This pineapple coconut cake is so moist and tender you’ll want to bake this recipe over and over. It’s filled with rich homemade pineapple filling between the layers and then you can top it off with the frosting of your choice.
It’s perfect for a birthday, or any event, but you may not even want to share though…it’s so good.
Hey there! Before you scroll, there’s lot’s of important stuff in the post!…including the FAQ section, which may answer any questions you might have about this recipe. Enjoy!
This cake is a very tender cake. It’s best kept chilled until served. You don’t want to use this cake for carved cake projects and it is so tender that it probably wouldn’t hold up to fondant.
LET’S TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE INGREDIENTS IN THE PINEAPPLE COCONUT CAKE:
- You’ll want to use cake flour. It just produces a softer textured cake.
- You’ll use coconut milk in this recipe (not coconut water). I used Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk) Make sure to shake up the can before opening it.
- You’ll obviously use coconut and pineapple and I used sweetened shredded coconut and crushed pineapple – juice and all.
- You can also add in vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract) and coconut extract if you have it available.
- And you’ll need even more pineapple for the pineapple filling. (The recipe card below will show exact amounts.)
I torted my cake layers, so I could add in more pineapple filling, instead of just one layer of filling between two layers.
So, I ended up having four thinner layers of cake and three layers of filling.
I think it worked out really well because you get a good helping of the cake and the pineapple filling in each bite.
MIXING METHOD FOR THE PINEAPPLE COCONUT CAKE:
For this cake, you’ll be using the average creaming method. That means you’ll cream the butter and sugar together and whip it up well to incorporate as much air as you can, then you’ll add in the eggs one at a time.
Next you’ll alternately add in the dry and liquid ingredients. This mixing method will make a really fluffy cake. The main thing is just to make sure you don’t over-mix. Only mix until everything is combined.
TIPS & FAQs FOR MAKING THE PINEAPPLE COCONUT CAKE:
- Use unsalted butter and make sure it’s room temperature (not melted though). Just set it out to come to room temp on its own.
- What if I don’t have cake flour? Well you’ll get the best results with cake flour, but if you can’t get it, you can substitute with all purpose flour with these changes: For every cup of cake flour called for in the recipe, use one cup of all purpose flour instead and remove two tablespoons of it, then replace that with two tablespoons of cornstarch.
- I don’t have vanilla bean paste, can I substitute? Yes, you can use regular vanilla extract instead in the same amount.
- Do I have to use coconut extract? No, you don’t have to, but it does add a little more coconut flavor.
- In both the cake recipe and filling recipe, you’ll use the pineapple undrained. You’ll be using the juice and all.
- Grease and flour your pans or add pan release and flour them very well as these are tender cake layers and they’ll want to stick.
- These layers will be a little more brown on the top then you’re used to seeing with a vanilla style cake. It’s okay. They will also not bake up super high with a dome. They’ll bake pretty level with the pans.
You’ll want to cover this cake in a creamy frosting and I’ve got a couple options for you below. (I used the Fluffy Marshmallow Frosting)
Options for Frosting:
The final touch will be the toasted coconut on top. (I show how to do this in the video and in the recipe itself.) You don’t have to toast the coconut if you don’t want to though. You can just add regular shredded coconut to your cake if you want.
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ITEMS AND TOOLS USED TO MAKE THE PINEAPPLE COCONUT CAKE:
- Large Glass Batter Bowl
- Vanilla Bean Paste
- Coconut Extract
- Stand Mixer
- Flex Edge Beater Attachment
- 8″ Round Cake Pans
- Cake Leveler
- Small Icing Spatula
- Large Icing Spatula
Ok, let’s get to the recipe!
Note About Recipe Measurements: I write recipes using volume (cups) measurements because here in the U.S., this is what people are more familiar with and I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated when baking. For metric/weight measurements, click the ‘metric’ button under the ingredients in the recipe card below. The weights are converted by a program, not me, and it’s just a best guess. I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results, since I test recipes using volume measurements.
Recipe
Pineapple Coconut Cake with Pineapple Filling
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter (slightly cooler than room temp)
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 3 cups cake flour (not all-purpose flour)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 13 oz can coconut milk (I used Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk) (I used Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract optional
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 8 oz can of crushed pineapple, undrained (add the juice and all)
- 1 ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut (plus 1 cup more for toasting and sprinkling on the cake)
For the filling:
- 1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained (add the juice and all)
- ⅔ cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 3 T cornstarch
- 2 T butter
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease and flour two 8″ round pans very well.
- In a bowl, mix the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together to combine. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add the coconut milk. It sometimes helps to shake the can a bit before opening it. If it’s still not mixed together, then just mix it well with a whisk once you get it into your bowl.
