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Pineapple Coconut Cake

Last Updated On: May 22, 2024 | Published: April 19, 2019 by Melissa Diamond | 51 Comments
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I love Pineapple and coconut together, and in today's Pineapple Coconut Cake, we're combining moist pineapple cake layers with a thick pineapple filling and coconut cream cheese frosting.

This cake is a slice of heaven, and PERFECT for spring and summer gatherings!

Pineapple Coconut Cake Recipe

I love that we finally have a pineapple cake recipe to share, we've been wanting to add one for a while now! (Our other Pineapple Cake is absolutely delicious but uses yellow cake layers with a pineapple & cream filling).

The pineapple flavor in today's cake layers comes from crushed pineapple pieces in the batter as well as pineapple juice.  

Assembling the Pineapple Coconut Cake

When it was time to assemble our cake, we placed the first cake layer on the cake plate, then piped a dam of cream cheese frosting about ¼ inch from the edge. 

Next, we filled inside of the dam with a layer of coconut cream cheese frosting, followed by a layer of pineapple filling.

Then, I repeated these steps for the next layer of pineapple cake. After adding the final layer, check to see if you have any gaps in between your layers.

You can fill those with more cream cheese frosting. (This helps to prevent air pockets and also prevents your filling from escaping.)

I chilled my cake at this point for about 20 minutes in the freezer to firm things up so that I could frost the cake without worry of the layers sliding around while I frosted. This can sometimes happen with softer fillings. 

Decorating the Pineapple Coconut Cake

The easiest way to decorate a coconut cake is to cover it with shredded coconut! Hooray for quick and easy decorating!

After chilling the cake, I frosted the top and sides of the cake with cream cheese frosting and immediately pressed in the shredded sweetened coconut all over. So pretty!

Delicious Pineapple Coconut Cake

Recipe FAQs

Yes, just as with most of our cakes from white velvet cake to Italian Cream Cake, Pistachio Cake and more, these cake layers can be frozen! After baking, allow the layers to cool and then wrap each cake layer in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. (We often wrap ours while they are still a bit warm.)

For more support, we like to place each layer on a foil wrapped cake board before wrapping. Then, into the freezer they go! They will stay fresh for up to three months!

To thaw, move the wrapped cake layers from the freezer to the kitchen counter. Keep them wrapped for 30-45 minutes or until condensation stops forming on the wrapping. Then, unwrap and thaw to desired amount. (Some bakers prefer to assemble their cakes while they are still partially frozen. as they are less fragile.)

For today's pineapple cake, we didn't use any pineapple extract or pineapple baking emulsion. However, you could if you would like!

The crushed pineapple in the cake, along with the juice, gives it a delicious, yet light pineapple flavor.

If we weren't using pineapple in the filling as well, I may have added a tiny bit of pineapple extract (1 tsp) to give it an extra boost. However, that wasn't necessary with this recipe because of the homemade pineapple filling.

This cake is bursting with pineapple flavor, and is perfectly balanced with the coconut in the recipe! (If I could have gotten away with eating the entire bowl of coconut cream cheese frosting, I would have, it is just that good!) I can't wait for you to try it!

Yes, because of the pineapple filling and coconut cream cheese frosting, this cake should be refrigerated, preferably in an airtight container or under a cake dome.

For best flavor and texture, remove the cake from the refrigerator a couple of hours before serving. This will give the pineapple coconut cake time to warm and soften.

More Spring and Summer Cakes

This Pineapple Coconut Cake is a perfect birthday cake recipe or special occasion cake no matter what the season, but we especially love it in the spring and summer!

It reminds me in some ways of our Pina Colada Cake, only there's no rum flavor- haha- and also, the roles are reversed as our Pina Colada Cake has coconut cake layers.

Other favorites are our Strawberry Cake, Lemon Cake Recipe, Raspberry Cake, and Orange Cake!

Make sure to check out our full roundup of the BEST Cake Recipes for Spring and Summer!

