This pineapple cake is soft, moist and full of pineapple flavor. The cake only needs 4 ingredients and doesn’t require any eggs. It can also be made dairy-free. This sweet tropical cake takes only five minutes to prepare and is an easy dessert to make.
This pineapple cake has been my go-to easy cake to make this summer. It’s so easy to prepare and the flavors instantly transport me back to my trip to Hawaii.
Ingredients
- Crushed Pineapples
- Butter
- Sugar
- Self-rising flour
Crushed pineapples: This recipe uses 1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapples. Make sure to use the kind that doesn’t contain any added sugar. The crushed pineapples should be in pineapple juice and not syrup.
Butter: A little melted butter is added to give this cake a soft crumb. If you need the cake to be dairy-free, you can substitute with canola oil but we found that the cake had a chewier texture with canola oil so we prefer using butter.
Sugar: The cake is sweetened with regular granulated white sugar. Sugar also provides moisture to this cake so we don’t recommend reducing the sugar because it will make the cake drier.
Self-rising flour: Self-rising flour is flour that already has baking powder and salt added to it. If you don’t have self-rising flour on hand, you can make your own by combining all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
How to Make Pineapple Cake
- The melted butter, pineapples and sugar are first combined until evenly mixed.
- The self-rising flour is then folded in with a spatula. It is very important that you mix only with a spatula. Mixing with a whisk or a mixer will cause the batter to be overmixed and will result in a dense cake.
- The batter is then poured into your prepared cake pan and baked.
- The cake can be enjoyed plain. But you can also decorate it. We garnished our cake with cream cheese frosting, toasted coconut and dried pineapple slices.
Cake Texture and Sweetness
This cake has a soft and moist crumb. The cake is a little more firm than some cakes, similar to a snack cake. You will find lots of little bites of pineapple mixed into the cake. The cake is sweet enough on its own so it doesn’t need the frosting.
More Easy Cakes
4 Ingredient Pineapple Cake
Ingredients
- 1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapples in pineapple juice (no added sugar) not drained, see note
- 1 1/3 cups (255 g) granulated white sugar
- 1/4 cup (56 g) unsalted butter melted
- 2 2/3 cups (351 g) self-rising flour see note before starting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease an 8-inch square pan with non-stick cooking spray and then line with parchment paper. Make parchment edges a little above the cake pan so that you can lift the cake out later.
- In a large bowl, add the crushed pineapple (with juices), sugar and melted butter. Whisk until evenly combined. Add the flour and fold it in with a spatula until flour is completely incorporated. You want to make sure there are no pockets or thick chunks of flour but you also want to be careful not to overmix the batter. Make sure to only use a spatula to mix and not a whisk or mixer.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 70 to 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The surface of the cake should also bounce back if you press on it lightly. Allow the cake to cool completely before serving or adding frosting.
Notes
- Please use canned crushed pineapples that are sitting in pineapple juice and not syrup. There should be no added sugar. I used Dole brand. You will use the entire contents inside the can: pineapple pieces and juice.
- Make sure to use a self-rising flour that has 3 grams of protein per 1/4 (30g) cup. This is the usual amount of protein for self-rising flour in the US but there are some brands that contain lower protein or higher protein which will affect the outcome of the cake. I made this cake with Gold Medal* and Amazon Fresh* brands self-rising flour. If your self-rising flour does not contain 3 grams of protein per 1/4 cup, then we recommend making homemade self-rising flour.
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Homemade self-rising flour: To make your own self-rising flour, combine 3 cups all purpose flour, 4.5 tsp baking powder and 1.5 tsp salt. Whisk together until evenly combined. Remove 1/3 cup from the mixture and use the rest for the cake. Make sure your all purpose flour has 3 grams of protein per 1/4 cup. Most all purpose flours contain 3 grams of protein per 1/4 cup but there are some brands that contain higher or lower protein amounts which will affect the recipe.
- Optional Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese (brick type), softened to room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- To make the frosting: Add butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until creamy and light. Add vanilla extract and mix in on low speed.
Gradually add 3 cups of powdered sugar on low speed until completely combined. Add enough powdered sugar for a thick frosting that is still spreadable over the cake. Start with 3 cups and add more if needed. This recipe makes a generous amount of frosting. You likely won't need it all but I wanted to include enough for those who prefer a very thick layer of frosting. - We also garnished our cake with some toasted coconut shreds and dried pineapple slices.
- Estimated nutrition is for cake only and does not include frosting or garnishes.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I have not made this but it sounds great. Still, that seems like an awful lot of sugar. Can something like monkfruit or stevia or Splenda be substituted?
We have not tested this recipe with a sugar substitute!
Absolutely beautiful cake!
Thank you so much! We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe!!
I made this into 9 muffins and cooked then in my benchtop oven air fryer, which isn’t entirely reliable for bigger cakes. Turned out really well, cooked in about 18 mins. Our pineapple comes in smaller tins 460g so I did sneaky maths and reduced everything accordingly. The full recipe should make 12 medium sized muffins…
We’re so glad this recipe turned out well for you!!
Do you add in the juice from the pineapple can as well?
Yes, you add the entire contents of the can–both pineapple and juice.
Can you double this to make 9×13 pan?
We have not tested this recipe in a bigger pan, but you could give it a try!
Sounds easy and good!
Thank you!!
definitely going to try this. i have a shared lunch to take something to next week and need to cater for dairy and gluten free. do you think i could sub a standard gf flour, and coconut oil?
Hello! We have not tested this recipe with gluten free flour or coconut oil so we are unsure what the results would be!
This is a question regarding 4 INGREDIENT PINEAPPLE CAKE. Does this recipe work using equivalent amount of fresh crushed pineapple and equivalent volume of fresh pineapple juice? Really appreciate the easy recipes made available to those of us who enjoy good food but are not necessarily willing to invest the time and effort.
We have not tested this recipe with fresh pineapple and juice. You could give it a try but we are unsure what the result would be!
If I use the pineapple in syrup can i just cut the sugar in half/or more?
We really recommend canned crushed pineapples that are sitting in pineapple juice and not syrup! There should be no added sugar.
Excellent recipes
Thank you so much!
Hi I was looking for something to bake with a can of pineapple when this delicious, easy, few ingredient cake! which I will be making tomorrow!
Could I just ask a question, which in no way is meant as a criticism, there seems a far bit of sugar included in the recipe, I don’t have a problem with that, but in your notes you advise people to make sure the pineapple is in juice and not syrup? is this because then it would be oversweet? or is it a health thing?
thankyou x
Hi Julie! The pineapple in syrup adds extra sugar but there should be no extra added sugar for this recipe!