This old-fashioned Pineapple Oat Cake recipe is a family favorite! Made with canned pineapple, it's a light and flavorful oatmeal cake topped with a low calorie cream cheese frosting.
I was introduced to this wonderful Pineapple Oat Cake recipe through my neighbor. Pati loves to bake almost as much as I do. She's an expert cake decorator, which I certainly can't claim to be and she is one of the most generous people I know.
When the kids on our street were younger, Pati would offer cookie and cake decorating "classes" to the children that were interested. The kids all loved visiting with Pati, learning how to decorate cookies and of course, eating and bringing home the leftovers.
A few weeks ago, Pati called me to ask if I would like a part of her collection of old cookbooks because she was trimming down her stash. Needless to say, I jumped at the offer.
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I love cookbooks and I actually enjoy paging through and "reading" the recipes.
I especially love vintage cookbooks where the recipe and the instructions aren't as well written as they are today. Those are the recipes that make you think and interpret as you go. While some of the recipes in very old cookbooks may not be great ones, there are a few tucked inside that are real gems.
One of the cookbooks my neighbor brought over was a Cooking Light Cookbook from 1992. While I certainly don't consider this one to be vintage, it's pretty old as cookbooks go.
As I was going through the pages, I found a recipe for an oat cake that caught my eye.
Oatmeal makes cakes so very moist and adds a great texture. I thought a Pineapple Oat Cake recipe would be a great one to try.
The oat cake ingredient list is simple and the method easy and I loved that this cake baked in an 8 x 8 pan which meant I wouldn't have much leftover.
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Ingredients
See recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- pineapple juice
- quick-cooking oats
- all-purpose flour
- whole wheat flour
- sugar
- baking soda
- orange extract (or use vanilla extract)
- canola oil
- egg
- cream cheese
- crushed pineapple
- powdered sugar (optional)
How To Make A Pineapple Oat Cake
The pineapple juice is first heated on the stove in a small saucepan, then the oats are added to the warm juice. While the oats stand for about 20 minutes, blend together the other ingredients.
The recipe calls for orange extract but if you don't have any, lemon extract or vanilla extract will work just fine.
This oatmeal cake is a light cake and could really be called a breakfast cake.
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The Pineapple Oat Cake frosting is a simple blend of cream cheese and crushed pineapples.
I wanted the topping to be a little sweeter so I added just a little powdered sugar.
The oatcake will keep well in the refrigerator for 2 days.
Quick and easy to make, this "old" recipe is certainly a keeper. I looked online for the Pineapple Oat Cake recipe so I could link to it for you, but couldn't find one. I've provided the recipe with just a few of my adjustments below.
Enjoy!
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients left over from this oat cake recipe, you might consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Oats: Orange Oat Cake, Overnight Oats, Mocha Oatmeal Bowl
- Cream Cheese: Keto Fat Bombs, Lemon Cheesecake Mousse
- Pineapple: Mini Pineapple Sheet Cake, Tropical Smoothie
Other Mini Cake Recipes
- Mini Banana Upside Down Cake
- "Quarter" Pound Cake
- Mini Tres Leches Cake
- Mini Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Mini Cherry Dump Cake
- Icebox Cake For One
- Mini King Cake
For more information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
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Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
- 2/3 cup quick-cooking oats uncooked
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon orange extract (or vanilla extract)
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 4 ounces cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, softened
- 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple in juice ,drained
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).
- Drain the pineapple juice from the can of crushed pineapple (if this amount does not give you 3/4 cup, add additional pineapple juice) and bring pineapple juice to a boil in a small saucepan. Set aside the crushed pineapple to use later.
- Remove pan from heat; stir in oats. Let stand 20 minutes.
- Combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking soda, orange extract, oil and egg in a large bowl; stir well.
- Add oat mixture; mix well.
- Spoon batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Let cool on a wire rack.
- Beat cream cheese at high speed of an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add pineapple, and beat well.
- Taste and add the powdered sugar if you'd like the frosting sweeter.
- Spread over cooked cake, and cut into squares.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I make this coffee cake every Saturday night, and my husband brings me a slice with coffee every Sunday morning in bed. We love it.
What a sweet husband! I’m so glad you both are enjoying the cake recipe. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know.
I am obsessed with pineapple in baked goods and this looks absolutely delicious!
Thanks, Arman. I’ve definitely got a thing going on with pineapple lately too. Not sure why, but I’m loving it!
I need a piece of this right about now! Looks so yummy! My boyfriend loves pineapple so I bet he would love this!
Thank you, Jessica. If your boyfriend likes pineapple, I’ll bet he loves this 🙂
I’m with you completely! I love old cookbooks and especially “family favorite” cookbooks filled with old recipes from aunts and grandmas and friends. There’s nothing like recreating them!
Looks like such a delicious cake ! Perfect for summer!
Thanks, Christin. When the weather starts to turn warm, I crave pineapple 🙂
Sometimes there is nothing better than a classic cake!
I agree completely. Thank you 🙂
This looks wonderful. I love the combo of oats and pineapple, unique but delicious. And I feel you with your cookbook collection, I am always buying more. I even have several that you have pictured in this post. 🙂
Thank so much, Michelle. Some of the old cookbooks are so much fun to go through.
How fun to flip through a new-to-you stack of cookbooks & recipes! I think you picked a winner with this one – sounds great! I love any sort of cake w/ oats in it. Yum!
Thank you. This one’s definitely a winner, I love oats in cakes too.