Hawaiian Pineapple Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Home » COOK » Recipes » Baking » Cakes »This Hawaiian Pineapple Coconut Cake is bursting with flavor and topped with cream cheese frosting and chopped walnuts. Make it for a tropical party, afternoon tea, or for whenever you crave a sweet treat from the tropics!
I’ve got even more Hawaiian Themed Desserts that you will love! Right-click and open a new tab to read next.
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Hawaiian Pineapple Coconut Cake
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions, to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required and understand the steps and timings involved.
I love tropical flavours in food, and with the pineapple and coconut in this Hawaiian cake, I of course love this recipe!
The cake is baked and frosted in a rectangular (glass) baking dish, making it portable and perfect for taking on picnics, or potlucks. Or cut it up into small squares to serve at parties or a Hawaiian luau.
(I’ve got lots more Luau Party Food recipes for you to try out – right-click and open a new tab to read next!)
This cake is made without any oil or butter, and each bite is bursting with coconut, walnuts, and pineapple.
The cream cheese frosting is light, creamy, and tart, not overly sweet.
It’s one of those cakes that gets better with time – it’s just as delicious on day three as it is on day one! (Store the cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days).
Ingredients Used in This Hawaiian Cake Recipe
While most ingredients can be bought in grocery stores, for your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients and equipment needed for this recipe have been linked to Amazon, Amazon Fresh, or other stores if available online. Staple ingredients such as oil, salt, sugar, etc., aren’t always included here as you’re likely to have those in your kitchen. The complete list of ALL ingredients with measurements is found on the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Dairy – Cream Cheese, Unsalted Butter
- All-Purpose Flour – also known as Plain Flour
- Baking Soda – also known as Bicarbonate of Soda
- Canned Crushed Pineapple – keep the juice!
- Coconut Flakes
- Chopped Walnuts
- Powdered Sugar – also known as Icing Sugar or Confectioners Sugar.
- Pure Vanilla Extract – always buy good vanilla as it really does make a flavor difference.
Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog use both cup measurements and/or weighted measurements. American cups and kitchen food scales are handy pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen as it means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog. I try to give American, imperial, and metric measurements in my recipes. Please note, that you can mix cup measurements with weighted measurements, but never mix imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.,) with metric (kilograms, grams, liters, etc.,).
Equipment used in this recipe
The cake itself is made with a good, old-fashioned wooden spoon and mixing bowl.
And the frosting is whipped up using an electric mixer – whether you have a stand mixer or handheld mixer, it’s all good.
You will also need a 9″ x 13″ baking dish (33cm x 23cm), this can be a Pyrex/glass type or a regular aluminum baking pan.
As long as you grease it well, and it’s oven-proof – use what you got!
RELATED READING: 50+ Recipes for a Hawaiian Tropical Party
How do I make Hawaiian Pineapple Coconut Cake?
This tropical cake is so easy to make! Simply place all of the cake ingredients into a large mixing bowl, and mix well with a wooden spoon until combined.
Once the cake batter is mixed together, transfer to a greased 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish
Bake for 45 minutes until cooked through. You can test the doneness of the cake by inserting a cocktail stick or skewer into the center of the cake and it should come out clean.
Cool in the pan and then make the frosting by beating the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
Then add softened butter, powdered (icing) sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt and mix until well combined.
Using a spatula, spread the cream cheese frosting over the cooled Hawaiian cake, and add a sprinkling of finely chopped walnuts.
You will find the Hawaiian cake recipe video on my YouTube Channel – save it to your Playlists for future reference! Don’t forget to subscribe while you are there!
More Recipes Using Pineapple
- Pineapple & Coconut Upside Down Cake
- Piña Colada Cupcakes
- Jerk Hamburgers with Pineapple Chilli Relish
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake Fudge
More Hawaiian Recipes
Once you’ve made this Hawaiian Pineapple Coconut Cake you’ll be wanting to make more Hawaiian recipes – here are some for you to check out:
Make It A Tropical Hawaiian Meal!
Looking for some mealtime inspiration to go with this yummy cake? I’ve got you covered!
- Main Dish: Kalua Pork – Hawaiian Style Pulled Pork
- Side Dish: Tropical Island Rice
- Beverage: Totally Tropical Blue Hawaiian Cocktail
There are 500+ Recipes, including 99 Recipes for a Hawaiian Tropical Party on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy! Please feel free to check them out too.
Hawaiian Pineapple Coconut Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 1¾ cups sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 20oz/570g canned crushed pineapple, in its own juice (do not drain juice)
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
For the Frosting
- 1 8oz/225g cream cheese, softened
- 1 stick ½ cup/115g unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup powdered icing sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and grease a 9" x 13" (33cm x 23cm) baking pan.
- Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, eggs, crushed pineapple and juice, coconut flakes, and walnuts. in a large mixing bowl by hand until well combined.
- Pour cake batter into greased baking pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes until cooked through. (Insert a cocktail stick into the center of the cake, it should come out clean.)
- Cool completely in the pan.
- Beat cream cheese in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add butter, powdered (icing) sugar, vanilla extract, and salt then beat with an electric mixer until well combined.
- Spread cream cheese frosting over the cake and sprinkle with finely chopped walnuts.
- Cut into 24 pieces and serve immediately. Or cover the cake (uncut) and refrigerate it until serving.
Video
SUGGESTED PRODUCTS
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Nancy Shockley
November 6, 2023 @ 7:53 pm
Can it be cooked in layer and frosted.
Michelle Ordever
November 8, 2023 @ 8:49 am
I’m not sure what you mean?
Olga
June 15, 2023 @ 7:04 am
This cake is delicious!! I made it several times now and everyone (kids and adults) loves it!
Michelle Ordever
June 15, 2023 @ 10:01 am
That’s great! Glad you enjoy it so much!
Tara
April 14, 2021 @ 8:03 pm
Could this be made into cupcakes?
Michelle
April 15, 2021 @ 9:23 am
I don’t see why not!