Elvis Presley Cake – A Popular Version of Ice Box Cake

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A popular version of Ice Box Cake, this Elvis Presley Cake is said to have been his favorite. Whether it was or not, this easy-to-make and mouthwateringly moist cake is sure to become one of yours.

♫ Elvis Presley Cake ♫

This post is dedicated to Su, one of my readers from Australia. Several years back, Su and her mother (a huge Elvis fan) came to the US to visit Graceland and I went and met up with them during their time here and we all had a grand day together!

This cake is said to have been one that Elvis’s cook made for him on a regular basis. Apparently, his favorite ingredient was the crushed pineapple. The cake is made from a vanilla pudding and yellow cake mix and you actually poke holes in the cake to let the sweet and juicy pineapple and sugar mixture soak right in. The cherry on top is a cream cheese and pecan icing. In the end, you have a deliciously sweet and moist cake that will probably become your favorite as well!

This is what we call an Ice Box Cake. Many in the greatest generation still refer to their refrigerators as iceboxes. Ice Box Cake recipes and pies are good any time of the year because they keep so much longer than regular cakes. Check out some of our other Ice Box Cake recipes like Lemon Icebox Cake and Icebox Fruitcake.

Ingredients to make Elvis Presley Cake.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Sugar
  • Oil
  • Milk
  • Crushed pineapple
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla instant pudding
  • A box of yellow cake mix (In the South, we have an unnatural fixation with Duncan Hine’s cake mix).

Icing ingredients are coming up in a few photos but of course, the entire recipe is in printable format at the bottom of this post too.

Helpful Kitchen Tools

How to Make Elvis Presley Cake (A Version of an Ice Box Cake)

Add milk, pudding and cake mix to mixing bowl and mix well.

Pour milk into a mixing bowl. Add oil, eggs, pudding mix, and cake mix.

Smooth cake mix.

Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for about a minute, then stop and scrape down the sides. Continue mixing for about two more minutes, until smooth.

Try not to taste this batter. Seriously, try really hard not to taste it. If you do, there may not be any left to actually bake. It’s that stinking good! 

Bake cake mix in baking dish.

Spray your 9×13-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cook pineapple and sugar in saucepot.

While that is in the oven, pour pineapple into a saucepot, juice and all.

Add sugar and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then remove from heat.

Add pineapple mix to top of baked cake.

While hot, poke a whole bunch of holes in the top of the cake with a fork. You could use the tip of a wooden spoon too if you like for a traditional poke cake.

Don’t stop until it looks like a swarm of four fanged mosquitoes took hold of it!

Spoon pineapple and juice over the hot cake, letting it soak in.

It should look like the picture above.  

Now let’s make us some icing while that’s a coolin’!

How to make icing.

For the icing, you will need cream cheese, butter, confectioner’s sugar, and crushed pecans. You can also add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the frosting if you like.

Place softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Toss in butter and mix until light and fluffy. Add confectioner’s sugar and beat with an electric mixer until well incorporated and creamy, scraping down sides as need be.

Add in pecans and mix just until incorporated. 

Spread icing over cake.

Once you have a cool cake on your hands, drop the icing in dollops onto the top of it. 

We are doing this to keep from stirring up all of our pineapple into our icing.

Complete Elvis Presley Cake

Spread and smooth to ice cake. Top with additional chopped pecans, if desired.

Slice of Elvis Presley Cake.

Cover and refrigerate the cake until fully chilled. Then you can take a BIG OLD KING-SIZED BITE of this delicious dessert in honor of Elvis!

Storage

  • When stored in an airtight container in the fridge, Elvis Cake leftovers will last up to 5 days.
  • You can also store leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.

Recipe Notes

  • To really enhance the pineapple flavor, opt to use a pineapple cake mix. You could also use a simple white cake mix.
  • We love pecans in the South, but you can substitute them for walnuts or omit them altogether.

Recipe FAQs

Can I make Elvis Presley Cake ahead of time?

Absolutely! It actually tastes best when it’s had time to chill in the fridge, so you can bake and store the cake, covered, in the fridge overnight if you like.

