Pineapple Coconut Cake

I love this cake. It’s simple, delicious, and uses stuff I usually have hanging around. I feel like it is perfectly plausible eat it this cake for dessert or breakfast, because it’s coconut and pineapple- perfectly healthy. The colour scheme reminds me of daisies, and it gets eaten up rather quickly.

I’ve tried it with other fruits, with mixed berries or peaches going over best. I’ve even done it with rhubarb, and frankly- it was tasty, but I don’t think it’s necessarily the best framework to show off rhubarb. Toasted almonds are a nice substitute for the coconut too. I haven’t done it in muffin or mini cake pans, but I think it would make a wonderful single serving dessert, served with fresh fruit and drizzled glaze. We generally don’t use the glaze, but now consulting the recipe, I see it’s actually called “Sticky Pineapple Cake” but we’ve been calling it Pineapple Coconut Cake. Hm, it just doesn’t feel sticky if you omit the glaze.

This is from Michelle Cranston’s Fresh which was a gift from Tony’s brother and sister-in-law (thanks Tim and Nerida!). The pictures are beautiful, and the recipes are focused on eating fresh, in season food, put together with a minimum of fuss. It’s an Aussie book- which means their seasons and fresh food do not quite coincide with ours, so it feels slightly exotic without being actually foreign.

Sticky Pineapple Cake
1 ½ C sugar
2 C coconut, lightly toasted
1 C coconut milk
1 ½ C diced fresh pineapple
4 eggs
2 C all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder

Glaze
1 tbsp butter, softened
1 C icing
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (orange or lemon is also good)

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line an 10 inch spring form pan with parchment paper (I usually scoff at parchment paper, but I sincerely recommend it for this cake batter in a spring form pan).
3. Put the sugar, coconut, coconut milk, pineapple and eggs into a bowl and stir until combined.
4. Combine flour and baking powder, and fold into the wet mixture.
Pour into the prepare pan.
5. Bake for 1 hour, or until lightly golden and the middle is cooked through.
6. Beat the butter and icing sugar together until thoroughly combined. Add the lime juice slowly, mixing at the same time to retain smoothness. Pour over the warm cake.