Pineapple Coconut Cake

Name: Pineapple Coconut Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 3 cups cake flour ((342g)); 1 Tablespoon baking powder ((12g)); 1/2 teaspoon salt ((2g)); 6 egg whites ((180g)); 3/4 cup crushed pineapple in juice, do not drain juice ((8oz)); 2/3 cup milk ((152g)); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ((4g)); 1/4 cup vegetable oil ( we used Canola Oil) ((54g)); 2 cups sugar ((400g)); 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened ((226g)); One 20 ounce can ((567g) of crushed pineapple); 1/2 cup granulated sugar ((100g)); 2 Tablespoons cornstarch ((14g)); 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 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract (adjust to your liking) ((6g)); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ((4g)); 6 to 6 1/2 cups powdered sugar ((747g)); pinch salt; 14 oz sweetened coconut ((396g) )

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!

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.

Table of Contents

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!

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!