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Home » Recipes » Cake Recipes

Last Updated: Aug 9, 2022 by Angela Latimer · 14 Comments

Preacher Cake

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Preacher Cake (Preachers Delight) with Cream Cheese Frosting

Preacher cake is such an amazing dessert that originally started out as a Southern treat with the goal of being fast! This cake is loaded with a huge variety of different mix-ins. The flavor of the pineapple, coconut, and walnuts is a subtle part of the cake, which is then paired with a tasty cream cheese frosting and topped with more walnuts and coconut!

Best Preacher Cake Recipe

This preacher cake is loaded with so many different flavors and textures! You have sweet pineapple, crunchy nuts, chewy coconut, and moist cake! Not to mention the delicious cream cheese frosting!

The best thing about this delicious cake? It doesn't matter how good of a 'baker' you might think you are. It's really easy and turns out with great results! You'll look absolutely brilliant!

A not-too-dense cake that is packed with flavor and topped with a creamy frosting and toasted coconut...yum!!
Jump to:
  • Best Preacher Cake Recipe
  • 🌎 Origin
  • 🥘Preacher Cake Ingredients
  • 🔪 How To Make Preacher Cake
  • 💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
  • ❓ Is There A Difference Between Preacher Cake And Hummingbird Cake?
  • ❓ Can I Make Preacher Cake Using Boxed Cake Mix?
  • ❓ How Can I Make My Cake Moist And Fluffy?
  • 🍰 More Cake Recipes!
  • 📖 Recipe Card
  • 💬 Comments & Reviews

🌎 Origin

The name 'preacher cake' refers to back when preachers used to stop by your house to visit. This, of course, typically involved serving them dinner.

The idea here is that this cake is made up of ingredients that you already have at home, so you won't need to plan it in advance or make a grocery store run. Therefore, you can make this cake in a pinch when you're having a last-minute get-together.

🥘Preacher Cake Ingredients

Don't let the long ingredient list fool you, these are almost all common items that you already have at home! Anything else can easily be purchased at any grocery store.

Preacher Cake

  • Flour - 3 cups of all-purpose flour.
  • Baking Soda - 2 teaspoons of baking soda.
  • Salt - 1 teaspoon of salt.
  • Cinnamon - ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
  • Nutmeg (optional) - ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg.
  • Sugar - 2 cups of sugar.
  • Eggs - 3 large eggs.
  • Vegetable Oil - 1 cup of vegetable oil.
  • Vanilla Extract - 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
  • Crushed Pineapple - 1 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple (not drained, or 2½ cups of fresh, pureed pineapple).
  • Walnuts - 1½ cups of finely crushed walnuts (or pecans, divided into 1 cup and ½ cup portions).
  • Coconut - 1 cup of sweetened coconut flakes.
  • Toasted Coconut (optional) - ¼ cup of toasted coconut flakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Cream Cheese - 8 ounces of room temperature cream cheese.
  • Butter - ½ cup of softened, room temperature butter.
  • Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
  • Heavy Cream - 2 tablespoons of heavy cream.
  • Confectioner's Sugar - 2 cups of confectioner's sugar.

*Be sure to see the recipe card below for ingredients, amounts, & instructions!*

🔪 How To Make Preacher Cake

Don't forget to let your cream cheese and butter come to room temperature! You're going to need mixing bowls, a stand mixer or hand mixer, and a 9x13 baking pan.

This recipe will give you 12 decently-sized portions of cake, so you'll have plenty left over!

Make The Preacher Cake

  1. Preheat. To begin, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and spray or coat a 9x13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter (*see note).
  2. Combine dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, combine 3 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg. Set aside.
  3. Combine wet ingredients. In a separate large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of sugar, 3 eggs, 1 cup of vegetable oil, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Mix until smooth and creamy.
  4. Combine dry and wet ingredients. Next, gradually add the dry ingredients mixture to your large bowl that contains the wet ingredients until all of the dry ingredients have been added, mixing gently between each addition. Mix just until the flour is all wet and do not over-mix.
  5. Add mix-ins. Add a 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple, 1 cup of crushed walnuts, and 1 cup of flaked coconut. Mix just enough to fully combine the ingredients and make more of a normal batter.
  6. Bake and cool. Pour the batter into your prepared 9x13 baking pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, in the pan, on a cooling rack.

