Elvis Presley Cake also known as jailhouse rock cake is a white cake with pineapple, cream cheese frosting and pecans. You can make a small cake in the Instant Pot or a normal size cake in the oven.

Elvis Presley Cake
Elvis Presley Cake is basically a pineapple poke cake. You start with a cake mix and end with pineapple, homemade cream cheese frosting, and pecans. This Elvis Presley cake is moist and fruity. It’s no wonder this was Elvis’s favorite cake. Evidently, Elvis used to ask his Grandma to make him this cake every time he visited.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Oil
- White–or yellow cake mix, spice cake mix, pineapple cake mix
- Egg
- Crushed pineapple
- White sugar
- Cream cheese
- Butter
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Crushed pecans
Basic Steps
- Prepare cake mix.
- Prepare pot-in-pot cake pan.
- Pressure cook the cake. Poke holes in the cake with a wooden skewer.
- Make the pineapple layer.
- Make the frosting.
- Assemble the cake with the pineapple layer, frosting and pecans.
- Slice, eat and enjoy!
Equipment Used…
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in an 8 quart pot.
- I used my OXO sling* to drop the cake pan into the Instant Pot and to retrieve it.
- I used my 7×3 inch Fat Daddios pan* sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to bake my cake.
Notes
- The difference between oven baked cake and pressure cooker cake is that the Instant Pot cake will be much for dense and moist and the oven cake will be more light and airy.
- Store your cake in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. It may become mushy because of the pineapple layer so enjoy it within a day or two.
- Some people like stirring the pecans in with the cream cheese frosting. Both ways are good!
- Pineapple and coconut go well together…try adding in a little coconut with the cream cheese frosting. Or even topping the cake with some toasted coconut.

More Instant Pot Desserts
Instant Pot Pumpkin Bites
Mini crustless pumpkin cheesecakes cooked quickly in your pressure cooker.
Instant Pot Pumpkin Pie Crisp
Pumpkin pie and crisp together. Doesn’t that sound like a perfect treat for a fall day? With this Instant Pot/Crockpot recipe, it’s easier than ever to enjoy pie and crisp in the same dessert. Let’s get started!
Instant Pot Hummingbird Cake
A moist spice bundt cake with pecans, banana, crushed pineapple and cream cheese frosting!
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.


Elvis Presley Cake
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
A white cake with pineapple, cream cheese frosting and pecans. You can make a small cake in the Instant Pot or a normal size cake in the oven.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
- 1 1/2 cups white or yellow cake mix
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup crushed pineapple
- 1/2 white sugar
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup crushed pecans
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl stir together oil, cake mix, egg and water until smooth.
- Spray a pot in pot cake pan with non-stick spray. Pour the cake batter into the pan. Cover the pan with foil.
- Pour 1 ½ cups of water into bottom of Instant Pot. Place the cake pan on a sling/trivet. Lower the pan into the Instant Pot. Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 35 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid. Invert cake onto a plate or a platter. Poke holes all over the cake with a wooden skewer or a fork. Let the cake cool.
- While cake is cooling make the pineapple layer. Dump water out of Instant Pot and dry the pot. Turn Instant pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the pineapple and the white sugar. Bring to a boil and stir for about 4 minutes. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Make the frosting by mixing together softened cream cheese, ¼ cup softened butter, powdered sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer.
- Assemble the cake by spreading the pineapple mixture so it evenly covers the cake. Then drop the frosting by dollops onto the cake. Then smooth out the frosting and spreading as best as you can. Finally sprinkle the pecans on top of the cake.
- Slice, eat and enjoy!
Notes
To make this cake in the oven: prepare the entire box of cake mix according to package directions. Bake according to package directions in a 9×13 inch pan. Double all the other ingredients (the pineapple and frosting) and prepare as stated in directions above. The oven version makes about 12 servings.
Some versions of this cake mix the pecans in with the frosting. That would be delicious too!
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Instant Pot or Oven

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I did make this recipe and it was delicious! I did drain some of the juice from the pineapple and it was perfect! Cake did not get soggy! Thank you Karen, for all the delicious recipe you send us! Keep them coming! Happy Thanksgiving Karen!
★★★★★
Happy Thanksgiving to you Helen! Thanks for your nice review!
I have only ever made this in the oven with the doubled size, but wanted to note that the first time, I only had the small can of crushed pineapple, so I went with that—and we all agreed that 2 cups probably would have made it far too mushy. It’s so decadent and so good!
★★★★★
Thanks Phyllis for the tip!
can this be adapted for a 4 quart crock pot? If so, how should it be done?
I think so. Here’s how I would try:
In a mixing bowl stir together oil, cake mix, egg and water until smooth. Spray crockpot with non stick spray. Pour the batter in. Cook on high for 2-4 hours, or until cake is done (all slow cookers cook differently).
Invert cake onto a plate or a platter. Poke holes all over the cake with a wooden skewer or a fork. Let the cake cool.
While cake is cooling make the pineapple layer. Heat pineapple and the white sugar in a pan on the stove. Bring to a boil and stir for about 4 minutes.
Make the frosting by mixing together softened cream cheese, ¼ cup softened butter, powdered sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer.
Assemble the cake by spreading the pineapple mixture so it evenly covers the cake. Then drop the frosting by dollops onto the cake. Then smooth out the frosting and spreading as best as you can. Finally sprinkle the pecans on top of the cake.
Slice, eat and enjoy!
I would cook the cake in the slow cooker. Make sure to grease the slow cooker or you’ll never get it out. You can cook on high for 2-3 hours. Then follow instructions for pineapple layer and frosting.
Do you drain the pineapple?
I did not drain the pineapple. It will have some liquid and that’s okay. The juice goes into the holes poked into the cake.
How much sugar goes in with the pineapple? Recipe left out amount. Thank you!
Recipe calls for 1/2 cup white sugar, right below the pineapple. I don’t see where the recipe calls for sugar other than with the pineapple so I assume that half cup goes with the pineapple.
Sorry it is supposed to say 1/2 cup