This super moist pineapple cake recipe is the best I’ve ever had (and I don’t use the word ‘best’ lightly)! It’s made up of soft pineapple cake layers, filled with a pineapple cake filling, and topped with a stabilized pineapple whipped cream frosting. It may sound fancy and complex, but trust me when I say that each element of this cake is SO EASY to make!
What makes this the best pineapple cake recipe?
When I first thought of making a pineapple cake, I wanted to do something other than a pineapple upside down cake. Something different, but it still had to have pineapple as the star of the show.
Now I know claiming something as ‘the best’ is quite bold, but hear me out. This recipe has three elements, and each element is packed with pineapple, making it the perfect pineapple dessert!
Pineapple Cake Layers
First is the super soft pineapple cake layers. They’re made up of flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, canned crushed pineapple, vanilla extract or essence, and fresh lemon juice.
The combination of flour and cornstarch (as a cake flour substitute), results in a super soft and lush crumb, and the canned crushed pineapple provides heaps of additional flavour and texture, with little bits of pineapple throughout the cake layers.
Pineapple Cake Filling
The pineapple filling for this cake is in my opinion, the star of this cake. It is packed with pineapple flavor and slightly tart too, which cuts through the sweetness of the cake (although this cake is not overly sweet at all – some may find it not sweet enough!).
The filling is made up of canned crushed pineapple, sugar, cornstarch, milk, lemon juice, butter and optional yellow gel food colouring. I adapted the recipe from my eggless lemon curd, which I absolutely love as sometimes I find the egg yolks in curd fillings a bit strong!
Pineapple Whipped Cream Frosting
When thinking about a frosting for this cake, I wanted it to have pineapple in it, but also wanted it to be light. My stabilized whipped cream frosting came to mind as well as my cream cheese frosting recipe, though I wasn’t sure whether the pineapple would go as well with the latter.
I decided to experiment with the whipped cream, and folded canned crushed pineapple (with the juice removed) into the whipped cream, and boy was it good!! I was sold on the first try so decided to stick with it.
Do I have to use Canned Crushed Pineapple?
I do highly recommend using canned crushed pineapple for this recipe as it provides great texture throughout the cake. You also want to stick to a crushed pineapple that’s in pineapple juice, rather than syrup. However, if you can only find crushed pineapple in syrup, it’ll still be fine – your cake may just be a little sweeter 🙂
You could use pineapple slices, pineapple rings or fresh pineapple, but then you would need to cut them into smaller pieces (or blend them into chunks without making the pineapple too smooth otherwise this may affect the texture of the cake in particular).
How to Make Pineapple Cake
All of the elements of this pineapple cake come together really easily!
Pineapple Cake
First is the cake batter. Begin by Preheating your oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (if your oven doesn’t have a fan option, then you will need to increase the baking temperature to 175°C/350°F) and grease two 8 inch cake pans (I use my homemade cake release). Also line the bottom as this cake is prone to sticking to the bottom of the cake tin.
Sift together the all purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside for now.
In a large bowl combine the white sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, crushed pineapple, vanilla and lemon juice. Using a whisk, mix until well combined and no lumps remain.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and using a spatula, gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
Evenly distribute the batter into the two cake tins. Drop the cake tins lighly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles and bake for 30-33 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Once baked, allow them to cool in the cake tins for about 20 minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool before frosting.
Pineapple Cake Filling
While the cake is baking, make the pineapple cake filling. In a saucepan combine crushed pineapple, white sugar, cornstarch, milk and lemon juice. Mix everything well and then place it over a medium heat, continously mixing until it becomes thick in consistency. It may look like the filling is curdling as it’s heating up, but don’t worry it will come together once the cornstarch is activated.
Once thick, take it off the heat immediately and add in the butter and gel colour (if you’re using it). Stir until the butter is completely melted and incorporated. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.
Pineapple Whipped Cream Frosting
Prepare the whipped cream once everything is cool and the cake is ready to assemble. Before beginning, your mascarpone and whipped cream should be cold.
In a large bowl, combine the mascarpone, icing sugar (also known as powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar) and vanilla. Mix on a low speed for about 10 seconds, and then turn up the speed to a medium high and mix until well combined. If using a stand mixer use the whisk attachment.
