Pineapple Coconut Tropical Cake
Our younger ones birthday falls during Easter time and he usually likes chocolate flavored cake. This year I decided to make a tropical flavored cake as I was so much looking forward for some summery days. The birthday boy loved the cake.
I wanted to try this non-alcoholic Pina Colada cake flavor for a long time and a birthday was the right occasion to try it. This flavorful fruity cake is by far my favorite fruity cake I ever made. It was an instant hit. There was barely 2 pieces left for me to take the pictures once the cake was cut. It was that good. I highly recommend to try this cake for your special occasion.
Yields - 8 x 4'' loaf cake with 4 layers
Vanilla Cake
sugar - 3/4 cup
3 - eggs
1 1/2 tsp - pure vanilla extract
Pine Apple Filling
2 cups - fresh pineapple
1/4 cup - granulated sugar
1 tsp - lemon juice
1 tsp - corn starch
Coconut Whipped Cream Frosting
1 1/4 cup + 1/4 cup - cold heavy whipping cream (unsweetened) divided
10 tbsp - powdered sugar
15 drops - coconut extract
2 tbsp - dry coconut milk powder (refer notes)
Vanilla Cake
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 ° F.
- Line a 8 x 8'' cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a sauce pan, add milk and butter. Warm it till the butter melts. Turn off the flame.
- Sift together flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.
- Beat the egg and sugar together to form a fluffy mix using a stand mixer or hand mixer. If using stand mixer, use the whisk attachment.
- Gently fold in the flour mix into the wet ingredients till everything is mixed well.
- Add the warm butter & milk mix into it. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake it for 25 - 30 minutes till a tooth pick comes out clean when tested.
- Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
Pineapple Filling
- Blend the fresh pineapple to get a thick puree.
- Transfer the puree into a sauce pan. Add the sugar, lemon juice and corn starch to it and let it cook for 8-10 minutes till the puree thickens up.
- Let the filling cool down completely. Refrigerate the filling for at least 1hr.
Whipped Cream Frosting
- Mix 2 tbsp coconut milk powder in 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream.
- Whip the 1 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar till soft peaks are attained.
- Add the coconut extract, coconut milk whipping cream mix to the whipped cream and whip it till sharp peaks are attained.
Assembling the Cake
- Cut the corners of the cake to get even square piece of cake.
- Cut the cake into half vertically to get two 8 x 4 '' loaves.
- Cut each 8 x 4'' loaf horizontally into 2 layers. You should end up with 4 layers of 8 x 4'' cake pieces.
- Apply some frosting on the cake stand and place one cake on it.
- Spread a layer of the pineapple filling on the top of the cake.
- Apply a layer of whipped frosting on top of the pineapple filling. I used a piping bag with round nozzle to do this step.
- Place the second cake on top of it. Repeat pineapple filling and whipped frosting layers on top of the second cake.
- Repeat the filling process till the final cake is placed and crumb coat with the frosting.
- Top them with remaining pine apple filling and decorate with rest of the whipped frosting.
- Refrigerate the cake till ready to serve.
Notes
- Over beating the whipped frosting will curdle the whipped cream. So make sure to stop whipping once stiff peaks are formed.
- Don't use fresh pineapple with the cream for the filling. The bromelain in the fresh pineapple when mixed with dairy product will end with bitter taste. Cooking the pineapple will remove the bromelain.
- I used the Maggie Coconut powder . You can find it in any Indian grocery store.
