind of deliberate simplicity a first birthday deserves — nothing too fussy, nothing that competes with the guest of honor. But it’s this Pig Pickin’ Cake that I keep coming back to in the days since the party, because it carries the same spirit: light and bright and joyful in a way that feels almost defiant, the way a one-candle celebration feels defiant when the year has been hard. If you are baking for someone small and beloved, or for anyone who needs to be reminded that sweetness still exists, this is the cake I would bring.

Pig Pickin’ Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes plus chilling | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1 box (15.25 oz) yellow cake mix
• 1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges, undrained
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1 package (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• Maraschino cherries, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
2. Make the batter. In a large bowl, combine the yellow cake mix, undrained mandarin oranges, eggs, and vegetable oil. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, until the oranges break down into the batter.
3. Bake the layers. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
4. Make the frosting. In a large bowl, stir together the thawed whipped topping, undrained crushed pineapple, and instant vanilla pudding mix until fully combined. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to firm slightly.
5. Assemble the cake. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread a generous layer of pineapple frosting over the top. Set the second layer on top and frost the top and sides of the entire cake with the remaining frosting.
6. Chill and garnish. Refrigerate the assembled cake for at least 1 hour before serving. Scatter chopped pecans over the top and decorate with maraschino cherries if desired. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 390 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 55g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 380mg