If there really is such a thing as a match made in culinary heaven, it’s got to be pineapple and coconut. Tropical, fruity, and sweet – it’s great in boozy drinks like piña colada AND in tasty desserts. The following recipe will turn your cake dreams into a reality by combining delicious pineapple cake with crispy coconut flakes and throwing in some very Instagram-worthy flower decorations on top for good measure. The kicker? The flowers are edible!
Toasted Coconut Pineapple Cake
Equipment
- Springform pan
- Piping bag & star tip nozzle
- Pipette
Ingredients
- 8 eggs
- 2.25 cups sugar
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 10 oz crushed pineapple
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 0.67 cup orange juice
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 3.5 sticks butter, softened
- 2.75 cups powdered sugar
- 0.67 cup white chocolate chips, melted
- 3 cups toasted coconut flakes
- 8 thin pineapple slices about 1/4-inch thick
- 1 pipette
- 1 cherry juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line the springform pan with parchment paper. Separate the eggs and set the egg yolks aside for now. Add sugar to the egg whites and beat for about 5 minutes until peaks start to form. Then add coconut milk and fold in the flour, baking powder, and egg yolks. Pour the batter into the springform pan and bake for about 70 minutes.
- Meanwhile, take 8 thin pineapple slices (about 1/4-inch thick) and place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Use a pipette filled with cherry juice to create a star pattern on the pineapple slices and then dehydrate them in the oven at 250°F for about 90 minutes. For best results, keep the oven door slightly ajar so that moisture can escape.
- Add the brown sugar to a pot and heat until it has caramelized. Mix the corn starch with a splash of orange juice and add the mixture, along with the crushed pineapple and the rest of the orange juice, to the caramelized brown sugar. Cook for 2-3 minutes and then set the pot aside and let cool.
- For the frosting, beat the softened butter until fluffy and gradually mix in the powdered sugar. Add the melted white chocolate chips, stir until combined, and spoon the finished frosting into a piping bag.
- Cut off the top of the cooled cake and cut the rest into three equal-sized slices. Pipe the frosting in a 1-inch thick strip along the outer edge of the cake and distribute some of the pineapple mixture inside the frosting strip. Add a second layer of cake on top of the first one and repeat the same process with the frosting and pineapple mixture. Now add the third layer and coat the entire cake with frosting.
- Spread the toasted coconut flakes around the sides of the cake. Use a star tip nozzle to form 8 rosettes on top of the cake with the remaining frosting. Place the dehydrated pineapple slices from earlier on top of the rosettes. They look exactly like flowers!
VIDEO
This cake should be sitting next to the classics in every pastry shop! The three layers of sweet pineapple cake are going to take you straight to a tropical island, and it looks utterly gorgeous with those cute, edible flowers!
You can find the nifty Frankfurter Brett chopping board featured in the recipe video here.