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This is one of my absolute favorite cakes! It takes a little work but isn’t hard. The cake is so moist, and if you like pineapple and coconut, you are going to adore this cake! The original recipe is a Utah State Fair winner, and you can find the original recipe here.

I use my trusty Kitchenaid for a lot of the mixing that is involved in this cake. Make sure the butter is nice and soft. I got some unwanted clumps because my butter was cold.

The pineapple filling is easy, but you have to watch it carefully so it gets thick but doesn’t burn. I stir it frequently, almost constantly, to make sure it doesn’t burn.


The most challenging part of making this cake is cutting the baked caked in half. It just takes a little patience and a very good bread knife. (On a side note, I watched the movie “Dark Waters” recently. I would highly recommend it. I was a little alarmed by what I learned in that movie and decided to get rid of all my nonstick pans, including my cake pans. If you line your regular pans with parchment paper, the cake comes out of the pan easily. No nonstick needed.)

The frosting isn’t thick, and the cake frosts easily. If you want the frosting thicker, reduce the Cool Whip to 12 ounces. The recipe makes a lot of frosting. I also garnished my cake with toasted coconut. I think it looks pretty. To toast coconut, just stir it in a fry pan over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes.

This cake got eaten so fast, I almost didn’t get a picture of a slice. I took this photo, and literally ten seconds later, my son stabbed a fork into it and ate it off the cake plate–the last piece.


This cake will be the hit of any party you attend!