Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9 x 13 inch cake pan and set aside.

Add store-bought or homemade yellow cake dry mix to a large bowl. Whisk all dry ingredients together if using homemade yellow cake mix.

To the dry cake mix add the milk, 1⁄2 cup of juice from canned mandarin oranges, oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined into a smooth cake batter. Do not overmix.

Place 3⁄4 cup, 135 grams of the drained mandarin oranges on a cutting board and rough chop them slightly into 1⁄2 inch chunks. Reserve the remaining whole mandarin oranges (approximately 1⁄4 cup, 45 grams) and set aside.

Fold the chopped mandarin oranges into the cake batter to combine.

Pour the cake batter into the greased cake pan and bake in the oven for 28 to 30 minutes.

While the cake is baking, make the frosting. Add the instant pudding mix and 1 cup of juice from the crushed pineapples to a large bowl and whisk to combine. You may need to strain or press the crushed pineapples down a bit to get the full cup of juice needed.

Add the whipped cream and powdered sugar to the pudding mixture and whisk to combine.

Fold the crushed pineapple into the frosting mixture to combine. Cover and chill in the fridge.

When the cake is done baking, allow it to cool completely to room temperature before frosting.

Add the frosting to the top of the cooled cake in an even layer. Top with remaining drained mandarin oranges and serve.