Pina Colada Cake
This Pina Colada Cake is inspired by the popular Puerto Rican cocktail; it’s baked with chunks of pineapple and topped with coconut whipped cream!
If you’ve ever had a Pina Colada, you know how well pineapple and coconut pair together. There’s something truly special about sweet and airy coconut cream mixed with that signature sweet and sour pineapple flavor.
It turns out that those flavors work together in baking as well! So well that it lead me to sharing this summer-y Pina Colada cake; a new favorite in our household.
Ingredients
This cake recipe comes together using many pantry staples you likely already have on hand if you’re a regular baker! Here’s what you’ll need:
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- butter, room temperature
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- whole milk
- pineapple chunks
- coconut cream – refrigerated over night
- powdered sugar
- extra pineapple chunks, for garnish
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Start by greasing your cake pan with butter or your favorite non-stick spray. I like to also use a round piece of parchment paper at the bottom of my cake pan to prevent any sticking and make things easy.
Next, get your oven preheating to 350 degrees.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt.)
In a larger mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light in color and slightly fluffy.
At this point you can whisk in the eggs and continue mixing until a consistent texture is formed.
Now it’s time to whisk in the dry ingredients and milk, alternating and only adding ½ cup of each at a time until fully incorporated. Next, fold in the pineapple chunks.
At this point the batter is ready to be poured into your cake pan. Bake the cake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the cake.
While the cake is baking, grab the cans of coconut cream from the fridge and separate the solidified cream from any remaining liquid. Add the solid cream into a bowl and beat the cream with a hand mixer until light and fluffy like whipped cream. Beat in the powdered sugar until evenly incorporated. Keep chilled in the fridge until ready to use.
Once the cake is done, cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before serving on a cake stand, topping with whipped coconut cream and extra pineapple chunks.
Hint: chill your coconut cream overnight for best results. Whip in a chilled bowl for faster and fluffier whipped coconut cream!
Whipped Coconut Cream
If you want extra directions and details on making this coconut whipped cream, check out the full Coconut Whipped Cream recipe.
Substitutions
I’m definitely biased in my humble opinion that this Pina Colada cake is perfect just the way it is. That said, there are some super simple substitutions that can be made to help make this cake accessible to everyone! Here are my favorites:
- Gluten free – swap out the all purpose flour for your favorite 1-to-1 gluten free flour blend to make this a gluten free pina colada cake
- Heavy whipping cream – if you forgot to chill your coconut cream (or just can’t find any), your average can or carton of heavy whipped cream will work. Bonus points if you beat in a pinch of coconut extract to make up for the lost coconut flavor!
- Canned pineapple – if you can’t get your hands on a fresh pineapple, feel free to use a can of pineapple chunks – they work perfectly
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Stone bakeware takes longer to heat up than metal pans, and also retain heat for longer, which could make the recipe more watery, or burnt on the outsides.
Tell your visitors what equipment you use and how to adjust the recipe if they use something different, and link to your affiliate link to purchase the equipment.
More Pina Colada love
If you (like me) are super into this flavor combination, check out some more tasty Pina Colada recipes:
Storage
If you find yourself with lots of leftovers after making this Pina Colada cake, allow me to introduce you to one of my favorite tips for storing leftover cake…
- Start by slicing your cake into individual slices (if you haven’t already)
- Tightly wrap each slice of cake in plastic cling wrap
- Pop your individually wrapped cake slices into the freezer and enjoy later!
I know that must feel ridiculously simple, but I swear cake leftovers will never taste so good! Something about the freezer helps lock in the moisture and preserve that magical cake texture we all know and love.
Happy baking!
Pina Colada Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American, Puerto Rican
Description
This Pina Colada Cake is inspired by the popular Puerto Rican cocktail; it’s baked with chunks of pineapple and topped with coconut whipped cream!
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup pineapple chunks
- 2 (13 oz) cans coconut cream – refrigerated over night
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup pineapple chunks, strained for garnish
Instructions
- Start by greasing a 12 inch round cake pan (could also use two 8 inch rounds) with butter or nonstick spray. Place a parchment paper round in the pan to prevent the cake from sticking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Next whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt).
- In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar until light in color and slightly fluffy. Add in the eggs and continue to mix until a consistent texture is formed.
- Whisk the dry ingredients and the milk into the bowl with the wet ingredients, ½ cup of each at a time until fully incorporated. Fold in the pineapple chunks. Pour the batter into the cake round or rounds. Bake the cake/s for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the cake.
- While the cake is baking, grab your coconut cream from the fridge and separate the cream from any liquid. Add the solid cream into a bowl (bonus points if your bowl has been chilling in the fridge too) and using a hand mixer, beat the cream until light and fluffy like whipped cream. Beat in the powdered sugar for 1 minute. Return the bowl of whipped cream to the fridge to chill.
- Once the cake is done, cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before placing on a cake stand, topping with coconut whipped cream and pineapple chunks. Enjoy!
Yay! I hope you try it and love it 🙂