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This tornado cake recipe is the easiest dessert in the world! It’s made with tropical and nutty flavors, like pineapple chunks in the cake and pecans or walnuts and shredded coconut in the frosting. You will love it! This moist cake is packed with flavor and requires such little effort that it will become your go-to in no time!
Tornado cake is perfect for when you’re in a time crunch or just don’t feel like doing too much work. It’s ready in just a short amount of time while still being from scratch, and it makes enough to feed the whole family. If you love a no-fuss cake like this one, my quick carrot cake loaf and honey tea cake loaf are just as easy.
What is a Tornado Cake?
The delicious Texas tornado cake is also known as a poke cake (just like my tres leches cake) or a “Do Nothing” cake because it’s so easy; it is a pineapple cake with a coconut pecan or walnut topping. Intensely moist because of the holes from the cake seeping all that syrup we top it with at the end!
Key Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page for the detailed ingredient measurements.
Cake
- All-purpose Flour: is the base of any cake and give it its structure.
- Baking Soda: helps the cake rise so it feels lighter and airier.
- White Sugar and Brown Sugar: sweeten the cake.
- Eggs: work with the dry ingredients to hold everything together.
- Vanilla Extract: gives a nice flavor to the cake.
- Crushed Pineapple: is the key ingredient in flavoring this tasty cake.
- Salt: to help balance out the sweetness of the cake
Coconut Icing
- Salted Butter: is a great two-in-one with adding moisture and flavor.
- Evaporated Milk: gives the icing a nice and creamy taste and texture.
- Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar: add the perfect amount of sweetness to the icing.
- Vanilla Extract: brings a warm and decadent flavor.
- Pecans or walnuts: add a fun crunchy texture. Got extra pecans? Here are my best pecan desserts to use them up.
- Sweetened Coconut Flakes: give a fun texture and tropical vibe and pairs so well with the pineapple. Coconut fans, my Starbucks lime frosted coconut bars are calling your name.
- Salt: this helps balance out the sweetness of the frosting.
How to Make Tornado Cake
- Add the cake ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9×13 inch pan with nonstick spray (lay parchment down first if you like). In a large bowl, add the flour, baking soda, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, crushed pineapple, vanilla, and salt.
- Mix the batter. Mix everything together until the batter is smooth.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean and the edges are golden brown.
- Poke holes. Poke holes all over the baked cake with a skewer so the icing can soak in.
- Boil the icing. Add the butter, evaporated milk, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to a medium saucepan, bring it to a boil, and boil for 3 minutes.
- Add the coconut and nuts. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the shredded coconut, pecans or walnuts, salt, and vanilla.
- Top the cake. Pour the coconut icing over the cake and spread it evenly. Let the cake cool fully to room temperature before slicing into it.
Recipe Tip
Use a food scale instead of measuring cups to weigh out your dry ingredients, specifically the flour. You will get much more accurate results and the recipe will yield a better cake.
Why You Need to Make This Recipe
- This easy recipe only requires a handful of simple ingredients that you can easily find at the store.
- This tornado cake recipe is so quick and effortless, it only requires one bowl! If you love low-effort cakes, my crack cake is another one you have to try.
- It’s the best cake to make for the coconut lovers in your life their birthdays or special occasions.
- Its fruit flavors are perfect for spring and summer and will be a guaranteed popular dessert at the next holiday event, right next to a lemon poppy seed loaf cake.
Tornado Cake FAQs
You can use canned fruit cocktail in tornado cake if you don’t have pineapple or don’t love it. As long as it has that tropical flavor, your tornado cake will taste very similar.
Put leftover tornado cake in an airtight container and store it in the fridge, where it lasts at least 4 days. To freeze it, wrap the individual slices in plastic wrap, then put them in an airtight container and freeze for one to two months.
Serve a slice of tornado cake with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and your favorite drink. A warm tea or my Starbucks vanilla latte goes perfectly with it!
More Easy Cake Recipes
Baked this tornado cake for your crew? Leave a ⭐ star rating and tell me in the comments if you went with pecans or walnuts. I love hearing from you!!
Tornado Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 20 oz can crushed pineapple or fruit cocktail
Boiled Coconut Icing
- ½ cup salted butter
- ⅔ cup evaporated milk
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup pecans or walnuts chopped
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F then spray a 9×13 inch pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl mix the all-purpose flour, baking soda, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pineapple, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 20 oz can crushed pineapple, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Icing
- Add the butter, evaporated milk, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil the mixture for 3 minutes.½ cup salted butter, ⅔ cup evaporated milk, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Remove from the heat then add in the shredded coconut, salt, pecans or walnuts, and vanilla extract and mix to combine.½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup pecans or walnuts, 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Pokes holes in the cake then pour the icing on top. Spread it evenly. Let the cake and icing cool down fully before slicing into it.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sweet, moist tropical deliciousness
So glad you enjoyed!!!