Texas Tornado cake, also known as a Do Nothing Tornado cake, is a quick and easy, classic southern pineapple cake with a coconut pecan topping.
A simple, yellow cake made moist and tender with crushed pineapple, and drenched with a pecan and coconut topping.
What Is Tornado Cake?
The origins of these depression era cake recipes developed during hard times when desserts were made with whatever was on hand in the pantry. The original Texas recipe used canned fruit cocktail in the cake batter.
This dessert is a quick sweet ending to a meal that you won't have to break a sweat over when you're in a hurry.
Why You'll Love This Tornado Cake Recipe
Part poke cake, part dump cake - this depression era pineapple cake recipe only needs one bowl and a spoon to mix everything up in, literally letting you do almost nothing to make it.
You can whip this delicious cake up in less than 45 minutes with items you probably already have in the pantry. I've included substitutions, just in case you don't have one or two items.
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Tornado Cake Ingredients
Making this old fashioned pineapple poke cake from scratch is super easy, but I've also included directions for using a store bought cake mix also. You'll enjoy it either way.
For The Texas Tornado Poke Cake (Do Nothing Cake)
- Flour - All purpose flour.
- Sugar - granulated sugar.
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Eggs - fresh, large.
- Vegetable oil
- Vanilla extract
- Pineapple - canned, crushed pineapple (in juice and un-drained)
For The Coconut Pecan Topping
- Butter - salted and cut into chunks.
- Brown Sugar - You can use regular white sugar also.
- Evaporated milk - or any cream, coconut cream, or plant based creamer.
- Pecans - chopped.
- Coconut - sweetened, flaked.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How To Make This Tornado Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 F. Spray a 9x13 cake pan with non stick spray. Set aside for later.
Mix and Bake the Cake
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and the salt.
- Add the eggs, oil, vanilla, and the can of crushed pineapple. Be sure to include the juice. Mix well.
- Pour cake batter into the prepared 9x13 cake pan. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cake Mix Recipe For Tornado Cake (Short Cut Method)
- Instead of adding the flour, sugar, baking powder, and the salt to the mixing bowl, just open a store bought yellow cake mix and empty it into the bowl.
- Add the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and the pineapple and mix well for 2 minutes.
- Pour into the prepared pan, and bake for 35 - 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Set aside to cool and continue while preparing the frosting.
Poke Holes In the Cake Top
- Remove from oven and set on a rack to cool. Using the back of a wooden spoon or chopstick, make holes in the cake top about 1 - 2" inches apart using the handle of a wooden spoon. Let cake cool while you prepare the topping.
Prepare the Coconut Pecan Topping
- While the yellow cake is cooling, prepare the topping in a medium saucepan on your stove top.
- In a medium saucepan, heat your butter, sugar, evaporated milk, and vanilla until it begins to boil.
- Cook for 4 minute on medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pecans and coconut. Remove from icing from the heat.
Pour Hot Topping On Cake Top
- Pour hot topping over the top of the cake and spread topping evenly with a spatula. Let cool for 15 minutes and then serve!
Tips for Success
- Don't drain the pineapple, the pineapple juice is part of your liquids.
- You can use a plant based 'cream' if you want to avoid dairy.
- Make the frosting after you take the cake out to cool.
- Use a small diameter tool to poke the holes in the cake. The thick end of a chop stick is perfect!
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few easy substitutions or variations when making this cake recipe:
- You can substitute fruit cocktail or canned peaches for the pineapple if you don't have a can of crushed pineapple handy.
- You can substitute any white or yellow cake mix for those first four dry ingredients.
- You can also purchase two tubs of German Chocolate frosting. Warm in the microwave for 1 minute and spread over the cake with the punched holes on the top. Talk about doing nothing, huh?
- Grate 2 cups of carrots and add ¾ of apple juice. Mix with the batter instead of the crushed pineapple.
- Use a can of sliced peaches, or other fruit, with the liquid. Dice the fruit up with your hands when mixing.
Serving Suggestions
Bring people together with the irresistible charm of this Texas Tornado Cake. There's something about its warm, comforting flavors and effortless preparation that just makes everyone happy.
From its versatile ingredients to its easy assembly process, this easy-to-make dessert with decadent topping is sure to sure to be enjoyed by your family.
It's the kind of cake that disappears in a flash, leaving behind smiles, satisfied sighs, and requests for the recipe.
This decadent dessert pairs beautifully with our Country Style Boneless Pork Ribs and Southern Braised Collard Greens.
Storage and Freezing
- Cover any leftover cake with aluminum foil.
- Store at room temperature no more than one or two day, refrigerate if you need to store it longer.
- You can also freeze this cake for up to 3 months.
Related Recipes
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how this cake turns out. Below are some of my favorite pieces of equipment that I use when making this dessert.
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- 9x13 Cake Pan
- Fishers chopped Pecans
Frequently Asked Questions
Cake mixes have a lot of commercial grade ingredients with preservatives or treatments that extend shelf life. They can lack in flavor and freshness. Scratch made cakes will have fresh, flavorful ingredients, and will create a better tasting cake.
The cake edges in the pan will start to pull away, and the cake will spring back slightly when pressed lightly. Also, the tooth pick will come out clean without any cake batter on it.
No. The original recipe used evaporated milk. That's because evaporated milk is shelf stable and can be stored long term, and often in a pantry. Alternatives for evaporated milk cream, half and half, and non dairy creamers.
More Delish Ideas
Texas Tornado Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Do Nothing Cake
- 2 cup flour
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 20 oz pineapple canned, crushed in juice - use the juice also
For the Coconut Pecan Topping
- ½ cup salted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar light or dark, packed
- ⅔ cup evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup coconut sweetened, shredded or flakes
Instructions
For the Do Nothing Tornado Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan with non stick spray, oil, or butter.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine.PRO TIP: You can replace these four ingredients with a packaged yellow cake mix.2 cup flour, 1 ½ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
- Add the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla, and crushed pineapple to the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix together until combined.2 large eggs, ½ cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 20 oz pineapple
- Pour cake batter into your prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and set on a rack to cool. Using a wooden spoon handle or chop stick, poke holes in the cake top about 1 - 2" inches apart. Let cake cool while you prepare the cake topping.
For the Coconut Pecan Topping
- In a medium saucepan, heat your butter, sugar, evaporated milk, and vanilla until it begins to boil.½ cup salted butter, 1 cup brown sugar, ⅔ cup evaporated milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Cook for 4 minutes on medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pecans and coconut. Remove from heat.1 cup chopped pecans, 1 cup coconut
- Pour hot topping over your cake and spread evenly. Let cool for 15 minutes and then serve!
Notes
- Don't drain the pineapple, the pineapple juice is part of your liquids.
- You can use a plant based 'cream' if you want to avoid dairy.
- Make the topping after you take the cake out to cool. That way the cake will be the right temperature for pouring on the topping.
- Use a small diameter tool to poke the holes in the cake. The thick end of a chop stick is perfect!
Pattie Cartwright
This was so easy to make. I used the box cake mix and can frosting short cut options. couldn't get easier. Sort of like a Pineapple upside down cake was in a Texas Tornado!!I can see making this for a church potluck! Thanks, Kelly.
Kelly Bloom
I LOVE this cake! I'll have a Rhubarb "dump" cake posted soon too!