The texture of this tropical pineapple coconut cake is amazing. The crushed pineapple makes it super moist, while the coconut combines with the cake batter to form a soft spongy crumb. And best of all, you don't need to be too precise with the measurements. This is an easy no-fail recipe that delivers perfect results time after time.
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Easy no-fail pineapple coconut cake
This pineapple coconut cake is one of my favourite cake recipes of all time, and I'm delighted to be able to share it with you. It's packed with tropical flavours of pineapple and coconut and is so moist that it doesn't need any frosting. It's the perfect cake to impress your friends at the office, but at the same time, it wouldn't be out of place as a dessert at a formal dinner party. I've made this pineapple cake umpteen times and it really is a no-fail recipe.
The pineapple flavour of this cake really shines through. This is due to adding crushed pineapples to both the cake batter and the delicious sugary pineapple glaze. This cake contains an entire can of pineapple, and there is just enough coconut in the mixture to provide a coconut taste, without being too sweet.
I love the flavour of coconut and I often use it for making cakes and desserts. If you also enjoy coconut, you may enjoy these other coconut bakes:
- Coconut meringe jam tarts
- Coconut macaroons with chocolate topping
- Crunchies with oats and coconut
- Easy coconut pie
How to make a pineapple coconut cake
You can get the complete recipe and detailed ingredients for this pineapple coconut cake on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
To make a pineapple coconut cake you will need all the normal cake ingredients like flour, eggs and butter, but instead of milk, you use a can of pineapple chunks. Get pineapple which has been canned in its own juice. Don't use pineapple in a heavy syrup, this will be too sweet.
The pineapple chunks will be blended in a food processor until crushed. Some of the pineapple will be added to the cake and the rest will be mixed with icing sugar (or powdered sugar / confectioner's sugar) to form a glaze which will be poured over the baked cake while it is still warm.
Make the pineapple and coconut batter
Start by creaming the butter and sugar as you would for a normal cake. I like to use my electric hand mixer for this as it saves a lot of effort. If you don't have a hand mixer, you can use a wooden spoon and a lot of elbow grease!
Separate the eggs and put the whites aside. Beat in the egg yolks (image 1).
Drain ¾ of the pineapple juice from the tin and set it aside. Place the pineapple chunks, along with the rest of the pineapple juice, into a blender and blend until the chunks are finely chopped. Scoop out one cup of the crushed pineapple (image 2) and mix it into the creamed butter, sugar and egg mixture. Pour the remainder of the crushed pineapple into the reserved juice.
The reason we remove most of the juice from the pineapple chunks before blending is that there would be too much liquid in the pineapple and the cake batter would be too wet.
Add the coconut to the batter and then sift in the flour and baking powder (image 3). I have used plain flour (or cake flour) for this recipe, but you could substitute plain flour with self-raising flour.
Mix until well combined. At this stage, the mixture will be slightly thicker than a normal cake batter.
Add the beaten egg whites
Now beat the egg whites until soft peaks are formed, fold the egg whites into the cake batter ⅓ at a time. Do not beat, just cut the egg whites through the batter with a knife until they are combined (image 2). The egg whites will thin the batter down slightly.
Grease a 9" (23cm) round spring-form cake tin lightly with butter and then line the bottom with a round of baking parchment (image 3). The baking parchment will enable you to remove the cake from the tin easily. Pour the batter into the cake tin (image 4).
Place the cake tin into a pre-heated oven (180C / 375F) for about 35 minutes until the top of the cake is nicely browned and feels firm to the touch, and a wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out cleanly.
Make the pineapple glaze
Mix the reserved crushed pineapple and juice with icing sugar (powdered sugar / confectioner's sugar) in a microwave-safe bowl. The mixture will be runny. Place the pineapple mixture into the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high power. The pineapple mixture will have thickened slightly, but will still be quite runny. Pour the hot pineapple mixture over the cake (still in the baking pan) and allow it to cool. Make sure the pineapple mixture covers the entire cake.
Remove from the pan and place on a serving plate.
This pineapple coconut cake will remain moist and fresh for up to 4 days if stored in a covered container in the kitchen.
How to serve pineapple coconut cake
You can serve this pineapple coconut cake as is, or you can sprinkle the top of the cake with additional icing sugar (powdered sugar / confectioner's suger) before serving.
This cake is also delicious when served as a dessert and either topped with a scoop of ice cream or covered with creamy custard.
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Other recipes
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📋The recipe
Easy pineapple coconut cake
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Food processor
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring jug
- Whisk
- Spatula
- 9" springform cake tin
- Microwave safe bowl
Ingredients
- 435 g canned pineapple chunks in own juice (15 ounces)
- 125 g butter (½ cup)
- 190 g sugar (1 cup)
- 2 large eggs separated
- 50 g sweetened desiccated coconut (½ cup)
- 280 g plain / all purpose / cake flour (2 cups)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 60 g icing sugar / powdered sugar / confectioner's sugar (
½ cup )
Instructions
Prepare the pineapple
- Drain ¾ pineapple juice from the can and reserve
- Place pineapple and remaining juice in a blender or food processor and blitz until pulpy or crushed.
