Banana Pineapple Bundt Cake Recipe

Three very ripe bananas. Crushed pineapple. A Bundt pan that actually gets greased right so nothing sticks. This banana pineapple cake is the kind of thing that fills your kitchen with caramel-banana smell while it bakes and then sits around getting better while it cools. Takes an hour and fifteen minutes in the oven. Twenty minutes to mix. Tastes like comfort.

Why You’ll Love This Banana Pineapple Bundt

Comes out moist every single time. The pineapple juice keeps it that way even two days later. Cream cheese frosting instead of buttercream — tangier, less heavy, slides across the cake like it belongs there. No fancy equipment. One bowl. Wooden spoon. Bundt pan you probably own. Works for a crowd or for when you just want to keep eating it alone on your kitchen counter. Either way, fine. The edges go golden and the smell—that’s banana and sugar turning into something better.

What You Need for Banana Pineapple Cake

Two cups of all-purpose flour. Nothing fancy. Baking soda — one teaspoon. Salt. Half a teaspoon. A cup of granulated sugar.

Three bananas. Mashed rough. Not pureed. Leave lumps. They hold texture.

A cup of crushed pineapple with the juice. Not drained. The juice stays. That’s what keeps it moist. A third cup of vegetable oil. Two large eggs. A teaspoon of vanilla. A quarter cup of applesauce — it adds moisture and you can’t taste it.

For the icing: eight ounces of cream cheese softened, a cup of powdered sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla, and two tablespoons of whole milk or heavy cream. Keep more milk nearby. You’ll adjust.

How to Make Banana Pineapple Cake

Oven to 350. Grease that Bundt pan. Flour it. Knock out the excess. Seriously. Skip this and the cake becomes one with the pan.

Mix flour, baking soda, salt in a big bowl. Whisk it. Gets the baking soda evenly distributed through the flour or your cake rises unevenly. Add the sugar. Stir.

Pour in the mashed bananas, the pineapple with all its juice, the oil, applesauce, eggs, vanilla. Stir gently with a wooden spoon. Just combined. Don’t beat it. Overmixing makes the crumb tough and dense. You want it tender.

Getting the Crumb Right and Baking

Pour it into the Bundt. Level the top but don’t obsess. Smooth isn’t required.

Bake at 350 for about an hour five minutes to an hour fifteen. Start checking at the hour mark. Thin skewer or toothpick goes in. If it comes out with moist crumbs stuck to it—good. If wet batter clings—not done. Bake five more minutes. Check again.

The edges pull away slightly. The kitchen smells like banana turning into caramel. That’s the signal. Golden at the edges, golden on top.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack. Completely. If it’s still warm and you flip it out, the crumb falls apart. Patience. It takes time but it’s worth it.

Cream Cheese Icing and Serving

Beat the cream cheese until soft. Not runny. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and two tablespoons of milk. Stir. Add milk one teaspoon at a time until it’s thick but pourable. The texture matters—too stiff and it sits on the cake like frosting. Too thin and it runs off.

Drizzle it over the cooled cake. The icing softens immediately from the warmth underneath, gets glossy. Don’t ice it while it’s hot or the icing melts into puddles that slide right off. Doesn’t work.

Room temperature is fine. You can chill it briefly if you want the icing to set thicker. Some people sprinkle nuts on top. Adds crunch against the soft crumb. Works.

Keeps for three days if you cover it. Gets better the next day actually. The flavors settle. The cake becomes even more moist.

Banana Pineapple Bundt Cake Recipe

By Emma

Prep:

20 min

Cook:

1h 10min

Total:

1h 30min

Servings:

12 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed rough
• 1 cup crushed pineapple with juice
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• For the icing===
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons whole milk or heavy cream, plus more as needed

Method

1. 1 Grease and dust a Bundt pan with flour, knocking out excess. Do not skip or the cake sticks like glue.
2. 2 Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a big bowl. Whisk well to evenly distribute. Add sugar next; stir to combine evenly.
3. 3 Add mashed bananas, crushed pineapple with all its juice, oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until just combined. Don’t overmix or risk tough crumb.
4. 4 Pour batter carefully into the Bundt pan. Level the top with a spatula but no need to smooth obsessively.
5. 5 Bake in preheated 350°F oven for roughly 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes. Start checking at 1 hour. Test doneness with a thin skewer or toothpick — it should come out with moist crumbs, never wet batter.
6. 6 Look for golden brown edges starting to pull away slightly from pan; smell fills the kitchen with banana-caramel aroma.
7. 7 Cool completely in pan on wire rack to avoid breakage. If still warm, cake crumbles if unmolded too soon. Patience pays off.
8. For the icing
9. 8 Beat cream cheese until creamy and soft but not runny. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk or cream. Stir to combine. Add more milk a teaspoon at a time until thick but just pourable texture achieved.
10. 9 Drizzle over cooled cake. The cheese icing softens almost immediately with warmth from cake surface giving a glossy finish. Avoid icing a hot cake; it will melt and slide off in puddles.
11. 10 Serve at room temp or chill briefly for thicker icing set. Crunchy nuts sprinkled on top add welcome texture contrast.

Nutritional information

Calories

320

Protein

4g

Carbs

50g

Fat

12g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Banana Pineapple Bundt Cake

Can I make this banana pineapple cake recipe without the applesauce? Yeah. Replace it with more oil—another quarter cup. Cake comes out slightly less moist but still fine. Not worth skipping though.

What if my bananas aren’t that ripe? They need to be. Brown spots, soft, almost too soft. That’s when they’re sweet enough and mash easily. Green bananas don’t work. Texture falls flat.

Can I skip the cream cheese frosting bundt cake and use regular frosting? Could. Buttercream works but it’s heavier. This icing fits better because the cake itself is moist. Less frosting, more cake. Better balance.

How long does a moist banana cake with pineapple keep? Three days in a container at room temperature. Covered. After that it starts drying. Fridge extends it to maybe five days but texture changes. Not worth it.

Can I use fresh pineapple instead of canned? Tried it once. Doesn’t work the same. Fresh pineapple has less juice. The cake comes out drier. Canned is better here. The juice in the can is actually useful.

Why does the batter go in so carefully? Bundt pans have those ridges and tubes. Batter poured carelessly gets air pockets in the bottom. They become holes. Careful pouring fills everything evenly. Takes thirty seconds. Matters.