Add in the whipping cream and mix on a low speed for about 10 seconds (to allow everything to combine without the cream splattering), and then turn up the speed to a medium high and whip until you reach stiff peaks. Keep a careful eye on the mixture as you don’t want to overwhip the cream.
To finish, add in the crushed pineapple, and using a spatula, gently fold it in until just combined. The frosting is now ready to use.
Assembly
OPTIONAL: Begin by trimming off all the caramelised edges on the top, bottom and sides of the cake layers. Also level the tops if the cake layers have a slight dome.
Place your first cake layer onto your cake stand, and spread out a generous amount of the frosting on top.
Place some of the frosting into a piping bag with a 1A round tip, and pipe a border/dam around the edges of the cake layer to hold in the pineapple filling. Fill the middle with half of the pineapple filling.
Place the next cake layer on top and cover the top and sides with more frosting. If you have a cake scraper, you can use it to smooth out the sides.
For the top, pipe a decorative border around the top edges (I like to use a 1A piping tip – see video for demonstration) and then fill the middle with the remaining pineapple filling. Enjoy!
How do you store pineapple cake?
This cake can be left out at room temperature for a few hours (if the weather isn’t too hot), but after that it will need to placed into an airtight container and refrigerated due to the whipped cream. The cake will last upto a week in the fridge.
The Best Pineapple Cake
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Pineapple Cake
- 2¼ cups (270 g) flour - plain, all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (25 g) cornstarch - also known as cornflour in some countries
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1¼ cups (250 g) white granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs - room temperature. I use size 7 eggs
- ¾ cup (160 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola oil
- 2½ cups (566 g) canned crushed pineapple - in pineapple juice (not syrup - see note 5). 20 oz can in the US.
- 1 tsp vanilla essence/extract
- 1½ tbsp (20 g) fresh lemon juice
Pineapple Cake Filling
- ¾ cup (170 g) canned crushed pineapple - in pineapple juice (not syrup - see note 5).
- ¼ cup (50 g) white granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (25 g) cornstarch
- ¾ cup (175 g) milk - full fat
- 1 tbsp (15 g) fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter - cold and cut into cubes.
- 1 drop yellow gel food colour - OPTIONAL (see note 4).
Pineapple Whipped Cream Frosting
- 1 cup (225 g) mascarpone - cold. See note 1 if you don't want to use mascarpone.
- ½ cup (55 g) icing sugar - also known as powdered sugar or confectioners sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence/extract
- 1½ cups (335 g) whipping cream - cold, minimum fat percentage of 34%
- ½ cup (112 g) canned crushed pineapple - with the excess pineapple juice removed (see note 2).
Instructions
Pineapple Cake
- Preheat oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 3 if you don't have a fan function) and grease two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release). Also line the bottom as this cake is prone to sticking to the bottom of the cake tin.
- Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside for now.
- In a large bowl combine the white sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, crushed pineapple, vanilla and lemon juice. Using a whisk, mix until well combined and no lumps remain.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and using a spatula, gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Evenly distribute the batter into the two cake tins. Drop the cake tins lighly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles and bake for 30-33 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once baked, allow them to cool in the cake tins for about 20 minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool before frosting.
Pineapple Cake Filling
- While the cake is baking, make the pineapple filling. In a saucepan combine crushed pineapple, white sugar, cornstarch, milk and lemon juice. Mix everything well and then place it over a medium heat, continously mixing until it becomes thick in consistency. It may look like the filling is curdling as it's heating up, but don't worry it will come together once the cornstarch is activated.
- Once thick, take it off the heat immediately and add in the butter and gel colour (if you're using it). Stir until the butter is completely melted and incorporated. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.
Pineapple Whipped Cream Frosting
- Prepare the whipped cream once everything is cool and the cake is ready to assemble. Before beginning, your mascarpone and whipped cream should be cold.
- In a large bowl, combine the mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla. Mix on a low speed for about 10 seconds, and then turn up the speed to a medium high and mix until well combined. If using a stand mixer use the whisk attachment.
