Pineapple Sunshine Cake with Toasted Coconut - this recipe makes me feel happy! This is a light cake with a fantastic tropical flavor. It's so easy you can close your eyes and have one hand tied behind your back and still knock out a delicious cake in about 40 minutes.
Let the sunshine in!
I think this is the perfect Mother's Day Cake - so easy for little ones to stir, mix, and sprinkle on the coconut. Read below to see how easy this recipe is! It's also ideal for a family party cake or a backyard barbecue cake. Maybe a 'cheer you up cake,' or 'hope you feel better cake'. Can you tell how much I love it? It's a fun name and a yummy cake!
New on the blog!
This recipe uses boxed cake mix. Gotta love that.
Basically, it's just a dump and mix method which is excellent for kids in the kitchen. It has only four ingredients for the cake with nothing to chop or prep. All you need is a box of yellow cake mix, a few eggs, some canned crushed pineapple, and some oil. Just give it a mix and bake!
The Whipped Topping Frosting:
While the cake is baking, make the whipped topping frosting. We're using more pineapple and also some boxed instant pudding. You don't even have to make the pudding ahead of time. Just dump in the dry mix. Easy!
The toasted coconut:
Grab a bag of unsweetened shaved or shredded coconut. You can find it in the baking aisle next to the sweetened stuff. I like the unsweetened coconut because the cake and topping have already gotten the sweet angle covered. Toast the shaved coconut under the broiler for a minute or so but keep your eye on it - it will toast pretty quickly. The texture is really lovely, along with the smooth and creamy whipped topping and the light and fluffy cake.
If you happen to bake at elevation, you'll want to add a few extra tablespoons of flour to stabilize the cake mixture.
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Pineapple Sunshine Cake with Toasted Coconut
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1/2 C vegetable oil
- 8 oz crushed pineapple with juice
- 4 eggs large
Frosting
- 8 oz whipped topping Cool Whip or similar
- 1 box instant vanilla pudding small box, 3.4 oz
- 8 oz crushed pineapple with juice
Topping
- 1 C unsweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
- Spray a 9x13 pan with baking spray and pre-heat the oven to 350f.
Cake
- In a medium bowl, add cake mix, oil, crushed pineapple. Beat with a hand mixer or whisk until incorporated.
- Add 4 eggs - incorporating one at a time
- For high elevation baking: add 2 Tbs flour, otherwise omit this step
- Bake in a preheated 350f oven for 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- In a medium bowl combine the cold whipped topping, the pineapple, and the pudding. Beat to combine. Refrigerate until cake is thoroughly cooled.
- Spread the coconut on a sheet tray in an even layer and bake at 375f for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Or you could use the broiler but watch closely.
Assemble
- Frost the cooled cake and sprinkle on the toasted coconut.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
I bake at high elevation. Do you?
I'm at about 5,000ft. If you have questions about high elevation baking I would recommend you check out the link below. I definitely followed some tips when making this pineapple sunshine cake.
Colorado State University Extension for High Altitude Baking
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