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Moist and flavorful Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut, topped with rich cream cheese frosting. A classic family recipe that’s easy to make and always a hit!
Table of Contents
- A Family-Favorite Carrot Cake Recipe Full of Nostalgia
- Why You’ll Love This Carrot Cake
- Ingredients in Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut
- How to Make the Best Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut
- Test the Cake for Doneness
- Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting Tips
- How to Store Carrot Cake
- Questions About Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut
- More Classic Cake Recipes to Try
- Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut Recipe
A Family-Favorite Carrot Cake Recipe Full of Nostalgia
If you’re searching for the best carrot cake with pineapple and coconut, you’ve come to the right place! This recipe has been in my family for generations, passed down from my mom’s old recipe box. Every bite is packed with warmth and nostalgia, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
Growing up, this cake was a staple at family gatherings, especially on Easter. There’s just something magical about the combination of sweet carrots, juicy pineapple, shredded coconut, and crunchy walnuts—all wrapped up in a moist, spiced cake with a rich, fluffy cream cheese frosting. It’s the kind of dessert that keeps people coming back for seconds (or thirds!).
Why You’ll Love This Carrot Cake
- Moist & Flavorful: The crushed pineapple adds natural sweetness and a soft, tender texture.
- Perfectly Spiced: A hint of cinnamon gives it that classic cozy taste.
- Easy to Make: No fancy techniques, just simple steps for a homemade cake that tastes like a bakery masterpiece.
- That Cream Cheese Frosting: Silky, rich, and just the right amount of tangy sweetness.
Ingredients in Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut
This decadent cake comes together with simple pantry staples and a few fresh ingredients:
- Dry Ingredients: Flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon
- Wet Ingredients: Eggs, vanilla extract, vegetable oil
- The Star Ingredients: Shredded carrots, crushed pineapple, shredded coconut, chopped walnuts, and raisins (optional but delicious!)
How to Make the Best Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut
- Preheat & Prep: Set your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line your cake pans with parchment paper (if using round pans for a layered cake) or spray the bottom and sides of the pan (if using a 9×13 pan) for easy removal.
- Mix the Wet Ingredients: Beat the eggs in a large bowl, then mix in the sugar, oil, and vanilla until smooth.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Bring It All Together: Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stirring until well combined and smooth.
- Add the Good Stuff: Stir in the shredded carrots, crushed pineapple, coconut, walnuts, and raisins (optional) by hand with a mixing spoon.
- Bake: Pour the batter into your prepared pans and bake for about 35-40 minutes (for round cakes) or 45-50 minutes (for a 9×13 pan). Test for doneness with a toothpick—it should come out clean!
- Cool Completely: Let the cakes cool on a wire rack before frosting. If the cake is still warm, the frosting will melt!
Test the Cake for Doneness
How do you know when your carrot cake is done, but not too done? First, check the baking time for the pans you are using. Oven temperatures can vary, so I always check it a few minutes early. Check the cake visually to see if it looks uncooked in the middle – if it does, continue baking. Next, I like to give the pan a little jiggle. If I can see movement in the middle of the cake, it needs more time. If the cake passes both of these tests, then I insert a toothpick in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done! If not, recheck every few minutes until the cake is fully baked.
Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting Tips
My favorite part of this cake is the fluffy and irresistibly smooth cream cheese frosting. Here’s how to make it perfect every time:
- Use room temperature cream cheese and butter for a silky texture.
- Beat them together until light and fluffy before adding powdered sugar.
- Add powdered sugar gradually to avoid lumps.
- If the frosting is too thick, mix in a splash of milk (one teaspoon at a time).
- Finish with a touch of vanilla extract and beat on high for about three to five minutes or until it is nice and fluffy!
- Spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake, and add a bit of the crumble mixture on top if you’d like. If you are frosting a layered cake, follow the step-by-step instructions with photos in the recipe below.
How to Store Carrot Cake
This cake stays fresh in the fridge for up to a week. Just cover it with plastic wrap or an airtight lid to keep it from drying out. Want to save some for later? Slice and freeze individual pieces for up to a month—just let them thaw at room temperature before digging in!
Questions About Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut
The pineapple and shredded carrots add natural moisture, so there’s no need for extra liquid!
The baking time will be similar to this carrot bundt cake recipe, but start at about 45-50 minutes. You will know it’s baked all the way by poking a toothpick into the cake and if it comes out clean, it’s done.
Of course! The cake will still be delicious
READ NEXT: 25+ Best Easter Desserts and Treats
More Classic Cake Recipes to Try
From birthdays to holidays to weekend gatherings, nothing brings people together like a beautiful cake! Try a few of our favorite recipes and share them with your family and friends.
