Pineapple coconut cake recipe with cake mix and cream cheese frosting is easy and delicious. A version of southern coconut cake, this old fashioned favorite combines two ingredients commonly found in classic recipes to make a dessert that’s unforgettable. Crushed pineapple and shredded coconut make the cake layers flavorful and moist, the tangy cream cheese frosting balances out the sweetness, and the toasted coconut on the outside takes the coconut flavor to the next level. The pineapple filling with fresh pineapple is what makes this cake truly amazing since it adds an intense flavor that canned pineapple does not. If you want to learn how to make pineapple coconut cake recipe with cake mix, keep reading!

Pineapple and Coconut: Two Southern Ingredients

From tropical smoothies to piña coladas, pineapple and coconut are found in many recipes. Although neither pineapple nor coconut grows well in the southern United States (except South Florida), both can be found in many southern recipes. Let’s examine how these ingredients became so common in southern cooking.

Pineapple

Pineapple, especially canned pineapple, was incorporated into southern cooking because of the proximity of pineapple plantations in Central America to southern ports. Canned pineapple was unloaded from ships in the South, so it was very plentiful. Chefs fell in love with this easy-to-use and flavorful ingredient, so it found its way into many traditional recipes, such as pineapple upside down cake, among others.

Coconut

Once again, geography played a part in the history of coconut cake in the South. Coconut cakes were baked in New Orleans and Charleston as far back as the early 1800’s, but it wasn’t until commercially shredded and dried coconut became available in the late 1800’s that coconut cakes and coconut as an ingredient became widespread.

Nowadays, shredded coconut is found in not only coconut cake itself, but also an extra ingredient in many cakes like carrot cake, Italian cream cake, and Hummingbird cake. In fact, it would be hard for many southerners to imagine Christmas without a snow-white coconut layer cake on their holiday table.

Pineapple and Coconut in a Cake

If pineapple and coconut are delicious on their own, they should be even better together. The tangy, juicy pineapple complements the fatty, dry coconut, and since they’re both sweet, they together in perfect harmony.

This pineapple coconut cake recipe with cake mix and cream cheese frosting recipe is my attempt to improve an old fashioned dessert. By adding a filling made from fresh or frozen pineapple–not canned–this cake is better than ever.

Pineapple Coconut Cake with Cake Mix — Pineapple coconut cake with cake mix is an easy recipe that would be great for Christmas, Easter, or Mother’s Day–or any day!

Pineapple Coconut Cake Ingredients

As you can see, this recipe calls for just a few, easy-to-find ingredients. Let’s break down what you’ll need for the cake itself and then the filling:

White Cake Mix – Plain white cake mix is a good neutral canvas, but yellow will work, too.

Crushed Pineapple – As previously stated, it’s in many southern cakes. It’s a quick and easy way to add flavor to the cake layers without cutting up a fresh pineapple.

Orange Jell-O – It sounds odd, but orange and pineapple go together very well.

Shredded Coconut – This is the easiest way to add actual coconut to the cake.

Toasted Coconut – I decorated the sides of the cake with another 1/2 cup shredded coconut. I toasted it, but that’s not necessary.

Sour Cream – It not only adds fat and moisture, but also creates an acidic environment to help make the cake light and fluffy.

Coconut Extract – Another good way to add coconut flavor without having to crack open actual coconuts.

Canola Oil – You can use vegetable oil, but I think canola oil has a more neutral flavor.

Eggs – If you want to make this vegan, I’m sure you could replace the eggs with applesauce.

Fresh Pineapple – I used 2/3 cup fresh pineapple to decorate the top of the cake.

Pineapple Filling Ingredients

Honestly, I think what really makes this cake delicious is the pineapple filling. I made it a bit differently than most other southern cooks, but I think my way is better. Surprisingly, there are just a few ingredients:

Fresh or Frozen Pineapple – Canned is nowhere near as flavorful as fresh or frozen fruit.

White Sugar – Although brown sugar is usually used with pineapple, I wanted my filling to be bright yellow, not muddy brown.

Cornstarch – My go-to thickener. Remember to make a slurry when adding to hot liquids.

Why Use Fresh or Frozen Pineapple And Not Canned?

While researching the filling for this cake, I realized that all the other recipes online called for canned pineapple. As demonstrated in my pineapple upside down cake with cake mix recipe, fresh pineapple is a lot more flavorful than canned; honestly, it’s almost like a different fruit.

Using canned pineapple in the layers is fine, but for the filling, I knew that using fresh or frozen pineapple would put this cake over the top. Even though it’s a bit more work, it’s 100% totally worth it.

Once you have all your ingredients, it’s time to make the cake!

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

As usual, I used my easy cream cheese frosting without butter recipe to frost this cake. Since there is no butter, so it’s a lot lower in calories, and the tangy flavor of the cream cheese comes through a lot stronger, too. For the frosting, you’ll need:

Cream Cheese – Softened, room temperature.

Powdered Sugar – A full pound, 454 grams.

Vanilla Extract – Just 1/2 teaspoon.

Salt – A pinch of salt contrasts sweetness and brings out flavors, so don’t be afraid to add it.

Even though I didn’t put any frosting in the middle of the cake, I didn’t adjust the recipe: I just put a bit more frosting on the outside and on top. I guess you could cut the recipe in half, but honestly, more cream cheese frosting never hurt anyone, haha!

Pineapple Coconut Cake with Fresh Pineapple — Fresh pineapple is a lot more flavorful than canned, so that’s why I used it to make the filling and to decorate the top.

