Hawaiian Wedding Cake is the mandarin orange-studded, fluffy-pineapple-frosting-slathered, perfectly pillowy yellow cake of your dreams. It tastes like a tropical getaway, and making it is an absolute breeze.
In fact, in the spirit of true disclosure, this Hawaiian Wedding Cake recipe uses a whole lot of store-bought ingredients, not just Betty Crocker. I promise you this: they all blend perfectly together to create a fruity, fluffy, honeymoon of a cake that your guests will inhale as soon as it hits the table.
hawaiian cake recipe
Whipped topping is traditionally used in this recipe, but you can try it with real whipped cream, too. Be aware that there may be some differences in texture as well as stability, so the cake may not taste the way you remember it, but it will still be delicious.
When substituting, keep in mind that whipping cream doubles once it is whipped. Since the recipe calls for an 16-ounce carton of whipped topping, whip 3 cups of whipping cream, which will yield 6 cups to use in this recipe.
Meggan Hill is the Executive Chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, a popular digital publication in the food space. She loves to combine her Midwestern food memories with her culinary school education to create her own delicious take on modern family fare. Millions of readers visit Culinary Hill each month for meticulously-tested recipes as well as skills and tricks for ingredient prep, cooking ahead, menu planning, and entertaining. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the iCUE Culinary Arts program at College of the Canyons.
Hawaiian Cake is an incredible dessert! This moist and flavorful layer cake with graham cracker crumbs, coconut, pecans, and pineapple buttercream frosting is perfect for a potluck, birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter holiday dessert.
Those recipes tend to use yellow cake mix for their cake batter, but this primarily uses graham cracker crumbs. Although graham cracker-based cakes are no longer popular, they were once relatively common, especially before cake mixes were widely available.
The pineapple frosting adds much-needed acidity that helps balance sweetness, while the flaked coconut provides a good texture. A Hawaiian pineapple coconut cake is ideal for a family gathering or to impress holiday guests with something they probably never had before.
The butter-based frosting does not freeze well. You can bake the cake layers in advance and keep them in the freezer. Be sure to let them cool completely then wrap them with a layer of plastic wrap then aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter or in the fridge and prepare the frosting while it is thawing.
I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.
A couple of tips on making this Hawaiian Wedding Cake. First, when I use pudding and milk in a recipe, I always use 2% or whole milk (using skim milk or 1% milk will not thicken the pudding as well). Second, when using cream cheese in a recipe make sure it is softened. If the cream cheese is not completely softened it will leave clumps in the pudding mixture.
Leave your cream cheese on the counter to soften. Depending on the temperature in your house it can take 30 minutes to an hour. Press on the outside of the package to test if it is completely softened. Another way to soften the cream cheese is to take it out of the package, cut it in cubes, place it in a microwavable bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Stir well. If it is not completely softened, cook for additional 10 second increments. The cream cheese should not become hot, just softened enough to blend well with the other ingredients. If I am preparing this cake in advance, I will hold off adding the whipped topping and coconut until just before it is served.
As of this post, Kraft does not label its Jell-O instant pudding as gluten free. The product itself does not contain gluten as an ingredient, but Kraft does not guarantee that the product has not come in contact with gluten during manufacturing. If this is a concern, there are brands that carry gluten-free instant pudding mixes. Simply Delish and Better Bowls are two brands I have found that carry a gluten-free instant vanilla pudding mix. You can also make your own gluten-free instant pudding mixes. Try this recipe from is Gluten-Free to a Shoestring.
I am a diabetic. So I try to cut the carbs and sugar down. I use sugar free cool whip, sugar free vanilla pudding, 2% milk and a sugar free BettyCrocker yellow cake mix. I use coconut oil (which makes the taste that much better) instead of regular oil. You can buy sugar free crushed pineapple, but that would defeat my purpose to cheat! I personally love the taste and am keeping my sugar low. Sooo good!
Prepare cake mix according to package directions, using the reserved pineapple juice and water for the liquid called for in the directions. Bake at 350 F. for about 35 minutes in a greased and floured 15 x 10 x 1 inch jelly roll (I used a 9-/12 x 13 pan). Cool in pan, set aside.
