This Homemade Hawaiian Cake is packed with pineapple, bananas, coconut, and pecans, and topped with cream cheese frosting and coconut. It’s a little taste of Hawaii, and WOW is it good!
“Best cake I ever made.” -George
My husband is not a sweets person. But he ate nearly this entire Homemade Hawaiian Cake over the course of a week. It’s THAT good!
It’s moist and tender, and full of textures and flavors. The cake itself is reminiscent of banana bread, but with crushed pineapple, coconut, and pecans, too. And the homemade cream cheese frosting is the literal icing on the cake!
It’s decadent, not too sweet, and an all-around crowd pleaser of a cake. Which is perfect, because it feeds a crowd. Here are a few of my tips for making it:
- Be sure to soften the cream cheese and butter before starting. If you’re in a hurry, check out my post on how to soften butter quickly (it works for cream cheese, too).
- Don’t have a bundt pan? An angel food cake pan or even a 9×13 inch pan works instead.
P.S. If you love tropical flavors, don’t miss my Old Fashioned Pineapple Cookies!
Some of the links featured in this post are affiliate links to products I enjoy and recommend, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase.
Ingredients
- You’ll want to use bananas that are brown/have spots on them for the best banana flavor.
- You can use either sweetened or unsweetened coconut. I used sweetened.
- I like using pecans that have been very finely chopped. I recently discovered that Fisher sells very finely chopped pecans—no extra chopping necessary!
How to Make Hawaiian Cake from Scratch
- Start by whisking together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Mash the bananas well with a fork. Add the remaining cake ingredients, and stir to combine.
- Bake for 65–70 minutes at 350°F.
- When the cake is cool, use a hand mixer to mix the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
Assembling the cake
Place the cooled Hawaiian cake on a cake platter or serving platter. Carefully spoon the frosting on top and spread around. You may not need all of the frosting.
Top the cake with additional shredded coconut.
Bundt pan alternatives
Don’t have a bundt pan? You can make this cake in an angel food cake pan.
You can also make it in a 9×13 inch pan. Since the pan is more shallow, you’ll need to decrease the baking time. Start checking the cake for doneness around 30–35 minutes. If it’s isn’t done yet, give it another 5 minutes at a time before checking again.
More old fashioned cake recipes
Since this is an old fashioned recipe blog, there is no shortage of vintage cakes! This old fashioned Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is similar to the Hawaiian Cake, but without pineapple or coconut.
I LOVE a good poke cake, like this traditional Jell-O Poke Cake or a Coconut Poke Cake for coconut fans.
And I can’t forget classics like Ding Dong Cake, Sock it to Me Cake, and Old Fashioned Date Cake. They’re always crowd pleasers!
📖 Recipe
Hawaiian Cake From Scratch
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 4 medium-sized ripe bananas
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 1½ cups vegetable oil
- 8 oz crushed pineapple, drained
- 2¾ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
For the frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray.
- Place the bananas in a large bowl. Mix with a handheld electric mixer until mashed. Add the eggs, sugar, oil, and pineapple, and mix until combined.4 medium-sized ripe bananas, 3 eggs, 2 cups sugar, 1½ cups vegetable oil, 8 oz crushed pineapple,
- In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture with a spatula. Stir in the coconut and pecans.2¾ cup flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut, 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 65–70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely.
For the frosting:
- Once the cake is cool, place the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix with a handheld electric mixer until soft and creamy.8 oz cream cheese,, ½ cup (1 stick) butter,, 3 cups powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla
- Invert the cake onto a cake pedestal or serving platter. Top with the cream cheese frosting (you may not need it all). Sprinkle with coconut.½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
- Cut into slices and serve.
Could you make this as cupcakes?
Yes! Start with 18–20 minutes at 350°F and add time if needed.
Best cake I ever made. I did a couple minor adjustments to suit me. I added 1 teaspoon of baking power and a 1/4 cup sour cream. When it came out I brushed the hot cake with pineapple juice. When I turned it out I spooned a mixture of coconut,pineapple and confectioners sugar glaze on top and brushed the rest of the cake . I’ll be making this again and again! I didn’t add nuts. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Your adjustments sound wonderful! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
I came across thus tecipe abd i am going to try this. I will cone back abd let you know how my picky eaters enjoyed it. Thank you for this tecipe
Please do let me know! Happy baking!