Banana Pineapple Cake
A recipe for Banana Pineapple Cake. Use up those ripe bananas and have a slice! This old family favorite is simple to make and a taste of home.
Use up those ripe bananas and have a slice of Banana Pineapple Cake! This old family favorite is simple to make and a taste of home.
My mom was not exactly a cook. At least for the early part of my childhood. I have many memories of her producing dried out pork chops that would take half an hour to chew before each swallow. As I got older, her skills as a cook definitely improved, but it was never her forte. In fact, she had a cross stitch that she made framed on the wall that read, “Kitchen Closed. I’m Sick of Cooking!”
She was, however, a baker. Some of my fondest memories of my mom were our Saturdays, when she would spend all day in the kitchen, working on cakes or breads. I loved watching her and helping when I could. When I was back home in New York a few summers ago, I found her binder of recipes, full of clippings and scribbles, along with letters from family. This recipe for Banana Pineapple Cake was one she actually had time to transfer to an index card, in her neatest handwriting. In the binder, I also found a letter from my aunt who told my mom how much she missed this cake of hers, one of her signature desserts. I’m not sure the origin of the recipe, but for me, it’s mom’s.
Whenever I have ripe bananas, I have to decide, do I make banana bread or do I make banana pineapple cake? Well, sometimes I have so many ripe bananas, I can make both! Each slice of this homey cake brings me back to those Saturday bake days, my mother in her element, dusted in flour and sugar. With each bite, it’s like being with my mom again, if only for just a moment.
Note: This post first appeared February 5, 2010; the recipe has been updated from the archives with improved kitchen notes and recipe annotation. I hope you enjoy this favorite from my kitchen.
If you love this Banana Pineapple Cake, here are more ways to bake with bananas:
Banana Nut Ricotta Muffins
Buttermilk Banana Bread (Reader Favorite!)
Chocolate Banana Fig Bread
Zucchini Banana Brownies
Chocolate Banana Quinoa Muffins
Banana Caramel Mug Cake
Banana Pineapple Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 large eggs slightly beaten
- 2 cups mashed bananas about 4-5 very ripe bananas
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 8 1/4 -oz can crushed pineapple (or fresh; see notes below)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- confectioner's sugar for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10-inch fluted tube pan or bundt pan with butter or cooking spray, and dust with flour. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, bananas, oil, undrained crushed pineapple, and vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined, scraping the bowl periodically. Do not overmix the batter.
- Pour batter into the prepared tube pan. Bake for about 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes, then remove and cool on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Comments
COOKBOOK
Hi, if I have one ripe pineapple and one banana, will this work ?! I have these fruits kind of over ripe, and hence looking for a cake recipe to use them both!
Hi Aanshika, the moisture from the banana is a little different from the moisture of the pineapple, so I can’t say for certain that it will work with opposite ratios. Ideally, you would have the correct number of bananas in the recipe. Since I haven’t tested it with fewer bananas, I can’t say with certainty that it will work! Any chance you can pick up a couple more bananas?
Headed to the kitchen! Will let you know how mine did. Sounds absolutely scrumptious!!!
Hope you liked it, Kelly!
Is this the same as a Granny Cake, or hummingbird cake?
Hi Danielle! It’s more similar to hummingbird cake, but without nuts!
Though I minimize a bit of sugar, I love your recipe, made twice of the same already.
I’m so happy you love the cake, Ana! Thank you!
Love this recipe
Sherry, I’m SO glad that you love the cake as much as I do!
Great recipe
Thank you, Sherry!
What can I use insted of Canola oil?
Angela, you can use melted coconut oil or good quality olive oil in this cake! Both work well. Happy baking!
Can I use regular cake pans?
Hi Cindy, yes, you can! This cake can be made in two 9-inch round cake pans. Hope that helps!
I have got to make this recipe today!! One question, what kind of sugar do you use for this recipe? It doesn’t look like regular white granulated sugar. I have fresh pineapple I would like to use. Exactly how much should I use? A cup maybe? Thank you!
Hi Lisa, great to hear! I use granulated sugar — in the video, I use organic granulated sugar, which is why it looks a little different. And you can definitely use fresh pineapple (see notes in recipe) – just chop finely and use about a heaping cup. I hope this helps — enjoy the cake!
This sounds heavenly! Love your cake pan design!
I am sure this will be a huge hit in my house!
Oh, this cake looks amazing! I love banana cakes but adding pineapple pushes yours over the top!!
Tried this recipe for the 1st time. It won’t be the last. Excellent! Moist and delicious. Thank you for sharing this.
Hi Gail, I’m so glad you loved the cake as much as I do!! Thank you!!
I made this cake and we love it. My son doesn’t eat eggs so I left them out. They were so moist. I made it with pineapple spears. I will definitely make it again.
I’m so glad your family loved the cake, Marsha! Thanks for letting me know that the recipe worked without the eggs — that is so good to know!
I live in a tropical country and have a lousy portable electric oven, and I need reading glasses which I didn’t have when I was fussing with said oven. Consequently, I made this cake using the wrong settings–the elements on the top were on some and the temp too high at the beginning. The result was delicious! The cake caramelized and became chewy around all the edges. Oh, and I added 2t cinnamon and 1t cardamom. I was going to add ginger powder but it went bad in our humidity. Wonderful.
