A deliciously fresh cake recipe that is perfect for warmer weather! Make this easy Cherry Pineapple Punch Bowl Cake recipe your go-to dessert for summer entertaining!

This Cherry Pineapple Punch Bowl Cake is the perfect recipe to feed a crowd for summer barbecues, bridal showers, picnics, and parties. The red and yellow colors blend together in a trifle dish, making this a beautiful dessert that couldn’t be easier to make.

Guests will love the tangy/sweet flavors of the cake, fruit, and Cool Whip combo that melts in the mouth. You’ll love that this recipe uses cake and pudding mix from a box, making it extremely easy to make and serve.

punch bowl cake with cherries and pudding

What You’ll Love About this Cake

There’s a lot to love about this punch bowl cake! Here are some of my favorite things:

It only requires six ingredients.
Box cake mix and box pudding make this recipe so easy to put together.
The bright colors of the pineapple and cherries layered together make this a recipe that presents beautifully.
Feed a crowd easily with this simple dessert!
Easy to modify. See our modification options below to make this dessert gluten-free or a lower calorie option.

What is Punch Bowl Cake?

Served in a traditional punch bowl or trifle dish, this delicious dessert is just like its name. Layers of cake, cherries, pineapple, and Cool Whip whipped topping fill your punch bowl for a dessert that will please a crowd!

Best of all, you can prepare it in advance and let it cool before your summer event.

Much like icebox desserts, this punch bowl cake comes together with simple ingredients, making it an elegant dessert that is great for a dinner party or family reunions. It has varying textures and flavors based on what you add.

How to Make Cherry Pineapple Punch Bowl Cake

Bake. Bake the cake according to the directions on the cake box using a 9×13″ baking pan. You can also buy a pound cake or angel food cake that is pre-made.
Make. Make the pudding according to the directions on the pudding box.
Prepare. Drain the pineapple well.
Assemble. Now it’s time to put together the layers of your cake. Grab your punchbowl or large trifle bowl and crumble half of the cake into the bottom.
Layer. Follow by spreading half the pudding over the cake, half of the pineapple over the pudding, one can of cherry pie filling over the pineapple, and half of the Cool Whip over the cherry pie filling.

pudding layered on cake for punch bowl cake

cherries layered on cake for punch bowl cake

Repeat. Repeat the layers: cake crumble, pudding, pineapple, cherry pie filling and Cool Whip.

Top it. Sprinkle the top with chopped pecans.
Cover. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

top view of punch bowl cake with whipped cream and nuts

Here is the order of the layers, starting from the bottom:

½ of the cake, crumbled
½ of the pudding mixture
½ of the crushed pineapple
1 can of cherry pie filling
½ of the Cool Whip
Remainder of the cake crumble
Rest of the pudding mixture
Final crushed pineapple
Second can of cherry pie filling
Remainder of Cool Whip
Topped with chopped pecans

You’ll have 11 layers total of goodness that will melt in your mouth!

What Brands of Cake and Pudding Should I Use?

You can use any brand of cake mix or pudding mix for this. Even a gluten-free cake mix will work to make this recipe gluten-free.

Lower Calorie Options

Make this dessert lower calorie / lower sugar by making simple modifications. Choose a few of these modifications, or make them all, depending on your preference.

Here are the swaps you can make to create a lighter version of the cake:

Sugar-free pudding. Reduce sugar content by using sugar-free pudding.
Sugar free cake mix. Reduce sugar content by using sugar-free boxed cake mix.
No Sugar Added pie filling. Reduce sugar content by using no-sugar added cherry pie filling.
Fat-free or sugar-free Cool Whip. Reduce sugar and/or fat content by swapping out a lighter version of Cool Whip.

Recipe Variations

Use chocolate cake and chocolate pudding paired with the cherry pie filling for a black forest punch bowl cake.
Add slices of bananas, coconut and fresh strawberries for a tropical flair.
Love all chocolate? Use chocolate cake, chocolate pudding and chocolate whipped cream for a chocolate punch bowl cake.
Use colorful sprinkles on top and funfetti cake for a birthday party.
Add a layer of fresh blueberries for a patriotic summer bbq or the fourth of July.

Cherry Pineapple Punch Bowl Cake

4.91 from 10 votes

A deliciously fresh cake recipe that is perfect for summer entertaining. Cherry Pineapple Punch Bowl Cake is easy to make and feeds a crowd.

Servings 20

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

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Ingredients

1 box yellow cake mix (prepared according to package directions)
5.1 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix (1 large box, prepared according to package directions)
3.4 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix (1 small box, prepared according to package directions)
40 ounces crushed pineapple (drained) (2 cans)
42 ounces cherry pie filling (2 cans, 21 ounces each)
16 ounces Cool Whip or homemade whipped cream
½ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Bake the cake according to box directions.
Make the pudding (both large and small boxes) according to box directions.
Drain the pineapple well.
In a punchbowl or large trifle dish*, crumble half of the cake into the bottom.
Spread half of the pudding over the top of the cake.
Spread half of the pineapple over the pudding.
Spread one can of cherry pie filling over the pineapple.
Spread half of the Cool Whip over the cherry pie filling.
Repeat the layers.
Sprinkle the top with chopped pecans.
Cover the top with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving.

Notes

*I used a 12.6” footed cake dome that can be used as a punch bowl. This used up all of the ingredients shown and the bowl was full. If you use a large bowl (435 ounces or more), you may need more ingredients. If you use a smaller bowl, you may have leftovers and you could make individual servings with the extra.

*Use instant cheesecake pudding or white chocolate pudding if you’d like to slightly change the flavor.

The calories shown are based on the cake serving 20, with 1 serving being 1/20 of the recipe. Note…the calories for this cake will vary greatly since there are so many variations you can make and not all punch bowls may be the same size. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**