Serve a fruit course after dinner — in the form of a pineapple cake! To make the faux fruit, Food Network Magazine baked cakes in two bowls and a 6-inch pan. Then they covered the whole thing with yellow frosting and candy melts to resemble a ripe pineapple. There’s fresh pineapple in the cake, so it tastes like the real thing, and you can use the leaves of the pineapple as the finishing touch! Keep reading to see how this larger than life creation comes together!

Get the Recipe: Pineapple Cake

Step One

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Cut off the top of the pineapple and set aside. Peel the pineapple and finely chop 1/2 cup for the cake.

Step Two

Generously coat one 6-inch round cake pan and two 1-quart ovenproof bowls with cooking spray. Prepare the cake mix as directed; stir in the diced pineapple.

Step Three

Divide the batter among the pan and bowls. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes for the pan and 35 minutes for the bowls. Let cool, then unmold.

Step Four

Trim the domed tops of all three cakes with a long serrated knife to make them level.

Step Five

Put one bowl cake, wide-side up, on a small cardboard circle. Top with a layer of frosting, then add the round cake, more frosting and the other bowl cake, wide-side down.

Step Six

Tint the remaining frosting yellow with food coloring. Spread all over the outside of the cake in a thin layer, reserving about 1/2 cup.

Step Seven

Cover the cake with the yellow candy melts, arranging them side by side and staggered; leave an opening at the top for the leaves.

Step Eight

Dip the back of a small spoon in the reserved yellow frosting and dab on the upper part of each candy melt to make a small point.

Step Nine

Trim the base of the pineapple leaves, then carefully place on the cake.

All Photographs by Ryan Dausch

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