Fresh Strawberry Cake
Coconut Cake
German Chocolate Cake
Hawaiian Guava Cake
Hummingbird Cake
Chocolate Malt Cake
I hope this recipe becomes as special to you as it is to my family. Let me know if you try it—I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut
Video
Equipment
- 2 9 inch round cake pans
- Hand Mixer
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil coconut oil works great too
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1 cup nuts walnuts or pecans chopped
- 1 cup crushed pineapple drained
- 2 cups carrot shredded
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese -softened
- 8 tablespoons butter or margarine-softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla
- splash of milk optional for consistency
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Beat eggs well; then add the next seven ingredients and beat well until smooth.
- Stir in the coconut, nuts, pineapple, and carrots with a mixing spoon.
- Line the bottom of the 9 inch pans with parchment paper. Spray non stick cooking spray on the parchment and sides of the pans.
- Divide batter into two equals amounts and pour into prepared baking pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Insert a toothpick and see if it comes out clean to tell if the cakes are done.
- Allow the cakes to rest for 5 minutes in the pan, then using a butter knife go around the edge of the cake before removing from the pans. Allow cakes to cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.
- Trim off any dome shape from the top of the cake then spread with about 1 cup of the cream cheese frosting for the middle layer.
- Place second cake on top of the frosting layer to make a double layer cake.
- Frost sides and top of the cake making any kind of fun swirl or designs.
- Sprinkle with chopped nuts (optional).
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a stand mixer (a hand mixer works fine) using the whisk attachment, combine cream cheese and butter and whip on medium speed until well combined.
- Slowly add powdered sugar a little at a time until you reach desired consistency. Add vanilla.
- If it seems too thick and not creamy enough to spread, add a little bit of milk (about ½ tsp at a time) until desired consistency is reached.
Notes
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- Use parchment paper or spray with baking spray. You can use round cake pans, a 9×13 pan, cupcake tins, a bundt pan, etc.
- Increase the baking time to 50 minutes when baking this cake in a 9×13 dish and only make half the frosting.
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- Make sure the oven is completely preheated before you put the cake in the oven.
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- Check your baking time, and then use a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. If it does, the cake is done!
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- Cool on a wire rack before frosting.
Hi Erica! I want to make sure I get the right coconut… the recipe calls for sweetened coconut, but the list of ingredients near the top of your post links to a bag of Food to Live unsweetened coconut. Which one should I use?
Thanks!
First time I tried this carrot cake and was the best ever. Ingredients were spot on except for the cream cheese icing bad we use grams and cups and not pounds so I got the icing sugar wrong however 5 star rating for this recipe
Fabulous! I used fresh pineapple, walnuts and cut back the sugar to 1 3/4 cups. Incredible recipe!
We had an Easter celebration this weekend and I was in charge of the cake! This turned out perfect!!
The cake turned out great for me. I used a Bundt pan and it looked so pretty. Thanks!
This cake was amazing; moist and perfect, the coconut and pineapple added delicious flavor, this was the perfect addition to brunch!!
Where is the liquid? It’s drier than bread dough!
When you use fruits and vegetables, like the carrots and pineapple in this recipe, they bring a lot of moisture to the dough. Hope this helps!
Added extra cinnamon, cardamon and raisins. In addition to the pecans, coconut and carrots 🙂 I cut back the sugar to 1.5C as the coconut was sweetened. Made 2 9″ rounds. Very dense, rich and keeps beautifully!
This carrot cake is AMAZING!! Everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing!
I’m definitely making this again! It was so good and my kids loved it!
Carrot Cake is my favorite, and this is a delicious recipe 🙂
I love passed down family recipes. They are always my go-to because they are spot on. Thanks for sharing.
You can never go wrong with this classic recipe!
How will I adjust the cooking time if I bake it in a bundt pan ?
It will be similar timing as this recipe: https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/nothing-bundt-cakes-carrot-cake-copycat/
Hey, how long will this cake keep? Also should I use fresh coconut or the packaged ones off the shelves? Thanks!
We use the packaged coconut in this recipe. The will keep for a week in the refrigerator. Make sure it is kept airtight so it doesn’t dry out. Cover with plastic wrap or foil. Thanks for asking!
Can the cups be any size as long as the same one is used?
A “cup” in the U.S. is 8 fl. oz. we typically don’t do measurements by weight here. Hope this helps!
One of my favorite cakes, as well as my mother’s favorites. Can’t wait to make it and surprise mom!
Searching for carrot cake with crushed pineapple plus cream cheese topping & yours sounds super delish. Plan on baking it next weekend.
Your site will go on “Favs”
Thank you,
Carmen aka keenpetite
Yes, the crushed pineapple gives so much flavor and moisture to the cake and you can’t go wrong with cream cheese frosting. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Looks like your recipe is the same as my mom’s. LOVE carrot cake. It is often requested. I am one of the only ones that prefers it with walnuts. Most of the family likes it without nuts. Their nuts!
Hi Erica, this is exactly what i was looking for. However, was wondering if the coconut flavor stands out. Im not a fan of it. And, have you every made this into cupcakes?
I haven’t made it into cupcakes before, sorry– I am sure they would still be great! For the coconut– the coconut flavor is very very subtle (unless you use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil)– I don’t think you will have an issue with it. Hope this helps! -Erica