Pineapple Angel Food Cake

This cake is sometimes called ‘Weight Watchers cake’ since it’s made with no oil, butter, or eggs — one bite and you’ll be hooked! Your friends will be begging for you to tell them your secret. It’s up to you on whether or not you share that it only has 2 ingredients.

Unlike traditional angel food cake recipes that call for a tube pan and inverting the cake to cool, this version bakes right in a 9×13 dish — no special pan and no balancing your cake on a bottle required.

If you enjoy this recipe, you might also want to try my amazing pineapple casserole.

Budget-Friendly Dessert for a Crowd

This cake costs about $4.64 to make from start to finish — that works out to roughly $0.39 a slice for 12 servings. That’s a full dessert for a potluck, birthday, or Sunday dinner for less than the cost of a candy bar per person. If you’re feeding a crowd on a budget, this is one of the most affordable homemade desserts you can put on the table

You may even like these delicious treat recipes, 2 ingredient pumpkin muffins, 2 ingredient strawberry cake recipe. chocolate peanut butter fudge, rainbow cake, peach dump cake, and 2 ingredient fruit dip recipe.

Why We Love This Recipe

Angel food cake with crushed pineapple make the perfect cake. It’s easy and loaded with flavor. My mom first made this for me over 10 years ago, and I remember thinking there was no way just 2 ingredients could turn into a real cake.

But boy was I wrong, friends! I’ve been making it ever since, and it’s still one of my go-to desserts whenever I need something quick and impressive. You may also want to try my coffee cake recipe if you need another idea to make.

This is also one of my go-to recipes to let the kids help with — there’s no cracking eggs or measuring oil, just two ingredients and a mixer, so even little hands can dump and stir.

Ingredients

• Crushed Pineapple – Make sure to grab pineapple packed in 100% juice, not syrup — syrup-packed pineapple will make the cake too sweet and heavy.
  
  Don’t drain the juice! There’s no water or oil in this recipe, so the pineapple juice is what keeps the cake moist. Draining it will leave your cake dry.
• No crushed pineapple on hand? Pulse a can of pineapple chunks or tidbits (juice and all) in a blender or food processor a few times until it’s finely chopped, then use it the same way.
  
• Box of Angel Food Cake Mix – Use the kind where you just mix water, usually Betty Crocker mix works
• Cool Whip – This is an optional topping. Make sure it is thawed

Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe in the recipe card.

How to Make Pineapple Angel Food Cake

• Step 1 – First, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 2 – In a large mixing bowl, stir together the boxed cake mix and the crushed pineapple. Mix well with an electric mixer on medium speed, or in a stand mixer on low speed.

Step 3 – Then pour the combined batter into a 9×13 baking dish, using a spatula to scrape the bowl so all of the batter makes it into the pan.

Step 4 – Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown in a preheated oven. The cake will fluff up but it will settle as it cools. Allow it to cool completely. You can also bake this pineapple angel food cake in a tube pan. It will increase the baking time to 40-45 minutes, though.

Step 5 – Lastly, spread or top with a dollop of cool whip (or homemade whipped cream) over the top and serve. If you want to take it up a notch, sprinkle with shredded coconut, too! Use a serrated knife to cut into slices when ready to serve.

Expert Tips

• Preparing Pan – Pour batter into a baking dish that has not been sprayed with cooking spray. It’s ok to let it stick. This is the only cake recipe that I will ever say that to. The recipe will not work if you spray the pan so resist the urge to do so. The angel cake might stick some but that is just how the texture of the cake is.
  
  Here’s why: angel food cake needs to grip the sides of the pan to rise properly. If the pan is greased or nonstick, the batter can’t climb the sides, and you’ll end up with a flat, dense cake instead of a light one. A little sticking is normal and totally fine.
• Don’t Overfill – This batter puffs up a lot in the oven, so don’t fill your baking dish more than about two-thirds full. If you’re not using a standard 9×13 pan, place it on a rimmed baking sheet just in case it bubbles over.
• Ingredients – Make sure to get the right ingredients in a large bowl. You will need the correct ingredients for this cake to work correctly so double check them before buying. The mixes that require eggs or other additional ingredients will not bake up right with only adding the pineapple. So keep that in mind when you’re shopping for ingredients.
• Baking Pan – You will need a 9×13 pan. I like the ones with a carrying case so that I can easily take these to cookouts and such.
• Cool Cake – Before frosting the cake, make sure the cake has cooled to room temperature. If you top the cake while it’s still warm, the whipped topping will melt right off — give it a full hour or so to cool completely first.
• Feeding a Crowd – This recipe makes 12 servings in one 9×13 pan. If you need more, simply bake a second batch in a separate pan rather than doubling in one dish — the batter needs room to rise properly.
  

Angel Food Cake Toppings

This 2 Ingredient Pineapple Angel Food Cake is delicious with your favorite toppings. I love topping this with extra pineapple, cool whip or even shredded coconut. The coconut and pineapple taste great together.

You can even garnish the Pineapple Cake with cherries and fresh berries such as strawberries and blueberries for added color and flavor. We even love to serve this pineapple flavor cake with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel syrup for a rich and delicious dessert.

For an easy dessert bar look, spoon a little cherry pie filling or warmed strawberry sauce over each slice right before serving — both pair beautifully with the pineapple.

Leftover slices also make a great shortcut trifle — just layer cubed cake with extra whipped topping and fresh fruit in a bowl or individual cups.

Headed to a potluck? Bake the cake the night before and store it covered in the fridge, then add the whipped topping right before you leave so it stays fresh. It travels well in the same 9×13 dish — just bring a lid or cover it tightly with foil.