Pineapple Angel Food Bundt Cake

Angel food cake mix and undrained crushed pineapple create a tall, airy cake with a moist fruit crumb. Exact package and can weights keep the two-ingredient ratio reproducible, while a large ungreased tube-style Bundt pan gives the expanding foam room to rise.

Details

Yield: 16 slices
Prep: 10 minutes
Bake: 35–42 minutes
Equipment: 10-inch, 12-cup light-colored tube-style Bundt pan, large bowl, whisk, spatula, rack, thermometer

Ingredients

1 box (16 ounces) one-step angel food cake mix
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

Method

Heat the oven to 350°F. Confirm the pan is clean, completely dry, and ungreased. Grease prevents angel food foam from gripping the sides as it rises.
Place cake mix in a large bowl. Add the entire can of pineapple with its juice. Whisk gently until no dry pockets remain, then fold several times with a spatula. The mixture will become foamy.
Immediately spoon the batter evenly into the pan. Do not tap the pan, which can collapse trapped air.
Bake 35–42 minutes, until the top is deep golden, springs back after a light touch, and the center reaches about 205°F.
Invert the pan according to its design and cool completely, about 90 minutes. Run a thin knife around the outer and inner edges, release the cake, and cut into 16 slices with a serrated knife.

Ingredient and pan guidance

Use a one-step angel food mix that requires only water according to its package; mixes with separate egg-white packets behave differently. Pineapple packed in juice supplies both fruit and the liquid needed to hydrate the mix. Do not drain it, and do not substitute pineapple in heavy syrup.

The batter expands dramatically. A smaller decorative Bundt pan may overflow and may not allow inverted cooling. Confirm a 12-cup capacity by checking the manufacturer, not by filling an heirloom pan to the rim. A dark pan may brown more quickly, so begin checking early.

Troubleshooting and serving

A dense layer can result from overmixing, delayed baking, grease in the pan, or cooling upright. Mix only until combined and bake immediately. The cake must cool before release or its structure may compress. Slice with a gentle sawing motion instead of pressing down. Serve plain or with fresh pineapple; toppings are outside the two-ingredient formula.

Storage

Cover the cooled cake and refrigerate for up to 4 days because its moist fruit crumb spoils faster than plain angel food cake. Freeze individual slices for up to 2 months and thaw in the refrigerator. Discard cake left at room temperature longer than 2 hours in very warm conditions.

Portioning

For 16 even pieces, halve the released cake, halve each section again, then cut each quarter into four slices. Clean the serrated blade between cuts if pineapple clings to it. Do not compress the cake while wrapping leftovers; place slices in a rigid container so the airy crumb retains its height.

Pineapple Angel Food Bundt Cake