Elvis Presley Cake

A popular version of Ice Box Cake, this easy-to-make and mouthwateringly moist Elvis Presley Cake was his favorite and will soon be yours too!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cake
Servings: 4
Calories: 508kcal

Ingredients

CAKE:

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 1 box vanilla pudding 3-ounce box that's not sugar-free
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 can crushed pineapple 16 ounces, undrained
  • 1 cup sugar

FROSTING:

  • 1 package cream cheese 8 ounces, softened to room temperature
  • 1/2 cup butter softened to room temperature
  • 3 cups confectioner's sugar
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans optional

(You can also add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the frosting if you like)

    Instructions

    • Please cake mix, pudding, eggs, oil, and milk in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for one minute. Scrape down sides and beat again for about two minutes, or until smooth.
      1 box yellow cake mix, 1 box vanilla pudding, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup oil, 1 cup milk
    • Pour batter into greased 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
    • While the cake is baking, place pineapple and sugar into a medium saucepan on the stovetop. Bring just to a boil over medium-high heat while stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
      1 can crushed pineapple, 1 cup sugar
    • Once the cake is done, remove the dish from the oven and poke holes all over the top with a fork. While the cake is still hot, pour the hot pineapple mixture over the top and spread to cover. Let cool.
    • For frosting, place the butter and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add confectioner's sugar gradually, scraping down sides as needed, while beating with an electric mixer. Stir in pecans, if desired.
      1 package cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter, 3 cups confectioner's sugar, 1/2 cup chopped pecans
    • Drop dollops of the icing onto the top of the cooled cake. Slowly spread the dollops together to cover the cake, being careful not to disturb the pineapple topping. Sprinkle the finished cake with additional pecans, if desired.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 508kcal
    Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

    Rhythm is something you either have or you don’t have. But when you have it, you have it all over. 

    ~Elvis Presley

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    131 Comments

    1. Christy, I wanted to tell you that I have been making this cake since September 21, 2008, which was not long after you posted it! I have made it so many times that my recipe paper is stained & has notes all over it. For about 10 or 15 years I’ve kept all my recipes in binders, & my recipes are on printer paper that I”ve 3 hole punched. I always put the date on my recipes anytime I make something. It was really cool to read a post of yours a couple years ago where I think you tell about how you do this very thing! I think I even saved binder dividers that you made one time, but I haven’t printed them off yet. Anyway, this recipe paper for this cake has been dated about 15 times! Most of the time I have noted that I made it for my husband’s b-day or father’s day. He loves this cake so much, as we all do! I took a picture of my recipe so I can email it to you sometime, because I thought you’d get a kick out of it. However, the picture is still on my phone. I’ll try to get that done & send it to you. Thank you so much for all the work & effort you put into you site, & for all the wonderful recipes you share with us. I have made MANY of your recipes, & they always turn out terrific! Thanks again!

      1. Linda, you have just made my year!! Thank you so much for all of your support over the years, it means so much to me and I am so honored to be a part of your family meals!! If you want to share your photo on the Fellowship page sometime feel free!! I can’t wait to see it!

    2. I made this cake as one of the desserts for Christmas. O.M.G. This was the best cake EVER.

      When I took it out of the oven, and poked holes in it, then poured the pineapple (juice and all), it was soggy and I panicked, thought I messed up somehow. But I just put it in the fridge, and let it set all night, and did the frosting the next morning. I served it cold.

      People RAVED over it. A few people questioned whether I REALLY made it myself. LOL THAT’s how good it is. This is on my list of special occasion cakes……I can’t emphasize enough how good this is. THANK YOU!!!

        1. I wonder how it would be with brown sugar in the pineapple? I have people in my family willing to PAY me to make the cake. They are STILL talking about it. I am making 2, so I am going to try one with brown sugar, just to see. It’s perfection all on its own……but I am curious. I will get back to you with the results. 🙂

    3. i can’t find Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Yellow Cake Mix. I have the Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix. will it be almost as good? or will I have a huge mess. lol.

    4. I just made this using a Duncan Hines lemon cake mix because I didn’t have a yellow cake mix on hand. It turned out awesome!!

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