Pineapple Banana Walnut Cake

This is the kind of cake that gets better the second day, and the third. Crushed pineapple and mashed ripe bananas flood the batter with fruit moisture, so the crumb stays tender and almost custardy long after it’s cooled. Walnuts add toasty crunch against the soft interior, and a quiet hint of cinnamon ties everything together.

The technique here is the easiest in baking: stir everything in one bowl, no creaming, no separating eggs, no fussy folding. Vegetable oil instead of butter is what gives this its characteristic moist density. Oil stays liquid at room temperature, which means the cake doesn’t firm up the way butter cakes do as they cool.

Use very ripe bananas with brown spots. The deeper the spots, the sweeter and more banana-flavored your cake.

A tube pan is the right shape because this batter is heavy with fruit and nuts. The center column conducts heat so the dense interior cooks through without burning the edges.

The icing is loaded with reserved drained crushed pineapple, which keeps it from being overly sweet and adds tropical fruit chunks across the top.

Pro Tips

• Drain the icing pineapple thoroughly. Wet pineapple makes runny icing.
• Cool 20 minutes in pan, then turn out. Too soon and the cake breaks; too late and it sticks.
• Test for doneness with a thin skewer; cake testers can miss wet pockets in this dense batter.
• Stays moist 4 to 5 days covered at room temperature.
• Toast the walnuts beforehand for deeper flavor.

Variations

• Sub pecans for walnuts, or use toasted coconut for a hummingbird-cake feel.
• Add ½ cup raisins or chopped dates for extra chew.
• Swap pineapple icing for cream cheese frosting for a richer finish.