- Remove one cup of crushed pineapple (this will be used for the cake) and place the remaining crushed pineapple into the reserved juice (this will be used for the cake topping).
Mix the cake batter
- Grease a 9" round springform cake pan and line the bottom with baking parchment.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/375°F
- Beat the sugar and butter together in a mixing bowl until light and creamy
- Add the egg yolks and beat in until thoroughly mixed
- Mix in the cup of crushed pineapple
- Add the coconut, then sift in the flour and baking powder and mix well until combined.
- Beat the egg whites until soft peaks are formed.
- Cut the beated egg white through the cake batter ⅓ at a time until just incorporated.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin
- Place the cake tin in the oven and bake for 35 minutes until the top of the cake is browned and firm to the touch, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out cleanly.
- Remove from the oven.
Make the glaze
- Place the reserved pineapple juice and the remaining crushed pineapple into a microwave-safe bowl and add the icing sugar.
- Mix well to remove any lumps of sugar
- Microwave on high power for 3 minutes (I have a 900 watt microwave - adjust the timing slightly to accommodate different wattage)
- Pour over the cake while still hot and still in the cake pan.
- Allow the cake to cool and then remove from the cake pan.
- Dust with icing sugar if preferred.
Notes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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Victra
Thanks for this recipe. It was light and delicious. It's a lovely change to the regular sponge cakes.
Rosemary
I followed the recipe exactly, but the cake has a heavy, gummy taste to it. What could be the problem? I did use fresh pineapple that I put in the blender. Would that make a difference? Very disappointing.
VJ
Rosemary, I think the problem might be the fact that there wasn't sufficient juice in the fresh pineapple. I have only ever made this with canned pineapple because you need a certin amount of juice to add moisture to the cake. I'm sorry the fresh pineapple didn't work out for you.
Victra
Maybe you might have overmixed the batter when you put in the flour? I mixed in mine on the lowest speed of my hand mixer until the flour was just combined, then gently folded in the whipped egg whites. Btw, I used cake flour. Don't give up, its a really lovely cake.
Tania Saliba
Just had the last slice, remained absolutely delicious till the last crumb, this is the best cake I’ve ever made and now replaces my apple and almond one for top favourite. Thanks so much for sharing!
VJ
It's my pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Kirsten Maidment
Cake is so tasty and extremely easy to make! A new favourite!
VJ
Thankyou - it's one of my favourite cakes too!
Lucy Dempsey
i made this recipe with fresh pineapple, i blitzed the pineapple to make a puree and ended up with loads of it. I used some of it in your recipe - fingers crossed it works, i made sweet and sour sauce with another cup full and the rest went into frozen dog treats. If anyone finds themselves with a large pineapple, theres two extra ideas xxx
VJ
Great ideas for using any leftover pineapple. Thanks for sharing!
Helen
Can you use stevia instead of 1 cup of sugar and for the butter can you use half butter and half apple sauce.
VJ
Hi Helen - I'm afraid I haven't tried this recipe using stevia, but because you would only need a little stevia to add the same sweetness as a cup of sugar you would need to use something else to add volume (perhaps extra pineapple or even grated apple). Cream that with the butter until it is well mixed and the butter is creamy, and continue with the recipe. I think substituting half of the butter with half apple sauce would work - but once again, I haven't tried it. If you try it and it works I'd love to know how it turned out. Sorry I can't offer more advice.
Rosalyn
Have you tried freezing this?
VJ
I haven’t tried freezing this cake. I think it would freeze well, but it might be rather over-moist when it is defrosted. It might be an idea to freeze the cake and the glaze mixture separately and pour the glaze over the cake once the cake has defrosted.
Christine
Great recipe!!!
After reading the recipe I wondered the same about using rushed pineapple to omit the first step and make it easier…then I read thru the comments, and reconsidered. And made it exactly as you wrote it. It was a great cake I added some toasted coconut after I poured the glaze over( my husband LOVES coconut) when it cooled the coconut stayed put gave a great texture to the cake and went very quick! Will definitely make it again next time wondering if a cpl tblsp of coconut milk to the glaze in place of all the pineapple juice will kick up the coconut taste even more ☺️ I’d also advise to follow the recipe as written if your looking for something easier I’m sure there’ is a dump cake recipe on Pinterest instead the way it’s written is fabulous thank you for sharing!
