Preheat oven to 350° (177°C). Spray a 9X13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the cake mix (1 box), canned crushed pineapple with the juice of ONE can, eggs (4), sugar (1/4 cup), vegetable oil (1/4 cup), and vanilla (1 teaspoon) and mix with a hand-held electric mixer for 2 minutes.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
Cool the cake in the pan, set on a wire baking rack, until completely cooled.
Frosting:
In a medium bowl combine the well-drained crushed pineapple (1 can) and the pudding mix (1 pack) until the pineapple is evenly coated with the mix. Let the mixture sit for 2 minutes
Fold in the thawed whip topping (1 container) until evenly combined. Spread frosting evenly over the top of the cake and garnish, if desired, with well-drained pineapple tidbits and Maraschino cherries.
Notes
Cake Mix - When making this yummy pineapple cake, forget about the directions on the box. The cake mix is for flavor and convenience, but we can just forget they printed those there. We’re going to be blending the cake ingredients together all at once. It’s a bit unusual but super simple and full of flavor!
Pineapple in the cake - Remember to leave only one can of the pineapple AS IS when adding to the cake batter. You want to make sure the juice is mixed in. It adds a substantial amount of flavor. You’ll fold in another can of drained pineapple after, once your batter has been fully mixed, but before pouring it into the pan.
Pineapple in the frosting - When you mix up your frosting, DRAIN the pineapple tidbits very well. This will save your end result from becoming runny. For any garnishes, I suggest pineapple and maraschino cherries, which should be drained well too!
Pan size – You can make this cake in a 9×13 as indicated, but you can also do two 9-inch round pans to create a layer cake. You can also use a larger sheet cake pan. You might have to make more frosting, depending on how thick you want it!