Make The Cream Cheese Frosting

  1. Cream the butter. First, using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream 8 ounces of cream cheese, ½ cup of butter, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla together until light and fluffy.
  2. Add cream and sugar. Next, alternate adding 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and 2 cups of confectioners sugar, whisking or beating between each, until it is fluffy and spreadable (*see note).
  3. Frost the cake. Finally, spread the cream cheese frosting over the cake, then top with ½ cup of crushed walnuts or pecans and ¼ cup of toasted coconut.

This preacher cake is loaded with a variety of different mix-ins and topped with cream cheese frosting- how could it possibly need anything else? If you're feeling extra daring, you could always add on a scoop of some vanilla ice cream! Enjoy!

💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes

  • After spraying your pan with the nonstick spray, you can coat it with sugar which gives it a fantastic crunchy crust on the cake!
  • When adding cream and confectioners sugar, make sure you are alternating by adding 1 tablespoon of heavy cream, then 1 cup of confectioners sugar, then repeat.
  • If the frosting is too thick, drizzle in another tablespoon of heavy cream, whisk/beat some more. If it is still too thick, add another tablespoon of heavy cream and repeat until the texture is fluffy and easily spreadable (but not runny).
  • I made my cake in a 9x13 pan. However, you can layer it by using two round cake pans but they’ll take slightly less time to bake so watch them closely.
  • To store your preacher cake leftovers, place them in the fridge covered or in an airtight container
Preacher Cake (Preachers Delight) with Cream Cheese Frosting

❓ Is There A Difference Between Preacher Cake And Hummingbird Cake?

The flavors between hummingbird cake and preacher cake are extremely similar. The biggest variance between the two is that hummingbird cake uses ripe bananas!

❓ Can I Make Preacher Cake Using Boxed Cake Mix?

If you're wanting to make this recipe even easier than it already is, you can use boxed cake mix. Specifically, I recommend using spice cake mix.

You can omit the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar from the recipe. Additionally, go ahead and substitute the vegetable oil for ½ cup of melted butter. Don't follow the instructions on the back of the box, instead, just follow the recipe as written, only altering the ingredients mentioned.

❓ How Can I Make My Cake Moist And Fluffy?

I have two big tips when it comes to making some extra moist and fluffy cake! First, make sure you are using room temperature butter (and other ingredients, such as milk, that are written as room temperature in the recipe). Ingredients that are room temperature mix together more easily and, as a result, prevent the need for overmixing.

This brings me to tip number 2- don't overmix your cake batter! The process in which you cream your butter and sugar allows the butter to trap air which then expands while baking, giving you a nice and fluffy cake! If you overmix, the butter traps too much air, causing the cake to fluff up too much and then deflate, losing your fluffy consistency.

🍰 More Cake Recipes!

  • Weight Watchers 7Up Cake
  • Tres Leches Cake
  • Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
  • Rainbow Cake
  • Railway Cake
  • Peach Dump Cake

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📖 Recipe Card

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4.89 from 18 reviews

Preacher Cake (Preachers Delight) with Cream Cheese Frosting

This old fashioned Southern dessert cake is a snap to make and absolutely tasty!
Author | Angela Latimer
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 460kcal
Prep 10 minutes minutes
Cooking 45 minutes minutes
Total Time 55 minutes minutes
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Ingredients
 

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or paste)
  • 1 20 oz can crushed pineapple (with all of the juice - or 2 ½ cups fresh, pureed)
  • 1 ½ cups walnuts or pecans (finely crushed - divided 1 cup & ½ cup portions)
  • 1 cup coconut (flaked, sweetened)
  • ¼ cup toasted coconut (optional, for topping)

