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!
I’ll start off with this. 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 pineapple, coconut, and pecans, too.
Then the cake is topped with a homemade cream cheese frosting, and a sprinkling of sweetened coconut.
It’s decadent, not too sweet, and an all-around crowd pleaser of a cake. Which is perfect, because it feeds a crowd!
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Top tips
- Before you make the Hawaiian cake, place the butter and cream cheese for the frosting on the countertop, so that it can come to room temperature.
- Don’t have a bundt pan? An angel food cake pan or even a 9×13 inch pan works well (be sure to adjust baking time, though!).
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 homemade Hawaiian cake
Start by whisking together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Then, mash the bananas well with a fork (or even with a whisk). Add the remaining cake ingredients, and stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into a well greased bundt pan, and bake for 65–70 minutes at 350°F. You’ll know the cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the cake cool completely before making the frosting.
How to make cream cheese frosting
The key to cream cheese frosting is having all of the ingredients at room temperature. In this case, the butter and cream cheese in particular should be softened on the countertop for at least 2 hours.
If you forget to soften the butter and cream cheese, here’s a guide on how to soften butter and cream cheese quickly.
Place the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to beat the frosting 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 (also known as a tube 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.
Can I freeze Hawaiian cake?
Hawaiian cake can be frozen, either frosted or unfrosted.
If it’s frosted, place it in a covered, freezer safe dish and freeze for up to 1 month.
If it’s unfrosted, tightly wrap the cake in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil, and slide it into a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Storage and serving
Store any leftover Hawaiian cake in the refrigerator.
I like letting the cake come to room temperature before serving so the frosting is soft. I also like serving it with a steaming cup of coffee or tea!
More old fashioned cake recipes
- Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Jell-O Poke Cake
- Coconut Poke Cake
- Ding Dong Cake
- Old Fashioned Orange Cake
- Cherry Dump Cake
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and/or comment below!
Homemade Hawaiian Cake
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Cut into slices and serve.
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