- Add in the emulsions (or extracts), oil and pineapple. Whisk until mixed well. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the room temperature butter on low until smooth and creamy.
- Add the sugar and beat on low until mixed, then beat on medium to medium high until light and fluffy. (Several minutes.)
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low after each just until combined. Scrape down the bowl and mix again just for another 5 to 10 seconds.
- Add the dry and liquid ingredients alternately to the butter/sugar mixture. (Start with a third of the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Add in half of the liquid ingredients and mix just until combined. Add another third of the flour mixture, mix until just combined. Add in the last half of the liquid ingredients, mix, then the last of the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.)
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on medium for only about 10 seconds. Do not over mix, just make sure everything is incorporated and then stop mixing.
- Fold in 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut.
- Pour into prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45-50 minutes.
- The edges and top will be medium brown in color and a toothpick inserted into the middle will come out with a few crumbs, but no liquid batter.
- These cake layers will bake pretty level and flat. They will not have a dome on them.
- Set the baked cake layers onto a rack and cool for about 15 minutes. Turn the cakes out of the pans and leave to cool completely on the racks before frosting them.
For the pineapple filling:
- Add the crushed pineapple, sugar, and cornstarch to a sauce pan.
- Cook over medium heat and let the mixture come to a boil. Let it boil for about three minutes while stirring almost continuously.
- Add in the butter and remove from heat. Stir until the butter is melted into the pineapple filling.
- Place the filling in a bowl, cover it and chill until cold.
For the Frosting:
- This cake is wonderful topped with fluffy marshmallow frosting, the whipped cream cheese frosting or regular cream cheese buttercream.
- For the cake pictured, I used fluffy marshmallow frosting.
- You can find those recipes at the links here: Fluffy Marshmallow Frosting, Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting, Cream Cheese Buttercream
To toast the coconut:
- Break up one cup of shredded coconut into a frying pan. Turn the heat up to medium. Stir the coconut continuously, flipping it over as you stir. Watch it closely and do not leave because it will burn quickly.
- Once it’s browned, add the toasted coconut to another bowl.
- Sprinkle onto the top of the cake after frosting is added.
Assembly:
- For this cake, I torted my cake layers, so I could work in even more of the pineapple filling. (By torting, I just mean slicing the cake layers in half, so instead of two cake layers, there are four thinner layers.)
- You don’t have to tort your cake layers though. This cake is very delicate, so just be aware that if you do torte them, you’ll need to chill them to help them stay together.
- Place a cake layer onto a plate or cake stand and spread a thin amount of buttercream, then some of the pineapple filling over it. Place the other cake layer on top of the previous. If you torted your cake layers, just continue on like this ending with the top layer of cake.
- Cover cake with frosting. Sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with toasted coconut. (You can just sprinkle with untoasted coconut as well.)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
How to Share
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Tonyah
Hi,
can I omit the crushed pineapple and just add the pineapple juice in its place instead?
Kara Jane
Tonyah, I’m not sure if that would work for the filling…it may not turn out, but I think it would work for the cake. Just make sure to add the juice because you’ll need that for the moisture.
Hui Wai Yee
If I haven’t got the kitchen aids’ table mixer may I use the handheld electrical mixer instead
Kara Jane
Yes it will work just fine using a hand mixer.
Madelyn
Hello, I want to try this recipe 😋. You mention the cakes come out kind of flat, wouldn’t it be because of the baking soda since there’s nothing acidic to “activate it”? I just wonder if you’ve done it without it. Thanks
Kara
Hi Madelyn, good question. My thought process behind using a bit of baking soda was because of the pineapple, however it’s possible the cake would still turn out just using baking powder, but I would add more if you omit the baking soda -probably another teaspoon. I also think part of it being a little bit flatter is the type of liquid in it. I’ve found any time I use sour cream or coconut milk or some time of thicker liquid like that, it just seems to bake up flatter on top, no matter how much I experiment with the leavening ingredients. That’s only my experience though. In addition, the pineapple does add quite a bit of liquid to the cake, even when drained and excess liquid can cause cakes to bake flatter on top as well. So basically I think it’s probably a combination of a couple things. I did really like the taste and texture the way it was, but please feel free to experiment with it! If you do make it, I’d love to know what you think about it!
Donna Miles
The Pineapple Coconut Cake was very good. The cake was very moist, yet heavy. The Marshmallow Cream Frosting was way too sweet. Next time I will try a whipped cream frosting.
Kara
Hi Donna, thanks for the great review. So glad you liked the cake. Yeah the marshmallow frosting is on the sweet side. I have a whipped American buttercream frosting recipe on my site if you’d like to check that one out. Here’s the recipe: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/whipped-vanilla-american-buttercream-frosting/
That one is still made with confectioner’s sugar, but not using marshmallow cream with it does lower the sweetness. If you want a frosting that’s not very sweet at all though, then you might want to try out a Swiss Meringue frosting. I don’t make that often, so I don’t have a recipe for it, but there are lots online and it’s much less sweet than an American buttercream. Hope this helps!