VJ
Thank you for your very positive comment. I have had people wanting to change the recipe, but then it's not how I tested it and making changes doesn't always work for baking recipes. I love your idea of adding toasted coconut to the top, and I think that coconut milk in the glaze would be delicious - or perhaps even a tablespoon of coconut cream.
Merilyn Simonds
It would be really helpful to know, more or less, the amount of pineapple & juice you use for the glaze. I used crushed pinapple so supplemented with some lime juice and coconut milk. Came out great.
VJ
Hi, the answer to your question is in the recipe card:
Prepare the pineapple
Drain ¾ pineapple juice from the can and reserve
Place pineapple and remaining juice in a blender or food processor and blitz until pulpy or crushed.
Remove one cup of crushed pineapple (this will be used for the cake) and place the remaining crushed pineapple into the reserved juice (this will be used for the cake topping).
Hope this helps 🙂
Rosemary
making this pineapple and coconut cake it has been in the oven for forty minutes and is not baked yet so will leave it another 10 minutes to see what happens I think this cake should be baked at a higher temperature
VJ
Because of the pineapple this is quite a dense cake and does take longer than normal to bake. Baking at a higher temperature will cause the outside to brown and perhaps even burn before the inside is cooked. Did you use a 9" cake pan or a deeper smaller pan? A deeper pan will take longerto bake.
Cassandra Duncan
I made this cake last weekend. It tasted delicious, but was a bit on the dry crumbly side and didn't rise as I was expecting. I did use crushed pineapple, so perhaps, like Elizabeth's comment that may have been the reason for the dryness. Noting the batter was a bit stiff I added some pineapple juice that I had on hand. I'll definitely be making it again using pineapple chunks and an 8in pan. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
VJ
My pleasure - pleased you enjoyed it. I make mine with crushed pineapple and it doesn't turn out dry, but I've had people saying that before. Perhaps it the brand of pineapple - different brands might have different amounts of liquid.
Margaret
Hi there, anyone know if this freezes well?
VJ
I haven't tried freezing this cake. I think it would freeze well, but it might be rather over-moist when it is defrosted. It might be an idea to freeze the cake and the glaze mixture separately and pour the glaze over the cake once the cake has defrosted.
Elisabeth Hobden
Hoping this is as lovely as it sounds - slight query …. Which goes in first, the pineapple or the flour.? I added pineapple first (as in the recipe method) but probably beat it too much to incorporate it so might have sacrificed some of the air in the mix. It seemed a bit greasy. It’s baking in the oven at this very moment. When ! Watched the video to pass the time till it’s ready I noticed the flour went in before the pineapple and it looked much lighter than mine. Perhaps it makes no difference - time will tell! (Only another 10 mins to go)
VJ
I hope it turned out good for you. The pineapple goes in first and then the flour. I'll take another look at the video - not sure why I got it the wrong way round 🙂
Suzanne
Fabulous. Just make this cake
VJ
Thank you 🙂
David
I've just bought a new mixer and this is my first cake attempted. I only had a smaller tin of pineapple chunks in juice so just halved the recipe and used a smaller tin.
It came out perfect and know this cake won't last long!
Thank you
VJ
That's great. Thanks for letting me know. Just proves this is a no fail recipe 🙂
Alison Hayes
I loved it! I work as a chef in France, and have always preferred to cook savoury food. I am stuck in a rut at home and decided to try something sweet for a change. I searched for tinned pineapple as I had a tin in the back of my cupboard. I followed the recipe to the letter and it was perfect. I'm going have a look at your other recipes now.
VJ
Wow, praise indeed. Thank you. I hope you enjoy my other recipes too!
Lorraine
Were are the recipes measurements???
VJ
In the recipe card at the bottom of the post. There's also a 'jump to recipe' button at the top of the post that will take you directly there if you don't feel like scrolling.
Sarah Grandy
Just made this amazingly light and fluffy cake.
Its easy and so tasty I couldnt quite wait until.totally cool.
Perfect with a cuppa on a rainy day
VJ
What a lovely comment thankyou! I'm so pleased you enjoyed it 🙂
Monica
How can I substitute fresh pineapple instead of canned and have the liquid come out correctly? I have a pineapple and it seems silly to buy it canned.
VJ
Oh, that's a tricky one. I've never made it with fresh pineapple before. You could try blending the pineapple in a food processor and putting it in a sieve to let the juice drip through. If you don't get enough juice then top up the liquid component of the recipe with milk. but I'm not sure how this would work for the cake topping. If you have a juice extractor then you could perhaps use this. If you do try it I'd love to know how it turns out.
Mirta
Hello
Is the coconut sweetened?
VJ
Yes - this is sweetened desiccated coconut. I've updated the recipe card to reflect it.
Sandra
will making it without coconut affect the recipe at all
VJ
I think it will affect both the texture and the cooking time and you'd also need to add more flour to compensate - I've never tried making it without coconut. I'd suggest you search on Google for a pineapple cake recipe that is made without coconut.
