Pineapple Spoon Cake Recipe

I usually wait for an invitation to a cookout, BBQ, or party to bake. It’s not that baking is hard. It’s more eating one piece of homemade cake and sharing it with friends and not the entire cake by myself!

I wanted to make a cake that is so delicious that my friends at the cookout and BBQ party wouldn’t realize that it is dairy free so I can enjoy it too. Generally I just swap out the cow milk with almond milk until I remembered someone with a nut allergy was going to be there as well as someone with an egg allergy.

Can you make a crowd pleasing cake that is also dairy, egg, and nut allergy friendly? Yes you can if you make my pineapple spoon cake recipe! 


This cake recipe is perfect for potlucks because it also travels well especially if you use a glass baking dish with a lid like this one that way you don’t have to worry about the glaze leaking out from under plastic wrap that doesn’t stick to anything but itself. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links to the items I used for your convenience.)

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How to Make Dairy, Egg, and Nut Food Allergy Friendly Pineapple Spoon Cake Recipe

I rarely use box cake mixes until a vegan friend clued me in that it is the easiest way to make a dairy free cake because many cake mixes don’t have milk in them and only require eggs  and cooking oil. The best vegan/ egg allergy substitute for baking that tastes good is Bob Red Mills Egg Replacer (learn more about it here.)  In fact, I’ve slipped these little no saturated fat beauties in baking recipes for a heart patient with a sweet tooth loves to eat and was none the wiser. So there ya go.

You will need the following ingredients:

Yellow cake mix and its ingredients or from scratch yellow (vanilla) cake batter

1 Can of crushed pineapple and its juices

1 1/4 Cups of shredded coconut

1 Cup of powdered confectioners sugar - or less to taste

1/4 Cup of butter – I use dairy free butter to keep it milk allergy friendly

Step by Step How to Make This Recipe:

1. Make the cake batter following the directions on the box or recipe.

2. Thoroughly mix 1 cup of drained crushed pineapple and 1 cup of coconut into the cake batter.

This is my favorite mixing bowl because of the handle and spout! You can learn more about it here!

3. Grease a 9 x 12 baking pan with either oil or butter to keep the baked caked from sticking to the pan.

4. Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake it in the oven per the directions on the box/recipe.

5. Melt the butter in a separate bowl.

6. Add to the butter and mix 1/4 cup of shredded coconut, 1 cup of crushed pineapple, and the confectioner sugar and canned pineapple juice to make a glaze for the top of the cake.

Tip: I suggest you start by mixing only half (approximately 1/4 cup) of crushed pineapple, sugar, and pineapple juice to melted butter and add (or not) to taste otherwise the cake may be too sweet or too soggy for your taste. Or maybe that’s just me.

7. Cover the cake and refrigerate it for several hours before serving. I usually make it the night before and let it refrigerate overnight to let the glaze really soak into the cake.

Delicous dessert!

8. Eat. Enjoy. Repeat!

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