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

  • 1 8 oz package cream cheese (softened, at room temperature)
  • ½ cup butter (1 stick - softened, at room temperature)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or paste)
  • 2 tablespoon heavy cream (add more as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time)
  • 2 cups confectioners sugar

(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)

Help Us Out!If you love a recipe, be sure to come back and share your ratings. This helps future users, and allows me to continue sharing free recipes! Angela

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and spray or coat a 9 x 13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter. I buttered mine and then coated it with sugar, which makes for a fantastic crunchy crust on the cake.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and (optional) nutmeg.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Mix until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the dry ingredients mixture until all of the dry ingredients have been added and mix just until the flour is all wet. Do not over-mix.
  • Add the crushed or pureed pineapple, the first 1 cup portion of crushed walnuts or pecans, and the flaked coconut. Mix just enough to fully combine the ingredients and make more of a normal batter.
  • Pour the batter into your 9 x 13 baking pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. The toothpick should come out with minimal crumbs. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, in the pan, on a cooling rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together using a hand mixer (or your stand mixer) until light and fluffy.
  • Alternate adding the heavy cream and confectioners sugar, whisking or beating between each - 1 tablespoon of heavy cream, then 1 cup confectioners sugar, then repeat.
  • If the frosting is too thick, drizzle in another tablespoon of heavy cream, whisk/beat some more. If it is still too thick, add another tablespoon of heavy cream and repeat until the texture is fluffy and easily spreadable (but not runny).
  • Spread the frosting over the cake, then top with the 2nd portion of crushed walnuts or pecans and the toasted coconut (optional).
  • *Store any remaining cake in the refrigerator, covered.

Notes

  • After spraying your pan with the nonstick spray, you can coat it with sugar which gives it a fantastic crunchy crust on the cake!
  • When adding cream and confectioners sugar, make sure you are alternating by adding 1 tablespoon of heavy cream, then 1 cup of confectioners sugar, then repeat.
  • If the frosting is too thick, drizzle in another tablespoon of heavy cream, whisk/beat some more. If it is still too thick, add another tablespoon of heavy cream and repeat until the texture is fluffy and easily spreadable (but not runny).
  • I made my cake in a 9x13 pan. However, you can layer it by using two round cake pans but they’ll take slightly less time to bake so watch them closely.
  • To store your preacher cake leftovers, place them in the fridge covered or in an airtight container

Nutrition

Calories: 460kcal (23%) | Carbohydrates: 79g (26%) | Protein: 5g (10%) | Fat: 14g (22%) | Saturated Fat: 9g (56%) | Cholesterol: 77mg (26%) | Sodium: 468mg (20%) | Potassium: 77mg (2%) | Fiber: 1g (4%) | Sugar: 54g (60%) | Vitamin A: 350IU (7%) | Vitamin C: 1mg (1%) | Calcium: 17mg (2%) | Iron: 2mg (11%)
Did you try this recipe? Rate it below!I can’t wait to see your results! Mention @bake_it_with_love or tag #bake_it_with_love!
Course 9x13 Cakes, Cake Recipes, Dessert, Dessert Recipes, Frosting
Cuisine American, Southern
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Comments

    4.89 from 18 votes (16 ratings without comment)

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  1. Glenda Alston says

    April 10, 2023 at 6:56 pm

    5 stars
    I made this cake for the first time when our preacher was coming over to visit and drink coffee. What better cake than a Preacher Cake for a Preacher right? 🤣🤣 Anyway he loved it and so did my family I’m making it again tomorrow for a luncheon. Thank You so much for this awesome recipe.

    Reply
  2. Harnois Sylvie says

    March 19, 2023 at 11:42 am

    5 stars
    Nous étions invités à souper, menu burger de Porc effiloché avec salade de chou, cornichons, frites, couscous.
    J’ai vérifié sur le site et le gâteau du Prédicateur était suggéré, les convives ont bien aimés, j’ai distribué les reste a des membres de ma famille et ils ont tous aimés, il est tendre, rafraîchissant et le crémage miam 😋

    Merci pour cette délicieuse recette❤️ veuillez noter que je n’ai pas broyé les pacanes (Petit oubli) ça fonctionne quand même et j’avais fait un mélange d’ananas frais et en conserve en morceaux que j’ai mis en purée pour les intégrer à la recette.

