Pineapple Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Pineapple Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep 20 mins Bake 55 mins Cool 30 mins Eat 1:35
This old-fashioned Pineapple Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting has been in my recipe box since I first started baking. I’ve been making it for umpteen years and recently I’ve been making it for birthdays for our Women’s Sailing Association cruises to Catalina Island. It is super easy to make in a 9 x 13 cake pan and will hold safely on the sailboat for a couple days without refrigeration. Best of all, everyone loves it! The texture is moist and nutty from the walnuts. A real winner! This recipe always gets requested and here it is finally!
First, Preheat the oven to 350°
While the oven is preheating, prepare the cake pan, by pouring a Tablespoon or more of canola oil in the bottom of the pan, brush it around bottom and sides. Then plop in a Tablespoon or more of flour. Shake it around the pan until it sticks to the oil on all sides.
One reason I love this recipe is it can be mixed up with a rubber spatula in a few minutes and in the oven as soon as it warms up. You don’t need a mixer because you add canola oil instead of butter to the sugar. You will need the canola oil, sugar, eggs, a can of crushed pineapple, some rough chopped walnuts, flour, a bit of salt and baking soda.
One time, I had a pink pineapple from Melissa’s Produce. This is a new hybrid, which is sweeter than the traditional yellow pineapple. I chopped it up and used in place of the can of crushed pineapple. It was really pretty and festive.
The secret to a moist tender cake: DO NOT OverMix the Batter.
Always, when mixing cake ingredients, mix the wet ingredients first – sugar, canola oil, eggs and crushed pineapple. Combine the dry ingredients separately – flour, salt, baking soda and then fold the dry ingredients carefully into the wet only until the white goes away. Add the walnuts last and then dump it all into the prepared cake pan and bake. Get ingredients for frosting ready while the cake is baking. You will want room temperature butter and cream cheese ready.
The cake is baked when you can stick a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean. Set it aside on a rack and let cool at least 30 minutes or more.
While the cake is cooling, mix up the Cream Cheese frosting with an electric mixer. The cream cheese and butter will be room temperature. Add in a dash of vanilla and add powdered or confectioner’s sugar a half cup at a time.
The secret to frosting a cake is to start at the center.
Plop the frosting from the bowl into the center of the cake before spreading. Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting from the center out toward the edges to cover the cake.
Serve the Pineapple Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting at your party by cutting into squares. You can place a walnut in the center of each piece as a garnish. Use a small metal spatula to remove the pieces cleanly like the one pictured above.
I made this Pineapple Walnut Cake for my own August birthday to share with my friends. We sailed my boat, H2Oasis to a place called Hen Rock on Catalina Island. My husband gave me these beautiful pink roses, which was so sweet of him. No pink pineapple this time but still keeping it pink and sweet!
OK friends, here’s the Pineapple Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese frosting recipe for you! The Women’s Sailing Association of Santa Monica Bay planned this cruise to Hen Rock on Catalina Island with 10 people on 4 of our sailboats. I am proud to be part of this group.
Pineapple Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup canola oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 20 ounce can crushed pineapple with juice
- 1 cup walnuts coarsely chopped
Frosting (double for layer cake)
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch salt
- 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare a 9 x 13 pan by brushing with canola oil. Dust the pan with flour on all sides and set aside.
- Blend flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.
- In large bowl, combine oil, sugar, eggs and pineapple until well mixed.
- Fold in flour mixture only until white from flour disappears and no more.
- Fold in the nuts in a stir or two.
- Dump cake batter in the pan all at once and smooth out the top.
- Bake approximately 45 minutes for 9 x 13 pan. Cake is done when light brown and when toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 30 minutes.
- While cake is baking, place butter and cream cheese in a small deep bowl to bring to room temperature.. While cake is cooling, mix the frosting. Add salt and vanilla and use an electric mixer to cream the butter mixture. Add in the powdered sugar,1/2 cup at a time until mixture is very smooth.
- Plop the frosting from the bowl into the center of the cake before spreading. Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting from the center out toward the edges to cover the cake.
- Serve the Pineapple Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting at your party by cutting into squares. You can place a walnut in the center of each piece as a garnish. Use a small spatula to remove the pieces cleanly.
- Oven Temperature: 350°F
- ENJOY THIS RECIPE FROM FRESHFOODINAFLASH.COM
Nutrition
Pineapple Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This old-fashioned Pineapple Walnut Cake is one of my favorite cakes to make. It mixes up with a rubber spatula in a few minutes. You don’t need a mixer, because you add canola oil instead of butter. It can be made as a layer cake or a flat cake. I like to make it as a flat cake in a 9 x 13 pan because it is easier to transport. If you make a layer cake, divide the cake batter into two 9″ round cake pans and bake 25-30 minutes. You will also want to double the frosting recipe.
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup canola oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 20 ounce can crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Frosting (double for layer cake)
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare a 9 x 13 pan by brushing with canola oil. Dust the pan with flour on all sides and set aside.
2. Blend flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.
3. In large bowl, combine oil, sugar, eggs and pineapple until well mixed.
4. Fold in flour mixture only until white from flour disappears and no more.
5. Fold in the nuts in a stir or two.
6. Dump cake batter in the pan all at once and smooth out the top.
7. Bake approximately 45 minutes for 9 x 13 pan. Cake is done when light brown and when toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 30 minutes.
8. While cake is baking, place butter and cream cheese in a small deep bowl to bring to room temperature.. While cake is cooling, mix the frosting. Add salt and vanilla and use an electric mixer to cream the butter mixture. Add in the powdered sugar,1/2 cup at a time until mixture is very smooth.
9. Plop the frosting from the bowl into the center of the cake before spreading. Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting from the center out toward the edges to cover the cake.
10. Serve the Pineapple Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting at your party by cutting into squares. You can place a walnut in the center of each piece as a garnish. Use a small spatula to remove the pieces cleanly.
Servings: 24 – 263 calories per serving
Oven Temperature: 350°F
lories
The moistest cake and delicious cream cheese frosting.