I will make it again and try to do the same with the oven. Next time I will add fresh coconut.
Forgot to say I was in a hurry due to a power outage Christmas Eve (couldn’t make it ahead of time) and so I baked this cake Christmas morning in a heavy ceramic casserole dish approximately 13×9 instead of a Bundt like I planned. We ate it straight out of the oven with shredded coconut sprinkles, no frosting or glaze.
The coconut sprinkles sounds fabulous on top!
I’m so glad that the cake still turned out beautifully for you! Love how you added cardamom, too!
Hi Liren – i tried it your Banana Pineapple Bread this weekend and it was so good! I had friends over the weekend and after swimming, we devoured the bread. I only did half of the recipe and used a loaf pan which worked great. I baked it for an hour and 5 mins. Thanks so much for this awesome recipe! It’s a keeper!
Hi this recipe seems really good. .can we bake this in a normal square or round baking dish.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Yes, you can absolutely bake this in a different sized dish. The batter should fit into 3 9-inch round cake pans or 2 8-inch square baking pans. I would adjust the baking time as necessary. Hope that helps, and enjoy the cake, it’s one of my favorites!
Hi there! Just wanted to share some ways I’ve adjusted the recipe. I use coconut oil rather than canola. I add shredded sweeten coconut and walnuts. It’s my most requested cake from family and friends. Thanks so much for the recipe! I’ve made this recipe at least 5 times. Works every time.
Hi Jean! I love how you have adjusted the recipe and can’t wait to try them out myself – we love coconut so the shredded coconut and coconut oil sounds incredible. It makes me so happy that this recipe lives on with you, your family and friends!
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe! I made it and it’s really good, everyone I shared it with loved it! :)
You’re so welcome, Jol! I’m glad everyone loved it!
look really good -i only have fresh pineapple and i didn’t know how much to use , whats the measurement for fresh pineapple ?
Hi Simona! I would use an equivalent amount of fresh pineapple (8 1/4 oz), so about a heaping cup!
Best banana cake recipe ever thank you so much for sharing. check my favorite recipes for dinner here : http://goo.gl/hFBtJT
So glad you enjoyed it!
We bought a pineapple this week and this turned out to be the perfect use for some of it. I pulsed a cup and half of fresh pineapple chunks with 5 semi-ripe bananas in the Vitamix. Recipe is super easy – I was even able to make it on a Monday night! I couldn’t resist and threw in 1/2 cup of shredded coconut which worked great. Also appreciated that the recipe is dairy-free. I wanted to put rum into the mixture too but wasn’t sure how that would change it. I think I’ll try that next time though.
I’m definitely trying your recipe not just because your lovely photos make it so appealing but because your mom’s recipe has similarities to my mom’s banana bread recipe, too which are in my old folder. This just reminded me that mother’s day will soon be here and it’s that time when I get nostalgic for mom. Thanks for sharing a great recipe and beautiful story, Liren. Hope all is well :-)
Yes, Mother’s Day is definitely around the corner – and these are the times when I love to sift through my mom’s old recipes. I love how these recipes bring them back to us, Betty!
Such a humble and simple cake – with amazing flavor I’m sure! Definitely going to reach for this recipe next time I have ripe bananas on the counter.
Humble recipes like these are my favorite, Annalise – they are the most homey and bring me back to my childhood!
I know what you mean when you say food makes you feel close to certain people or relate to certain people…it is the same for me when I make all the foods my mom cooked when I was a kid…now she is in another continent but I do feel close to her and relive all those old memories!
great space here…keep bloggin’
Hi Meena, I certainly do relate memories to recipes and food. I feel as though whenever I cook an old favorite, it’s like visiting the person that relates to the dish! I’m so pleased you like my blog – hope you visit again soon!
I loved this post. Made me remember your mom too. I’m thinking I must have eaten this cake of hers at one time back in the day. Keep the posts coming.
Thank you, Julie :) It’s nice to remember through food, isn’t it?
Ooo, the combination of banana and pineapple must be fantastic! I would love to try this!
Definitely try it! It’s so simple and tasty!
I never used banana-pineapple combination, but it sounds like a natural choice, must taste very tropical :-). A very nice recipe – thank you! And the picture is so professional :-)
So true, it does taste very tropical! Maybe next time I should try making a coconut flavored glaze! Hmmm…
This cake looks amazing! I don’t know if I have seen a banana AND pineapple cake before, but I really want a piece of it. The story is absolutely lovely, too. Hope you really enjoy your cake.
Thank you, Astrid! This cake is like a dressed up banana bread — those little chunks of pineapple are a nice surprise :)
It’s a great photo and sounds like a keeper recipe!
Thanks, Cristina! It’s definitely a keeper — such a fast recipe, I was able to throw it in the oven in under 10 minutes :)
I am Cheryl’s Mother, Cheryl is your neighbor and this morning
she was raving about your blog. The banana pineapple cake
sounds great. Next to surf your blog.
Blanche Rueda
Hi! Welcome to my site — I’m so glad you dropped by. The blog is still so new, but it’s been a lot of fun. Visit again soon! And yes, the cake is wonderful. I may have to make more this weekend since I have so many ripe bananas to use up.