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This Pineapple Cake is the best cake – it’s got pineapple in the cake that keeps it moist plus it has the best pineapple whipped cream cheese frosting. You’re going to absolutely LOVE this from scratch cake recipe!
Moist Cake Recipe with Pineapple
It’s not a pineapple upside down cake, it’s a total pineapple cake! There is pineapple flavor in the entire recipe: crushed pineapple in the cake and juice in the frosting. I decided to make this a sheet cake instead of a layer cake because I’m all about EASY recipes.
The canned pineapple and juice keeps the cake texture moist with a tender crumb. The cream cheese cuts the sweetness of the whipped cream frosting, making this the BEST pineapple cake recipe you’ll ever eat!
Ingredients Needed
- Canned Crushed Pineapple: You’ll reserve some of the liquid for the frosting and the rest goes into the cake.
- Cream Cheese: Be sure that it’s softened to avoid lumps.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: You’ll need this for the frosting. Make sure to use HEAVY whipping cream, not plain whipping cream.
- The rest of the ingredients are regular ones needed for cake, like flour and sugar and baking soda.
How to make Pineapple Cake
- Whisk flour and sugar in a large bowl then add all the wet ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Pour cake batter into a 9×13-inch baking pan that’s been greased with butter and flour or cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees f until the cake is dark golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean.
- I made whipped cream frosting (see visuals of how at that link) or you can make regular cream cheese frosting.
Expert Tips
- If you want, you can fold some shredded sweetened coconut to the batter to make more of a Pina colada cake.
- I garnished this cake with pineapple slices, but you could also use pineapple rings or maraschino cherries.
Storage Instructions
Store cake with the pan loosely covered with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator – the frosting should last 2-3 days without weeping. You can freeze the cake before you frost it but I don’t recommend freezing the cake once it’s frosted.
FAQs
I usually only use all-purpose flour because it’s what I always have on hand. This recipe hasn’t been tested with cake flour, so it’s best to use all purpose. You can use 1:1 Gluten Free AP flour in it’s place if you wish.
The cake can also bake in three 8-inch rounds or two 9-inch round cake pans. If you want to fill the cake and frost the tops and sides you should double the frosting recipe.
Pineapple Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups (248g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 20 ounce can crushed pineapple in juice, reserve 1 tablespoon of the juice
For the frosting:
- 8 ounces (226g) cream cheese
- 1 cup (113g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon reserved juice from the canned pineapple
- 1 ½ cups cold heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch pan with nonstick baking spray (the kind with flour) or grease and flour it.
- Make sure to reserve 1 tablespoon of the juice from the can of pineapple; set aside for the frosting.
- Add flour and sugar to a large bowl, whisk to combine. Then add eggs, vanilla, baking soda and pineapple to the dry ingredients. Whisk or mix with a hand mixer until combined (batter will be slightly lumpy).
- Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 35-42 minutes.
- The top will turn a dark golden color. Cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, mix cream cheese and sugar with a hand or a stand mixer until smooth.
- Add vanilla and pineapple juice and mix on low, then while running the mixer medium, slowly add the heavy cream. Turn the mixer up and beat until stiff peaks form, being sure to scape the sides and bottom of the bowl once during mixing. This will happen faster with a stand mixer and take a while with a hand mixer.
- Once cooled, frost the cake with the frosting. Garnish as desired.
Recipe Notes
- Store cake with the pan loosely covered with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator – the frosting should last 2-3 days without weeping. You can freeze the cake before you frost it but I don’t recommend freezing the cake once it’s frosted.
- To make a layer cake, bake the cake in three 8-inch rounds or two 9-inch rounds.
