Pineapple Sunshine Cake

By msippigrl

One of the best cake mix cakes I've ever made! Moist, fluffy pineapple cake with an easy peasy recipe using cake mix, crushed pineapple, instant pudding mix, and Cool Whip. A potluck favorite.

Ingredients

• CAKE:
• 1 box yellow cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Super Moist)
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, DIVIDED (half of it will be used in the frosting)
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
• 2 tablespoons water
• FROSTING:
• 1 small (4 serving size) box instant vanilla pudding mix
• Reserved bowl of the chilled pineapple-lemon mixture (about 1 1/8 cups)
• 1 (8-ounce) container Cool Whip, thawed

Details

Servings 12
Preparation time 5mins
Cooking time 35mins

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 13x9" baking pan with cooking spray.

Divide the can of pineapple and juice in HALF into 2 separate bowls. (You should have about 1 1/8 cups in each bowl.) Stir 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice into each bowl. Place one bowl of it in the refrigerator until ready to make the frosting.

In a large mixing bowl and using a mixer on medium speed, beat the cake mix, eggs, oil, water, and 1 "bowl" of the crushed pineapple-lemon mixture until combined well, 2 - 3 minutes.

Pour into baking pan and bake for 27 - 30 minutes, or until center tests done with a wooden toothpick. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Make the Frosting:
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the reserved bowl of chilled pineapple-lemon mixture and the dry pudding mix until smooth and thickened. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the Cool Whip until no yellow streaks remain. Spread over the top of cooled cake.

NOTE:
If a pineapple garnish is desired, after halving the can of pineapple and juice into 2 bowls, reserve 2 - 3 tablespoons of pineapple from the bowl to be used in the frosting (before adding the lemon juice). Drain it on paper towels before garnishing top of cake.