Thanks so much for stopping by! We hope that you give this Pineapple Coconut Cake a try! Don't miss our other pineapple cakes, including our Pineapple Dream Cake, Pineapple Cake, Pineapple Coconut Pound Cake, and Pineapple Upside Down Cake!

Make sure to check out our full Cake Recipes section, which includes favorite Cake Recipes from Scratch as well as Cake Mix Recipes!

Have you made this? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!

This Pineapple Coconut Layer Cake is moist and so moist and flavorful!

Pineapple Coconut Cake

BY Melissa and Bebe
This moist and flavorful Pineapple Coconut Cake consists of homemade pineapple cake layers with a delicious pineapple filling and coconut cream cheese frosting!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Servings: 15 servings
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Ingredients

For the Pineapple Cake Layers

  • 3 cups cake flour (342g)
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder (12g)
  • ½ teaspoon salt (2g)
  • 6 egg whites (180g)
  • ¾ cup crushed pineapple in juice, do not drain juice (8oz)
  • ⅔ cup milk (152g)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4g)
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil ( we used Canola Oil) (54g)
  • 2 cups sugar (400g)
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (226g)

For the Pineapple Filling:

  • One 20 ounce can (567g) of crushed pineapple
  • ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
  • 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (14g)

For the Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (226g) unsalted butter, slightly softened
  • 16 oz cream cheese, softened (We used two 8 oz blocks of cream cheese, full fat.)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons coconut extract (adjust to your liking) (6g)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4g)
  • 6 to 6 ½ cups powdered sugar (747g)
  • pinch salt

For the Outside of the Cake

  • 14 oz sweetened coconut (396g)

Instructions

For the Cake Layers

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour 3 (8 inch) round pans and place a circle of waxed or parchment paper in the bottom of each pan. Cakes with fruit have a tendency to stick
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt for at least 30 seconds to blend.
  • In another bowl, add the egg whites, crushed pineapple +juice, milk, vanilla and vegetable oil. Blend with a fork
  • In the bowl of your mixer add the butter and beat at medium speed until soft and smooth. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until lightened in color and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, longer if using a hand mixer.
  • Alternately add the flour mixture and the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients (3 additions of dry and 2 of wet). Beat on low to medium speed until the ingredients are mixed in. Do not mix above medium speed or over mix. 
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, check at 18 minutes. When a toothpick pulls out clean or with just a few crumbs attached, the cake is done.
  • Cool the cakes on a cooling rack for 5 minutes then turn out. Makes 7 ½ cups batter
  • This cake recipe can be used for cupcakes also and the layers are sturdy enough for fondant.

For the Pineapple Filling

  • Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat. When the mixture begins to boil, stir constantly until it begins to thicken, approximately 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Keep in mind that it will thicken even more as it cools. Cool completely in refrigerator before using.
  • For the Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Add the butter to the mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
  • Add the cream cheese that has been cut into small to medium size pieces, beating with the butter until well blended and smooth.
  • Add the coconut and vanilla extracts
  • Slowly add the powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Do not beat above medium speed or for too long. The longer you beat the softer the frosting becomes. If it becomes too soft to pipe, just refrigerate for a short while.
  • Use the frosting while it is still chilled. If it becomes too soft, refrigerate until it firms up a bit or put in the freezer for 5 minutes or so to return to a good piping consistency.

Assembly

  • To assemble the cake, place your first layer on your pedestal or cake board. Then pipe a dam of the cream cheese frosting about ¼ inch from the edge of the cake. Fill with cream cheese frosting followed by pineapple filling.
  • Repeat for the next layer. Fill in any gaps with your cream cheese frosting and freeze for about 15-20 minutes to firm things up. (I often do this with cakes that have soft fillings so that the layers don't slide around while frosting).
  • Frost the cake and immediately press on your flaked coconut.
  • This cake needs to be refrigerated until within a couple of being served.

Notes

These cake layers can be made in advance and frozen. After baking, allow to cool until slightly warm, then wrap individually in plastic wrap followed by foil. Freeze for up to three months. To thaw, move to the kitchen counter, still wrapped and thaw to desired amount for assembling/decorating.