- Add in the whipping cream and mix on a low speed for about 10 seconds (to allow everything to combine without the cream splattering), and then turn up the speed to a medium high and whip until you reach stiff peaks. Keep a careful eye on the mixture as you don't want to overwhip the cream.
- To finish, add in the crushed pineapple, and using a spatula, gently fold it in until just combined. The frosting is now ready to use.
Assembly
- OPTIONAL: Begin by trimming off all the caramelised edges on the top, bottom and sides of the cake layers. Also level the tops if the cake layers have a slight dome.
- Place your first cake layer onto your cake stand, and spread out a generous amount of the frosting on top.
- Place some of the frosting into a piping bag with a 1A round tip, and pipe a border/dam around the edges of the cake layer to hold in the pineapple filling. Fill the middle with half of the pineapple filling.
- Place the next cake layer on top and cover the top and sides with more frosting. If you have a cake scraper, you can use it to smooth out the sides.
- For the top, pipe a decorative border around the top edges (I like to use a 1A piping tip - see video for demonstration) and then fill the middle with the remaining pineapple filling. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
101 Comments
Hi there,
Can I make the Pineapple filling ahead of time and refrigerate it until I’m ready to use it? If so, how long will it be good for in the fridge?
Thanks so much!
Hey there,
Can I make the pineapple filling ahead of time and refrigerate it? If so, how long will it be good in the fridge?
Thanks so much! ♥️
This was fantastic and I love how accessible you made the directions for everyone no matter where in the world you happen to be. The only change I did was cream cheese instead of the marscapone because I had it on hand.
Thanks so much Tabitha! So glad you enjoyed the recipe 😀
If I have to make this in 9 inch pan, how would I modify this recipe ?
Hi Shruti! If you don’t mind thinner cake layers you can make 1x the recipe and reduce the cook time, otherwise I would make 1.5x the recipe for cake layers that have a similar thickness to the original recipe 🙂
Enjoy!
Hii Mariyam
Cake was super moist n good
But my pineapple filling turned out bitter
Hi Hridya! 🙂
So glad to hear the cake turned out great, but sorry to hear about the filling being bitter! Did you use canned or fresh pineapple? I haven’t experienced this before myself so I’m not too sure where the bitterness would be coming from apart from maybe fresh pineapple not being as sweet (if fresh pineapple was used)?
So sorry I couldn’t be of more help!
hi, love the way the cake looks, I would love to make it for my sons first birthday.
1. Can we make the cake without eggs, my MIL is deathly allergic to eggs so need to find a substitute.
2. how far in advance can I make the cake and the frosting and decorate the cake?
thanks!
Peach
Hi Peach!
Sorry I think I responded to your earlier questions just now. Sorry for the delay in reply, but for your reference the answer is below 🙂
In terms of the cake being made without eggs, I haven’t tried this myself so can’t recommend any suitable substitutes sorry!
You can totally make the cake ahead of time – for best results I would make the cake the day beforehand, make sure the cake layers are fully coated in the frosting and keep the decorated cake in the fridge. Pull it out of the fridge the morning of your party to give the cake a few hours to come to room temp before slicing.
Hope that helps and hope your son has/had a wonderful first birthday 🙂
Hi MK,
Would love to try this recipe. I want to make it for my son’s first birthday. I had a few questions
1. Can this be made without eggs?
2. How far in advance can I make it as I want to make it for a party.
Would love your response and advice on my doubts.
Thanks,
PG
Hi PG 🙂
Sorry for the delay in reply! I may be a bit late in answering your questions but for future reference, in terms of the cake being made without eggs, I haven’t tried this myself so can’t recommend any suitable substitutes sorry!
You can totally make the cake ahead of time – for best results I would make the cake the day beforehand, make sure the cake layers are fully coated in the frosting and keep the decorated cake in the fridge. Pull it out of the fridge the morning of your party to give the cake a few hours to come to room temp before slicing.
Hope that helps and hope your son has/had a wonderful first birthday 🙂
How many cupcakes can I get from 1 batch of this recipe?
Hi Sylvanne! You should get around 24 cupcakes from 1 batch – just remember to reduce the cook time to around the 18 min mark 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe!