This moreish cake is the perfect dessert. For a halaal or child-friendly version, simply substitute the rum with extra pineapple juice.
ALSO TRY: Vanilla, coconut and plum cupcakes
Recipe by Pia-Alexa Duarte
Photograph by Nadine Greeff
Damp piña colada cake
Ingredients
- 250g butter, softened
- 220g castor sugar
- 10ml (2 tsp) vanilla essence
- 4 large eggs
- 300g cake flour
- 84g desiccated coconut
- 15ml (1 tbsp) baking powder
- 5ml (1 tsp) salt
- 125ml (½ cup) coconut milk
- 1 x 400g tin pineapple pieces in juice (reserve the juice for the syrup), chopped if in rings
SYRUP
- 125ml (½ cup) reserved
- pineapple juice (see aforementioned)
- 125ml (½ cup) rum
- 60ml (¼ cup) castor sugar
TO SERVE
- 250ml (1 cup) fresh cream, whipped to stiff peaks
- 30g toasted, flaked and desiccated coconut (mixed)
- 300g fresh pineapple chunks
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line a 22cm springform cake tin with baking paper.
Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Add the vanilla essence, then the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, then fold the dry ingredients, coconut milk and pineapple pieces into the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, 50 minutes – 1 hour.
For the syrup, combine all of the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil until a syrupy consistency is reached, 5 minutes. Pour the warm syrup over the warm cake and allow to cool.
To serve, top the cake with whipped cream, toasted, flaked and desiccated coconut, and fresh pineapple chunks.
Leftover coconut? Make these baby marrow fritters with green salsa and coconut cream
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
