The Pineapple Sunshine Cake is a quick and easy cake dessert consisting of layers of pound cake or yellow cake with a creamy pineapple filling in between them.
If you don’t have much time, you can buy a pre-made pound cake, such as Sara Lee, or you can use a yellow cake mix and make layers. I usually make several pound cakes at one time and freeze them. Then whenever I need to throw a dessert together quickly, I can prepare this pineapple cake.
How to Make Pineapple Sunshine Cake
Cut the pound cake lengthwise into thirds, creating 3 long layers. The easiest way to do this is to lay the bread on its side and use a serrated bread knife to cut through.
If you’re using a yellow cake you can use unflavored dental floss to cut through the cake. Here’s what the layers should look like once they’re cut.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the pudding mix, milk, and cream cheese until smooth. Add the pineapple.
Fold in the whipped cream or Cool whip, but don’t beat it as it will separate. Refrigerate the filling mixture for 10-15 minutes to give it time to thicken.
Set one layer of the cake on a serving dish; top with one-third of the pineapple mixture.
Add the middle layer of cake and another one-third of the filling mixture.
Lastly, add the final layer of cake and the final third of the pineapple mixture.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. There’s another version of this cake as well that doesn’t use cream cheese or milk, that Pineapple Sunshine cake recipe is available here.
If you’re going to be moving the cake around a lot, for example, if you planned on bringing it to a potluck picnic, it would be advisable to secure the layers together by inserting wooden skewers into the cake. This prevents the cake layers from sliding off the cake. Top each skewer with a cherry so you can find them easily when it’s time to cut the cake!
Pineapple Sunshine Cake
1 prepared pound cake
1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup milk
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple in juice, chilled
1 1/2 cups of stabilized whipped cream or Half of an 8-oz container of Cool Whip Topping
- Cut the pound cake lengthwise into thirds, creating 3 long layers.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the pudding mix, milk, and cream cheese until smooth. Add the pineapple.
- Fold in Cool Whip, (don’t beat) and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes to give it time to thicken.
- Set one layer of the cake on a serving dish; top with one-third of the pineapple mixture. Add the 2nd cake and another 1/3rd, and then the final layer of cake and the final 1/3rd of the pineapple mixture
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
If you’d prefer you can bake a yellow cake mix (follow the directions on the box) and use 2 8″ round pans to make the layers. Or cut each of the layers in half and make a 4 layer cake, etc.
Or just bake the cake in a 9×13 pan and spread the pineapple topping over the entire top. Decorate with maraschino cherries & bits of pineapples if you want to dress it up a bit.
Tried this recipe? Mention @Budget101com or tag #Budget101
Love this Pineapple Sunshine Cake Recipe? Pin it!
Pineapple Sunshine Cake
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Cake
- 3.4 ounces small box instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 cup milk
- 4 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 20 oz can crushed pineapple (in juice, chilled)
- 1 ½ cups whipped cream
Instructions
- Cut the pound cake lengthwise into thirds, creating 3 long layers.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the pudding mix, milk, and cream cheese until smooth. Add the pineapple.
- Fold in Cool Whip, (don’t beat) and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes to give it time to thicken.
- Set one layer of the cake on a serving dish; top with one-third of the pineapple mixture. Add the 2nd cake and another 1/3rd, and then the final layer of cake and the final 1/3rd of the pineapple mixture
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
If you altered the ingedients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cooking/baking time.
