Pineapple Sheet Cake - the breakfast and dessert of my dreams!

A rectangle Pineapple Sheet Cake with big fluffy swirls of white cream cheese frosting and yellow and white nonpareils and pearl sprinkles on a grey background

It counts as breakfast since there is pineapple in it right?! Well, we're going for it. I used to have a square of Pineapple Sheet Cake for breakfast on the days that I didn't have a double chocolate chip muffin from Costco. That's just who I am on the inside and I'm not mad at it. Start the day with a sugary kick - ON BRAND!

Anyways, Pineapple Sheet Cake is legit 5 ingredients. Couldn't be easier. Best when served with cream cheese frosting and lots of sprinkles for a little sparkly pop. It's good for breakfast, it's good for dessert, it's good for a birthday cake with candles, and it keeps for a week or two. It's basically the best and you need it!

Pineapple Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Author: Gaby Dalkin

4.8 from 21 votes

Pineapple Sheet Cake – the breakfast and dessert of my dreams!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Review Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Total Time 50

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings people

Ingredients

▢ 2 cups white sugar
▢ 2 eggs at room temperature
▢ 2 cups all purpose flour
▢ 2 teaspoons baking soda
▢ 20 ounces crushed pineapple including the juice

For the Frosting

▢ 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
▢ 2 cups powdered sugar
▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a 9x13 metal baking dish with sheet of parchment paper to have about an inch hanging over the pan and spray baking spray.
Combine the sugar and eggs in a large stand mixer and mix for 1 minute. Add the flour and baking soda and continue to mix, followed by the pineapple. Mix until everything is just incorporated and then remove the bowl from the mixer.
Transfer the batter into the baking dish and bake in the oven for 35 minutes until the top is golden brown and a toothpick can be inserted in the center and removed without any batter sticking. Remove the cake once fully baked and let cool.
While the cake is cooling, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large stand mixer. Turn the mixer on very slowly and let the cream cheese and powdered sugar incorporate, making sure to scrape down the sides every so often until you have a thick icing.
Spread the icing over the cake, lots and lots of swoops, and serve.

Notes

I wait to frost this until just before serving, as I don't often have room for an entire sheet pan in the fridge!
You can also keep the cake in the fridge for up to 1 week).

Nutrition Information

Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @WhatsGabyCookin or tag #whatsgabycooking!

47 Comments

Does this have to bake in a metal 9 x 13 pan. I just have glass.

Gaby Dalkin says:

April 18, 2025 at 1:24 PM

just keep your eyes on the baking time. In general, if you’re baking in glass instead of metal, lower the oven temperature by about 25 degrees and keep an eye on the timing — glass holds heat longer, so things can brown faster around the edges. Always start checking for doneness a few minutes earlier than the recipe says just to be safe!

Just made this cake and it’s fantastic! Very moist and wonderful flavor. I’ve only recently discovered you. This is my 3rd dessert of yours and all have been fantastic. I’m awaiting 3 of your cookbooks from Amazon

How long should you mix the sugar and eggs with a hand mixer and at what speed?

Gaby Dalkin says:

July 2, 2023 at 2:53 PM

1-2 minutes! medium is fine

Easy to follow recipe and yummy cake!

This recipe is just genius. You don’t even have to have a brain (no offense) I’m an avid baker but now with 2.5 year old twins I have time for nothing from scratch. I don’t even make the cream cheese frosting I make a powdered sugar glaze and voilà! Bravo Gabby!

Hi Gaby,
I follow your blog and IG! Thank you for the yummy recipes.

One question - can I make freeze the cake? I want to make this for my cousin's baby shower and thinking about freezing a couple of these and defrosting and layering on the day of the shower.