When I asked A what kind of cake he would like for his birthday and he said “Hawaiian themed”, I knew it had to have pineapple and coconut in it! There weren’t too many different options for ‘Hawaiian’ cakes online, so I found a couple similar ones and tweaked it to make this glorious, jiggly,piña colada-tasting tropical cake.
It is simple to make and tastes better the next day after the cake has soaked up the pineapple juice! When you’re in a pandemic and can’t travel to Hawaii…*sigh* this will have to do.
Ingredients
- 1 yellow cake mix
- 15 oz crushed pineapple (not drained)
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 oz instant vanilla pudding mix
- 2 cups milk 2% or whole
- 12 oz whipped topping (Cool Whip)
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes, dry toasted in a pan
- 1/2 cup crushed Macadamia nuts
Directions
- Bake yellow cake mix according to package directions, either in a greased round pan (or x 2, to make a double-decker layered cake like in the picture) or in a greased 9 x 13 baking pan.
- Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Leave to cool completely.
Assemble cake:
- In a large bowl, combine milk and pudding mixes; beat in cream cheese until smooth with mixer or electric beater until blended well and thickened.
- (Optional, if you want to try it mixed) Fold in whipped topping.
- Poke holes evenly in the top of the cake with the round handle end of a wooden spoon. Spread crushed pineapple evenly over the cake.
- Spread pudding mixture over pineapple, and then top with coconut and macadamia nuts.
- Repeat for layers if making double-decker layered cake, but beware it is slippery and the cake gets so heavy the middle layer will likely just be squeezed out! It’s still delicious though.