How to Make Pineapple Coconut Cake Recipe with Cake Mix

Although my pineapple coconut cake recipe is easy, there are a few things to keep in mind. If you follow my recommendations, you cake will turn out great.

Making the Cake Layers

Making the pineapple coconut cake itself is easy: just mix all the ingredients in a bowl. I used a hand held electric mixer, but you can mix the cake by hand, too. Even if the directions on the box of cake mix say to mix for 2 minutes, just mix until everything is thoroughly combined: you don’t want to overmix the batter.

Once the batter is ready, pour it into prepared 8-inch cake pans and bake at 325F. While the cake layers are baking, get the ingredients you’ll need for the pineapple filling.

Making the Pineapple Filling

As I said earlier, the pineapple filling is what really makes this cake special. Even though it would be more work, I knew I wanted to use fresh pineapple. Since I only found filling recipes with canned fruit, I used the pineapple sauce for ham recipe I invented as a starting point.

Once I pulled the cake pans out of the oven, I started on the filling. It only took about 20 minutes of cooking, so it was pretty quick and easy: just remember to make a cornstarch slurry at the end.

Honestly, the pineapple filling is was amazing. With fresh pineapple, the filling was incredibly flavorful–at the time, I thought it was perfect. In light of inventing my pineapple pie recipe, I’m now curious how adding a bit of lemon juice and zest would affect the filling: that might bring out the flavor even more.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Although warm pineapple filling would probably soak into the cake a bit and make it very moist and flavorful, I was afraid it would be runny and come out the sides. So, while I waited for the filling to cool off, I made the cream cheese frosting.

Since the cream cheese needs to be room temperature, I recommend letting it sit on top of the oven while the oven preheats and the cake bakes. Also, remember to add the powdered sugar a little at a time so that you don’t get covered in a powdered sugar cloud.

Assembling the Cake

After taking the cake layers out of their pans, making the frosting, and whipping the frosting, it was time to assemble the cake. Honestly, this part isn’t too complicated, especially since you don’t have to worry about accidentally putting too much frosting in the middle.

The only thing to keep in mind is to not bring the pineapple filling all the way to the edge of the top of the bottom layer. If you bring the filling all the way to the edge, some is sure to get squeezed out of the cake when you put on the top layer. Other than that, assembling this pineapple coconut cake is easy.

Toasting the Coconut to Decorate the Cake

Most old fashioned pineapple coconut cakes are decorated with shredded coconut around the side and on the top. Personally, I think they look almost identical to plain coconut cakes, so I wanted to distinguish my pineapple version: that’s why I decided to put toasted coconut around the sides.

Learning how to toast coconut is easy. I baked 1/2 cup shredded coconut at 350F for 8 minutes, stirring every 2 to 3 minutes. Although toasting the coconut isn’t necessary, I highly recommend it since it really brings out the coconut flavor.

When putting small nuts, chocolate shavings, or shredded coconut on the outside of a cake, most people hold the cake with one hand as they put on the extras with the other. I didn’t want to accidentally drop the cake, so I let the cake sit on the counter. I’d rather be safe than sorry.

Decorating the Cake with Pineapple Chunks

I wanted an extra splash of color, so I decided to add actual pineapple to the top of the cake. I baked 2/3 cup of fresh pineapple chunks at 350F for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. I then put these pineapple chunks on top of the cake. The yellow pineapple stood really stood out against the white cream cheese frosting, so I really liked how it turned out.

Chilling the Cake

Once fully assembled, I chilled the cake in the refrigerator. Even though it might be tempting to cut into the cake right away, letting it chill for at least 4 hours, if not overnight, will give the flavors time to marry and the frosting to harden a bit.

Pineapple Coconut Cake FAQ’s

Can You Make This Cake Ahead of Time?

Like I just said, I think this cake is better after it’s chilled in the refrigerator a bit. Ideally, you would make this cake the night before you plan on serving it. Once made, this cake should be good for at least 3 days, if not longer. However, after more than a week, I think the quality would start to deteriorate.

Can You Freeze This Cake?

You can definitely freeze this cake! However, I don’t think it would freeze well with the cream cheese frosting. If you’re trying to plan ahead for the holidays like Thanksgiving or even Easter, I suggest baking the cake layers and then freezing them without the frosting. Just thaw and then frost before serving.

Can You Thurn This into a Sheet Cake?

Yes, I think this would work well as a sheet cake! The only issue would be the pineapple filling. You might try poking holes in the cake and treating it like a poke cake–that might be good! Or, you could even leave out the cream cheese frosting.

Pineapple Coconut Cake with Pineapple Filling — Pineapple coconut cake with pineapple filling, especially if the filling is made with fresh or frozen pineapple, is one of the best old fashioned Southern cakes.

A Chef’s Review

This pineapple coconut cake recipe was a big success. As I just said in the section above, this cake had the perfect balance off pineapple and coconut flavors. Although the cake and cream cheese frosting are good, making the pineapple filling with fresh pineapple is what really put this cake over the top.

Because of this cake, I’m going to have to experiment with more fruit filling in cakes. They add so much flavor and moisture, it’s incredible. As a chef, it’s interesting how one recipe can lead to another.

In short, if you like both coconut and pineapple, then you’ll love this cake. Although there are multiple steps, the dessert is definitely worth it.

Possible Changes to My Pineapple Coconut Cake Recipe

Although this cake was amazing, there are a few things I might want to tweak:

Adding lemon to the pineapple filling – Lemon brings out flavors in a lot of things, and as I found in my pineapple pie and cobbler recipes, pineapple is no different.

Using fresh pineapple in the cake layers – That might make the cake layers even more flavorful.