One of my go-to cakes for the fall is an Italian apple cake, so I thought I would adapt the recipe and turn it into a Pineapple Butter Cake. This cake is basically a very light butter cake batter that surrounds the tasty morsels of pineapple sautรฉed in butter…….sigh. In this case, Butter = Love!
I think that’s actually in the foodie dictionary somewhere (well, it should be if it’s not!)
My wife loves pineapple, but like anything else, she only eats a little bit of it, and then I’m stuck with what’s ever left…..sigh. That’s why our neighbors greet me drooling when I knock on their doors; they know it’s time for dessert! But with fresh-cut pineapple, I felt a little strange walking it over, so I decided to make a cake with what I had left.
Ingredients to make a Pineapple Butter Cake
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make this OMG delicious cake. In chef speak, we call this the Mise en Place, which translates into everything in its place.
It’s a good idea to start all of your cooking adventures by gathering the ingredients first. Not only does it make the cooking process go more quickly it ensures you have everything you need on hand.
Do I have to use Pineapple to make this butter cake?
No, you don’t. This is a very forgiving cake recipe and can be used with a variety of fruit. These are some of my favorites.
- Apple
- Mango
- Peach
- Blueberries
- Pears
**You don’t have to cook berries or stone fruit for this cake, but any firmer fruits like apples or pears would benefit from sauteing with butter. You can also mix different fruits together if you don’t have enough of any one variety.
The first step in making this cake is to melt the butter for the cake, reserving 6 tablespoons for the cake batter. After melting the butter, add the pineapple (fresh, frozen or canned) to the butter and cook over medium heat for 7-10 minutes.
**If you use canned pineapple, don’t add the juice from the can, only the pineapple.
While the pineapple and melted butter are cooling, you can move onto the next step.
What do I do with any leftover butter/juice in the saute pan?
Don’t add the extra liquid to the cake batter, it will make the batter too thin.
What you can do is spoon any leftover butter/juice over the cake after it comes out of the oven, before it fully cools.
If there is a lot of extra juice, heat it over high heat to reduce the juice to a reasonable amount.
Whip the two eggs and one egg yolk in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder.
Add the 6 tablespoons of reserved melted butter, sugar and vanilla to the bowl and whip together until smooth.
Next, add the pineapple (without any of the butter from the pan) and the flour mixture to the egg mixture and fold together just enough to mix.
Pour the cake batter into a buttered pan. The batter may seem a little loose, but trust me, as long as you follow my recipe, it will turn out great.
Chef Dennis Tip**
Use parchment in the pan before you add the batter. It will be much easier to remove the finished cake from the pan.
Don’t expect this cake to rise very much. There isn’t enough flour vs butter in the cake to get much of a rise. I use standard 9-inch baking pans. An 8-inch cake pan will give you a taller cake.
This cake is easy to make and is sure to please your family or guests. If my wife liked coconut, I may have added some a little coconut (ยฝ cup) to the batter! Can anyone say Pina Colada? Tropical beaches, boat drinks, a little Jimmy Buffet on the radio….sigh, it just doesn’t get better than that!!! But there I go again, getting off topic…….let’s get back to the pineapple cake. I hope you enjoy it.
These are some of my favorite kitchen tools that I use in my home kitchen for baking.
Jen
I had frozen chunk pineapple in the freezer and wanted to use them. So i looked for any recipes with pinneaple in it and found this one that was simple. I thawed them and cut them to smaller pieces. Followed the exact recipe…well close enough. I didnโt have any lemon zest & i baked it as a Bundt cake. It came out delicious. This recipe is going to be a keeper. Thank Chef Dennis!
Chef Dennis Littley
thanks for the great review Jen and its good to know the recipe works in a bundt pan!
Shelbee
This cake is delicious!!! My teen daughter who absolutely loves pineapple has declared this her new favorite cake! Thank you for sharing ๐
Radison
Can i make your recipe into cupcakes? I know i would need to adjust the time in the oven.
Chef Dennis Littley
yes you can, you just need to adjust the cooking time.
Radison
Appreciate it Chef Dennis!!
Kevin
Wow ! I had a can of chunked pineapple in the cupboard and thought what can I make with this tonight. so I looked up easy desserts with pineapple. came across this recipe so I made it. OMG !! Amazing! The whole family loved it. It’s so easy we are going to be keeping pineapple on hand now. Thank you so much.
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks for the comment and great review Kevin, I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this amazing cake!
Nancy Goodman
This is the most amazing pineapple cake. Followed directions to the T, came out moist and fluffy. Just remember to make sure your ingredients are fresh and measure your flour by stirring flour first, then spooning it into measuring cup, mounding flour over top, then with straight knife, run over top of cup to level flour. Chef Dennis is an amazing chef. So glad I found your website.
Chef Dennis Littley
Thank you so much for your comment, you really made my day!
Jaimie
I just put the cake in the oven. Looking forward to eating the final result. It smells amazing and th e batter is soo goood. Do you have any recommendations for the butter that the pineapple was cooked in?
Chef Dennis Littley
not really. It’s more than likely watered down a bit from the pineapple.
Rebecca
Wow this cake is delicious! I used lime zest instead of lemon, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. Unlike you, I will be making this again soon!
K.S.
Hi, I made your cake twice and while it was delicious, the cake portion itself turned out dense and a bit gummy. Also my cake did not rise like yours; it came out to about 1/2 an inch in height, while your cake pictured looks like it rose to about 1.5 inches! In both instances I made your cake, I followed the recipe except I halved the sugar by half, and I replaced 1 tablespoon of the all-purpose flour with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, since flour sold here in Canada tends to have a higher protein content.
I really want to make your cake again for the third time, but how can I make it moist and risen, like pictured on your website? Thank you.
Chef Dennis Littley
changing the recipe will change the final results. Try making it with the exact ingredients.
TERRI
I am in Canada, I made the cake……it turned out AWESOME…..i did not use sugar, i used 1/ 2 cup of honey and the cake was moist, fluffy and DELICIOUS!!!! I saved the pineapple butter and made a rum glaze to serve warm with whipped cream…..OMG
Jenny
I just made this recipe…..fantastic! I cheated and rather than baking in the oven, I used my cake pop maker for bite size goodness. The first batch of 12 balls didn’t rise much. I put in about 1 tablespoon of batter in each mould. I then added about 1/3 cup more flour and 1/2 tsp more of baking powder the next couple batches rised up into nice full balls. This is a fantastic recipe!! Thanks! -Proud Lacrosse mom baking to feed 20 teenage boys!!
Louise
2/3 cup flour ? or 1 2/3 cups flour ?
Chef Dennis Littley
2/3 cup flour
Sarah Sailer
Can I use frozen pineapple?
Chef Dennis Littley
yes you can, just let it thaw first.
Catherine Neal
Just came out of oven. Less than an inch tall! Your pic shows a taller cake. Haven’t tasted yet. Could I up the bp?
Chef Dennis Littley
If the Baking Powder is too old that could be the reason it didn’t rise. Did you change any of the ingredients?
Robyn
Do you think you could amend this w almond or coconut flour for diabetics? I could replace the sugar cup for cup w swerve but Iโm wondering about the flour.
Chef Dennis Littley
Unfortunately, that is not my area of expertise. There is more than just replacing the flour, other items would need to be adjusted or added.
Ivy Viswamohanan
I have made this cake several times and it comes out perfect every single time. It’s such a heavenly cake!
tanya
I made this cake 4 times now and love it every time. I am not a baker at all, I am great cook but sweets I never do so I do this for my boyfriend and he loves eating it, thank you for such a delicious receipt.