Granny Cake is an old fashioned cake that is just as loved today as it was years ago. It’s not only moist and delicious, but it’s incredibly easy to make. This is a great cake for any occasion and I promise it will disappear in no time.

Granny Cake.

If you love pineapple upside down cake, you’ll really love this Granny Cake. You won’t see maraschino cherries in this cake, but there’s plenty of crushed pineapple, brown sugar, butter and flavor!

If you’re looking for a recipe that’s low calorie and healthy, you need to keep on moving down the road…far away from this recipe. Yep, although this cake is delicious, it’s totally a high calorie heart attack dessert. Ha!

Ingredients

CAKE

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, spoon & leveled
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 large (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice (don’t drain)

CRUNCHY TOPPING

  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

SWEET MILK GLAZE

  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Making the cake batter

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or spray a 9 x 13 baking dish.
  2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.
  3. Add the granulated sugar, eggs and crushed pineapple and mix to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the baking dish.

Making the crunchy topping

  1. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and chopped pecans. 
  2. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the cake. Lightly pat it down.
  3. Bake the cake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick test comes out clean

Making the sweet milk glaze

Make the glaze while the cake is baking!

  1. Add the evaporated milk, granulated sugar, and butter to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
  2. Remove from the heat and mix in the vanilla. Pour evenly over the hot cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. Wait about 15 minutes before serving so that the glaze has ample time to soak into the cake.
Granny Cake.

CAN I FREEZE GRANNY CAKE?

Yes, this cake freezes nicely. Make sure to cool completely and wrap securely. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm in a 300 degree oven.

Granny Cake.

Note:

I’ve had a couple comments from readers about using baking powder in this recipe. You can use baking powder or baking soda. Baking soda needs an acid to activate it. The pineapple juice is an acid. The baking powder works with or without the acid. If you use baking powder and your cake doesn’t rise, I suggest checking your baking powder to make sure it is still good. Here is how you can check both.

If you like this cake you might also like…

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cake

If you make this recipe please rate it below and leave a comment on how it turned out. I love hearing from you!

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granny cake.

Granny Cake

  • Author: Cindy @mycountrytable
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 12 servings 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
Print Recipe

Description

This cake is extremely easy to make, mixed in one bowl. It’s very moist and delicious and resembles pineapple upside down cake. It’s also great served at room temp but even better when warm.

Ingredients

Units Scale

CAKE

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, spoon & leveled
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 large (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice (don’t drain)

CRUNCHY TOPPING

  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

SWEET MILK GLAZE

  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

CAKE

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or spray a 9 x 13 baking dish.
  2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the granulated sugar, eggs and crushed pineapple and mix to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the baking dish.

CRUNCHY TOPPING

  1. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and chopped pecans. 
  2. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the cake. Lightly pat it down.
  3. Bake the cake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick test comes out clean. 
  4. While the cake is baking, make the glaze.

SWEET MILK GLAZE

  1. Add the evaporated milk, granulated sugar, and butter to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and mix in the vanilla. Pour evenly over the hot cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. Wait about 15 minutes before serving so that the glaze has ample time to soak into the cake.
  2. Refrigerate leftovers.

 

Notes

  • This cake freezes very nicely.
  • You can leave this cake sitting out on a counter. However, it seems to become more sugary when sitting out.

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