In a large bowl blend together cream cheese, pudding mix and milk until smooth. Fold in drained pineapple and spread over top of cake. Cover with whipped topping and sprinkle with nuts and coconut. Refrigerate.
Hawaii is famous for its tropical foods and one of the favorite desserts here is the pineapple cake. I have tried this so many times and there is no denying that this is an exceptional dessert. It is a regular cake with frosting that you are going to love. You can add nuts as well and add some more pineapples on the top of your frosting. Make this for birthdays, holidays, potlucks, and especially picnics.
Do you have a website or cooking blog? Find more useful information here.Keyingredient.com is a free cooking website. Join us and discover thousands of recipes from international cuisines. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright 2014 By accessing this site, you agree to our Terms and conditions.
The cake is baked and frosted in a rectangular (glass) baking dish, making it portable and perfect for taking on picnics, or potlucks. Or cut it up into small squares to serve at parties or a Hawaiian luau.
This delicious Hawaiian cake is packed with pineapple, coconut and walnuts and topped with a cream cheese frosting. It is best on the second day and keeps well for several days in a container in the refrigerator.
Ladies, Again this makes 2 cakes. No stacking, no spliting. Two cakes. Just right for large group potluck or leave one home for family. Or give one to the neighbors. Please chill out and just follow the instructions. You can do this. LOL
Leave the coconut out and you have what we call pig licking cake. We also use half of a box cake in a rectangular cake pan for a thin bottom cake layer. The rest of the batter usually goes into cupcakes for the kiddos. Yummy!
I agree the instructions were very well said. I am going to the store now to make one to try and save one for a few days for my sister in laws birthday ???? yeah this is going to be delicious ???? thank you for the recipe ????
Years ago I used to make something very similar to this, but it went in one 913 pan. I think it was a variation of a POKE CAKE, since the crushed pineapple was spooned over the baked cake (including the juice) after poking the top of the cake all over with a fork to create holes. Then it was then frosted with a prepared package of warm, cooked (not instant) pudding, cooled and topped with cool whip and coconut and/or nuts. It was crazy good, super moist and easy. These cakes should come with a warning label! Too darned good.
Make sure you are buying crushed pineapple rather than pineapple tidbits. The crushed pineapple has just the right amount of liquid whereas the tidbits have too much liquid and may make your cake soggy.
CAKE MIX: We used yellow box cake mix in this recipe, but other recipes call for white cake mix, which would work just as well. There are plenty of different flavors of boxed cake mixes you can get in the store, so pick your favorite!
COCONUT: For this recipe, we are calling for shredded coconut. While this is not the same as coconut flakes, you can substitute them for shredded coconut. The flakes are slightly larger but will still work if that is all you have available.
WHIPPED TOPPING: If you would rather make your own whipped cream instead of the whipped cream topping, you are more than welcome to. Try our recipe for homemade whipped cream as a perfect choice.
IN THE FRIDGE: Assuming you have any leftovers, which you very well might not with this delicious cake, you should store the leftovers in the refrigerator. The cake will need to stay chilled to keep it moist and fresh.
IN THE FREEZER: You can also freeze this poke cake recipe. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and then cover with aluminum foil for up to 3 months. Allow the cake to thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
Many, many moons ago when I was going to cooking school, I spent my last term interning as a cake decorator at a local bakery. And when I say interning, I mean I got 2 days of training and then was set free to be THE cake decorator for the entire shop. No pressure, right?
Dessert cakes are super easy to decorate but the most time-consuming part was making all of the mousses, fillings and whipped creams they needed. I usually kept a good supply of baked cakes in the freezer to pull out and decorate as needed, but this time my stash was completely depleted and I needed to bake the cakes too.
It will likely come all the way to the top and maybe even over the side of the pan but just pile it on there the best that you can. The thick layer of pudding is an awesome compliment to the cake and pineapple below.
Wow! It's really very tasty, because when I made this cake, my guests just went crazy with delight. By the way, next time I will cook this as well, since I am now very attracted to the search for lesbian hookup near me, so I will have something to surprise my chosen one. Thank you for a wonderful recipe! 2ff7e9595c
Comments