Kirsten
Lovely lightly textured cake! Will definitely be making this again!
VJ
Glad you enjoyed it!
Susie
Delicious cake. I used crushed pineapple and should have cooked an extra 5 minutes, but will definitely make again.
VJ
Thank you - glad you enjoyed it!
Elizabeth
I made it with crushed pineapple and tried to gauge the juice aspect accordingly. The cake was a little dry - maybe that's why. But otherwise the texture was good. Thank you.
VJ
I must admit I've never made this cake with crushed pineapple. I'll have to try it myself. I've got a feeling that adding a little milk may help with the dryness in this case.
Anji
I had to leave the cake longer than stated in the recipe ……… this may just be my oven , but worth mentioning , cake was delicious
VJ
Oh dear - sorry to hear that. 35 minutes should be ample time for the cake to cook. Did you use a 9" pan - if you used a smaller pan the batter would have been deeper and would have taken longer to cook. But as you say, it may just have been your oven - not all ovens thermostats are created equal!. I'm please it turned out well in the end and delighted that you thought it was delicious. Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Valerie Bolton
Hi there, can I use crushed pineapple instead of chunks.. Thank you.
VJ
Hi Valerie
I have never made this cake with crushed pineapple because it would be difficult to separate the juice from the pineapple. I explain this in the post.
(The reason we remove most of the juice from the pineapple chunks before blending is that there would be too much liquid in the pineapple and the cake batter would be too wet.)
However, that said, there is no reason why you can't try to drain some of the liquid from the crushed pineapple by letting the crushed pineapple drain through a sieve into a bowl. Different brands of crushed pineapple will contain more liquid than others so you may find that the crushed pineapple is at the right consistency anyway. It would be a matter of experimenting. You don't want the cake batter to be too wet or the cooking instructions won't work properly. You may find you need to cook the cake longer in this case.
If you do make it with crushed pineapple I'd be interested in hearing how it turns out.
Hope this helps.
VJ x
jenner
"never made this cake with crushed pineapple because it would be difficult to separate the juice from the pineapple"
Yeah, not really. 🙂
I use crushed pineapple for a different recipe and just use a piece of (clean!) muslin to drain/squeeze the juice out... a tighter weave of cheesecloth would work as well. One could also just put the pineapple in a strainer and press out the juice into a bowl.
JM2C 🙂
VJ
Yes, you could squeeze the juice through muslin but I don't think you would get enough liquid. There's a lot more liquid in a can of whole pineapple chunks than in crushed pineapple. I'll have to test it - if it works I'll update the recipe.
Taylor
Hi VJ!
I was hoping to mail this to a friend for her birthday. Would the cake hold up for a few days without going mouldy/falling apart, provided I packed it carefully and sent it whole?
Thanks for the advice!
Taylor
VJ
Hi Taylor
I must admit I've never sent a cake through the mail before, so I really can't offer much advice. The cake will stay fresh for up to 4 days at room temperature in the kitchen, but this is a relatively stable environment. You would need to consider things like humidity and temperature in your particular country, and how long it would take in the mail. And you also don't know whether parcels are left to stand in the sun before being shipped.
If you do attempt this, I would advise you to wrap the cake in a sheet of baking parchment (for protection), and then a layer of kitchen paper towel (to absorb any condensation), before you pack it into your container. I would also be inclined to put scrunched up paper towels inside the cake box to stop the cake from moving around too much.
I'm afraid I can't offer more advice than this, but I'd love to know if it does arrive successfully.
VJ x
Amy
A little upset that the temperature is backwards. I am new to this and put in the cake and set my oven to 180. Shouldn't it be 375f instead of 375c? I just grabbed it out and waiting for the 9ven to get hotter. It was after 15 minutes too so I hope I didn't screw it up. Time will tell
VJ
Oh dear - I am so sorry - this recipe has been up for ages and this is the first time that someone has pointed this out. The temperature was correct in the post but unfortunately, I had a slip of the finger in the recipe card. You are quite correct and I have updated the recipe card to reflect this. I hope I didn't cause you a disaster.
Sandra
Made this and it was absolutely wonderful!
VJ
That's what I like to hear! Thanks Sandra, I'm so pleased you enjoyed it.
Tina
Lovely recipe…. easy and delicious! Will definitely make again.
VJ
Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Pam
I have got everything ready to make this cake, but baking powder is listed in the method but not in the ingredients. HOW much baking powder do I need to use?Urgent!
VJ
Hi Pam - Oh dear - this was an oversight on my part.
You need 1 teaspoon baking powder per cup of plain flour - so for this recipe you will need 2 teaspoons of baking powder. You could also use 2 cups of self-raising flour instead and omit the baking powder. I will update the recipe to note this. Thank you so much for pointing this out.