    "We were invited to dinner, pulled pork burger menu with coleslaw, pickles, fries, couscous.
    I checked on the site and the Preacher's cake was suggested, the guests liked it, I distributed the rest to members of my family and they all liked it, it is tender, refreshing and the cream yum 😋

    Thank you for this delicious recipe❤️ please note that I did not crush the pecans (Small oversight) it still works and I had made a mixture of fresh and canned pineapple in pieces that I pureed for the incorporate into the recipe."

    Reply
  3. Connie says

    March 02, 2023 at 12:39 pm

    Amazing recipe !! Everyone who tastes it loves it !
    Thank you

    Reply
  4. Barbara Taylor says

    November 01, 2022 at 9:44 am

    When I tried to print this recipe it brought up 27 pages to be printed plus ads all the way through. I clicked on the print icon so I don’t know what he problem is

    Reply
    • Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says

      November 01, 2022 at 11:47 am

      This is the print page and it displays correctly for me: https://bakeitwithlove.com/wprm_print/8335/

      Let me know how this looks for you, thanks!

      Reply
  5. Kathy says

    June 13, 2020 at 9:08 pm

    Can't I use self-rising flour? Omit the salt, baking
    powder and baking soda? Kathy From Kansas. Didn't get a reply. Baked the cake anyway, using self-rising flour. Looked great when I took it out of the oven. Then it fell flat in the middle ?.

    Reply
    • Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says

      June 16, 2020 at 9:35 am

      Hello Kathy, sorry for the delayed response but weekends are usually family time and this last weekend included our daughter's 13th birthday 🙂 and family is here all this week from out of state. Self rising flour can be substituted in recipes that use baking powder only, approximately 1/2 to 1 tsp of baking powder per 1 cup of flour. This cake recipe uses baking soda only, no baking powder, and is not one that I would make a substitution on. I hope that despite the flattened middle, the cake still tasted great!

      Reply
  6. Kathy says

    June 13, 2020 at 3:19 pm

    Can't I use self-rising flour? Omit the salt, baking powder and baking soda? Kathy

    Reply
  7. Carol says

    December 18, 2019 at 8:49 am

    The cake turned out great in the bundt pan. I did as you suggested and put aluminum foil on half baking time so cake didn’t get too dark on top (bottom). The preacher took a big slice as soon as I arrived so I forgot to take a pic. He said it was a keeper!
    Thanks.?

    Reply
    • Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says

      December 18, 2019 at 10:27 am

      Aw Carol, I am so happy to hear that!! Thanks for taking the time to stop back in and let us know the bundt pan version was a success!!

      Reply
  8. Carol says

    December 08, 2019 at 12:55 pm

    Hi.
    Would this batter work well in a bundt pan? I like taking my cakes out of the pan to serve. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says

      December 08, 2019 at 6:19 pm

      Hello Carol, yes this batter will work in a bundt pan! It will possibly require a longer baking time, and you may need to cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent the bottom from getting too dark. Other than that, it should work fabulously, enjoy!

      Reply
      • Carol says

        December 08, 2019 at 6:28 pm

        Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I will do as you suggested. This is for an Ugly Sweater Party at our Pastor's house this weekend so the recipe sounds perfect. Hope it's cool enough! I'm in Miami.

      • Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says

        December 08, 2019 at 6:51 pm

        It's an excellent cake for any occasion! Would love to hear back on the baking time in a bundt pan and hope that your weather gets a hand from our 'polar coaster' here in Minnesota 🙂

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Hi there, I'm Angela

I am an avid vintage cookbook collector, cook, baker, and total foodie. I love sharing new, fun, creative recipes and great classic recipes, just like my Grandma used to make! Every recipe on BIWL is tested to ensure that cooks of any experience level can succeed.

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