Angela
Delicious cake! I just didn’t add the shredded coconut and I baked in a 9-inch pan so I just had two layers. One question- I cannot print this recipe no matter what device I use. When I hit the “Print Recipe” links, the whole webpage just opens in another tab. And I cannot highlight and copy the recipe (it says “Alert: you are not allowed to copy content”). Help please!
Kara Jane
Hi Angela, so glad you loved the cake! That’s weird that it won’t let you print the recipe. I looked at it and it’s working for me, but you have to hit the print recipe link at the very top of the post, or the ‘print recipe’ button inside the recipe card. It will open a new window with the recipe and from there you can click the print button.
It’s not possible to highlight and print from the website though as I have to set things up that way because of website scrappers…companies who copy entire blog posts and post them on their site.
Let me know if the print buttons won’t work for you. You might try a different browser though…mine is working for me in google. If that doesn’t work, just send me an email through my contact link and I’ll email you a pdf of it. Here’s the contact link: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/contact-me/
Andrea
I’m making cake tomorrow. I could only find 13.66 ounces instead of 13 ounces. Do you use the whole can.
Kara Jane
Yes, use the whole can including the fat that is on the top of the can when you open it.
Hilda Stevens
I am going to make this amazing cake for my birthday tomorrow. Can I use evaporated coconut mik??
Kara Jane
Hi Hilda, I’m so sorry, but I don’t know if that would work or not…I just haven’t tested it out. It might be worth experimenting with though!
Debbie
Can I use coconut cream instead of coconut milk?
Kara Jane
It might work ok. Coconut cream is a little thicker, so the cake might end up a little denser, but it might work just fine.
MALIN
is there any way to make this DIABETIC FRIENDLY?
Kara
Hi Malin, I’m not sure. I’m not an expert at sugar free cakes, so I just don’t know. Pineapple has a lot of sugar in it though, so I’m not sure it’s safe to eat for diabetics. I’m no expert though, so I can’t be sure. I’m so sorry I can’t be more help. I just don’t have any experience baking sugar free. The only thing I know about is using Splenda for baking, but then you’d still have the sugar from the pineapple and the carbs from the flour etc.
Ana
I didn’t see this in the FAQs, but can I make this in a single cake pan (such as 9×13) instead of 2 round ones? Thank you so much for a delicious recipe!
Kara
Hi Ana, I haven’t tried this cake in a 13×9, but I really think it should work just fine. It will probably bake for about the same amount of time, but may take a bit longer, just check it earlier and use the toothpick test in the middle. As far as the filling goes, you could just let the cake cool, then spread the filling on top, chill, then spread whatever buttercream you like on top of that.
Alicia
I made this cake last Tuesday for a family birthday: they told me that it is the best cake I’ve made so far. And I’ll be making it again next week because my husband asked me to.
I used less amount of sugar in the sponge and made a sugar-free frosting. I must say that the cake is celestial: soft, moist, tender, flavourful, delicate, … One of the layers almost broke in two pieces when I placed them on the rack to cool. We really enjoyed it. Everybody took more than one piece, and some more then two … (me among them).
Thanks for sharing this recipe! It’s delicious!! I think this cake will be our Christmas cake this year. I’ve shared your video with some friends.
Regards from the Canary Islands, Spain.
Kara
Oh this is wonderful Alicia! I’m so glad everyone loves this one and it’s really good to know it still turned out with less sugar added! Sending love to Spain!
Barbara G.
I just found your site, and you are the only one I’ve found that makes a cake close to what I’m looking for. I’m actually looking for a Yellow Layer Cake, with Pineapple Filling between the layers & covering all over the cake, Coconut & chopped Maraschino Cherries, & covering the whole outside of the cake. When I was living in N. O., La. a bakery called this a Pineapple Delight Cake. I remember how fabulous it was. I would appreciate it very much if you could help me. Please & Thank You !
Kara
Hi Barbara, pineapple delight sounds amazing! I’m not familiar with it, so I’m not sure how it should be made exactly. It might be something you could experiment with by combining a couple elements of different recipes. So you might start with a yellow cake recipe (I have a recipe I’ll link to below) and then make the pineapple filling listed in this recipe and add some coconut and maraschino cherries to the filling. I’m not sure how that would turn out, but it sounds good!
Here’s the recipe to the yellow cake if you’d like to check that out (just omit the fudge frosting): https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/classic-yellow-cake-with-fudge-frosting/
I hope this helps. If you experiment with the recipes, I’d love to hear how it turns out!