The best old fashioned, Southern quick and easy pineapple cake recipe with yellow cake mix, homemade with simple ingredients. Topped off with fluffy whipped cream, coconut. Soft, moist, fresh and tropical!
This classic old school dessert is also known as pineapple sunshine cake, pineapple lush cake. It tastes just as good as my family's Easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe. It's a doctored cake mix recipe and is better than any recipe from scratch that I have tried so far. The fruity flavor makes it a refreshing Summer dessert!
How to make pineapple cake recipe?
- Whisk together together eggs, oil, crushed pineapples.
- Mix in cake mix.
- Pour batter in pan.
- Bake.
- Cool.
- Ice cake.
- Sprinkle coconut.
- Enjoy!
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Crushed pineapple cake filling and frosting
I used whipped cream. It's not sweet and balances the sweetness of the cake perfectly. However, you can also use pineapple frosting or American Buttercream frosting or Cream Cheese Frosting.
You can also cut the cake in half and fill it with pineapple jam or other fruit jams and jellies. Homemade Strawberry Jam is my favorite!
Vanilla glaze is another option. Mix together 2 cups powdered sugar with 2-3 tablespoon milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until silky smooth. Then, drizzle it on top of the cake. You can also make use pineapple juice instead of milk
Variations
- Carrot pineapple cake- Mix in 1 cup finely shredded carrots in the recipe below OR use this Moist Carrot Cake Recipe and add some crushed pineapples.
- Pineapple angel food cake- Make this Angel Food Cake and top it off with pineapple jam or pineapple frosting.
- Cherry pineapple dump cake- Make this Peach Dump Cake (Peach Cobbler Dump Cake) but replace peach pie filling with cherry pie filling.
- Easy pineapple coconut cake- Mix in ¼ cup shredded coconut in the batter and also sprinkle shredded coconut on top of the frosted cake.
- Pineapple upside down bundt cake- Make this Lemon Bundt Cake With Cake Mix but line the greased pan with pineapple slices and maraschino cherries.
- Turn this int a poke cake- After the cake has baked and fully cooled down, use a bubble tea straw or end of a wooden spoon to make holes. Prepare the instant vanilla pudding (Use the 3.4 oz box and follow the instructions on the back). Pour it all over the cake and spread it out. Top with whipped cream and decorate with pineapple slices.
- Make mini cakes or cupcakes- By using a cupcake pan or mini round cake pans.
Tips and Techniques
- What type of pineapples to use? They must be canned and crushed because they blend together smoothly in the batter. I don't recommend using fresh pineapples because they didn't soften as well as the canned ones during baking.
- What flavor cake mix to use? Yellow, golden or butter flavors work best. The brand does not matter.
- Butter vs. Oil- I used oil but melted unsalted butter can be used instead. There was no noticeable difference.
- All ingredients must be at room temperature- Because they blend together smoothly and evenly.
- Don’t over-mix batter– Because that can yield tough cake. It’s okay if there are some lumps in the batter.
- Temperature is key– The cake must fully cool down before you ice it or else it will melt and make a sticky mess.
- What add-ins can be tossed in the batter? You can mix in chopped nuts such as pecans and walnuts. Lemon zest, lime zest or orange zest can also make a wonderful addition. Shredded coconut or desiccated coconut is superb too.
- Decoration– Keep it simple and classic with just white coconut but you can also decorate with slices of pineapples and maraschino cherries. Check out lots of these beautiful Cake Decorating Ideas for more fun ideas.
More Doctored Cake Mix Recipes
Recipe
Easy Pineapple Cake
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Ingredients
- 4 Eggs Large
- ⅓ cup Oil
- 1 can Crushed pineapples 20 oz. can, Unsweetened
- 1 box Yellow cake mix
- 2-3 cups Whipped cream Or Cool Whip
- ¼ cup Shredded coconut For sprinkling on top of the cake
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add eggs, oil, crushed pineapples and mix until smooth.
- Add cake mix and mix until just combined.
- Pour batter in a greased and floured rectangle cake pan (Dimensions: 9x13) and spread it evenly with a spatula.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool down completely.
- Then, spread whipped cream on top.
- Sprinkle coconut.
- Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Until next time, tata my lovelies!
Catherine Talman
I didn't see whether you drain the canned pineapple or use the liquid?
Abeer Rizvi
I drain the liquid or else the batter becomes too watery.
Patty
Can this recipe be used for cupcakes?
Abeer Rizvi
Yes, it works for cupcakes too.
Kris Marie
Just made this, it's in the oven. I didn't drain the pineapple because it didn't say so. I'm not too overly worried about it being too moist. Might have to cook it longer though.
Abeer Rizvi
You are not supposed to drain the pineapples. The cake should tun out really good.
Dottie J Weber
I've never drained the pineapple & my cakes turn out just fine .I use yellow cake mix.
Lana
Made it with organic unrefined virgin coconut oil and pineapple cake mix. Also added 1/4 cup coconut flakes. Didn't need frosting. Delicious.