Paula Deen Cake

This cake is di-vine.

It's also surprisingly light and very moist.

It has 5 out of 5 stars from 618 comments on foodnetwork.com.

Trust me, this one's a keeper.

Paula Deen Cake

1 yellow cake mix + ingredients to prepare

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple

1 1/3 cups sugar, divided

1 (3.4oz) box French vanilla pudding + milk to prepare

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup flaked, sweetened coconut

Toast coconut on a cookie sheet at 350 until lightly golden, about 10 minutes.

Watch closely so it doesn't burn! Cool completely.

Prepare yellow cake mix as directed using a sprayed 13x9 pan

 and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

While cake is baking, combine the pineapple and 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan,

and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Remove cake from oven and using a fork, pierce holes into cake.

Pour pineapple mixture over hot cake and set aside.

Prepare pudding according to package directions.

Spread pudding over cake and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Whip heavy cream and remaining sugar until stiff.

Cover top of cake with whipped cream and sprinkle toasted coconut on top.

*The coconut on this cake is a must, and I'm not even a huge coconut fan.

Store coconut separately and sprinkle on when serving so it will retain it's light crunch.

Recipe & photo courtesy of foodnetwork.com