 

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51 Comments

  1. Hi Noelle, I am very sorry your cake sank in the center. Your cakes are very dark with the outer cake looking over baked. You baked in 2 pans and our baking time was based on 3 pans. Decreasing the oven temperature by 25 degrees and baking a bit long would have helped with that, as the cake bakes from outside to center. There are various reasons for sinking .......the most common reason is underbaking, miss measuring and having too much liquid, too much baking soda, letting the batter sit out too long before putting into the oven, or the oven not baking at the correct temperature. I have never made a cake without using a mixer so I am not sure if hand mixing had an affect on the batter.

    Reply

  2. Thank you BeBe for responding. Although the cakes sank, I pushed through. After cooling I went ahead and layered with gelatinized heavy cream and pineapple curd, then refrigerated. On Saturday, I pulled it out the refrigerator 1 hour before serving (I wish I took it out sooner as the cake was still cold, BTW when should one take out cake from refrigerator before serving?) and served. The crumb turned out fine, thank goodness :-) My only complaint was the cake portion tasted a bit salty and the pineapple flavor was barely discernable. Can I hold the salt without affecting texture next time. It's a great recipe and I will reattempt to get it perfect for another birthday occasion. I appreciate all your help.

    Reply

  3. I made this beautiful cake according to the recipe for the pineapple coconut version because I wanted to put pineapple in the cake. The cake turned out absolutely gorgeous and moist but it didnt seem sweet enough even with the pineapples and cream cheese frosting; it was like making a cake for a diabetic, please tell me what did I do wrong.

    Reply

  4. Hi Maronicha, I am sorry it did not seem sweet enough. The recipe has 2 cups sugar plus the pineapple so it should have been sweet enough. I think there must have been a miss measurement.

    Reply

  5. Hi, the cake looks amazing! For the cake layers, I will be using fresh pineapple pieces, so how do I go about with the juice? I mean, should I blend some pineapple and add extra pieces in it later, and then add it to the wet ingredients? If so, do I have to add sugar to the blended juice?

    Also, it'll be my first attempt at a fruit cake :)

    Reply

  6. I made the cake following the recipe. But I know from experience that I can remove something or add a little more to my tasting and liking. I added 7 cups of powder sugar to my buttercream icing. I added 6 first, then a half, and it still wasn't to my sweetness level so I added the other half for 7 cups. Came out perfect and moist and delicious!!!! I read the comments first and figured I would taste test as I went along.

    Reply

  7. Hi Asma, You can use fresh pineapple pieces, I would make them very small so they won't sink to the bottom of the pan. Our pineapple was crushed. Use enough to make 3/4 cup (8 oz) (227g). I think the pineapple will be sweet enough without any extra sugar because there are 2 cups sugar in the cake.

    Reply

  9. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes, and for always responding to posts! I'm making this cake with half of the recipe for a 1-8" layer. The cake recipes here seem to frequently make about 7.5 C. of batter and so far I've had success with the cake recipes here using that methodology (only 2 adults so rarely do I get the opportunity to make 2 layers, ugh).

    I'm going to leave it in the pan as I'm using the pineapple, vanilla pudding and heavy cream recipe for topping/frosting and realize this probably won't hold up on the side of the layer. Alternatively, is it possible to make a cream cheese pineapple frosting recipe?

    Thank you so much!

    Reply

  10. Hi Karen, I am glad you have been able to scale down the recipe to make it work for you. What you have planned sounds very good. I wish I had a recipe for you but we do not have a pineapple cream cheese frosting recipe. Adding extra liquid to our cream cheese recipe would make it too soft.

    Reply

  11. Thank you so much BeBe! I think the only answer other than adding some kind of stabilizer, i.e. pasturized egg whites, whipped or meringue powder, etc., would be to just keep adding powdered sugar to desired consistency.

    Thank you all for great information!

    Reply

  12. If I were to make cupcakes with your recipe...should I cut the amount of frosting and filling in half?

    Reply