Pineapple Sheet Cake flavored and moistened with crushed pineapple and topped with a sweet icing laced with shredded coconut, and sprinkled with pecans is a wonderful dessert to make to feed a crowd. With the pineapple, coconut, and pecans it’s perfect for summer.

Crushed pineapple and vegetable oil help the cake stay exceptionally moist so it can be baked well in advance. It’s super easy to make. No mixer needed. The icing does take 10 minutes of stir time, but that’s the most involved part.

Oftentimes Pineapple Sheet Cake is topped with a cream cheese frosting, but this icing is made from butter, evaporated milk, and sugar. Basically the same ingredients you would use to make caramel icing. The coconut is added into the icing to give it some extra sweetness and a little texture contrast. You can mix the pecans into the icing as well, but I like to sprinkle them on top.

Typically pineapple sheet cake would be baked in a sheet pan, but I baked mine in a 13X9-inch pan to give it a little more height. It’s so hard to take good pictures of flat cake! If you’re serving it at a potluck or picnic, a sheet pan is nice to use. It looks like more cake and is easier to slice into squares. But anyway you cook it, pineapple sheet cake is sure to be enjoyed by all. Except pineapple haters. I have a few of those in my family.

Cake


  • 2 cups sugar

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • ½ cup vegetable oil

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Icing


  • 1 cup sugar

  • ½ cup Challenge Butter, cut into chunks

  • ⅔ cup evaporated milk

  • pinch of salt

  • ¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut

  • ½ cup toasted pecans, chopped

Directions

  • 1

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13X9-inch pan or a sheet pan.

  • 2

    Combine all cake ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir until evenly combined and then pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes if using a 13×9-inch pan or 20-25 minutes if using a sheet pan.

  • 3

    Make icing while the cake bakes. Combine sugar, butter, evaporated milk, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and then lower heat. Simmer and stir for 10 minutes.

  • 4

    Add the coconut to the icing. Pour icing over hot cake. Sprinkle with pecans. Let cake cool before cutting.