When you can only dream of traveling to a crystal-clear turquoise coast with powdery sand drifting through your toes, you do the next best thing. You bake a coconut pineapple cake – a tropical paradise masquerading as a delicious, nutty dessert.
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Why We Love Tropical Coconut Pineapple Cake
A revelry of fresh fruity tropical flavors
Soft, fluffy, and moist
Easy to make and vegan-friendly!
How To Make Coconut Cake with Pineapple
The recipe is very much part of my #TAFEverydayCake - easy to make without any fuss.
- Begin by mixing water with flaxseed powder. Set it aside for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, sift all-purpose flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Whisk in coconut sugar and desiccated coconut.
- By now, the flax egg should be thick and ready, so mix it with coconut oil, vanilla extract, and the juice of tinned pineapples.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and then combine them till you have a viscous batter.
- Fold in chopped pineapples along with cashews (the nuts pair nicely with the flavors of the cake).
- Transfer the batter into a well-greased 6-inch round tin.
- Smoothen the top with a knife and then embellish with leftover pineapple pieces and cashews.
- Bake the cake for a good 40 to 45 minutes till a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Coconut Pineapple Cake FAQs
How to make flax eggs?
When I’m baking an eggless cake, I prefer flax eggs as the substitute. It does the job really well. Not for once can you say that the cake has no eggs in it.
To make, mix a tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water. Set that to chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
In any recipe, the flax egg should be the first thing you prepare. It saves time since you can move on to the next step while you wait for it to thicken.
How do you fix dry cake batter?
If you feel the cake batter is not wet enough or too thick, you have two options. You could add a tablespoon or two of milk, or you could add more pineapple juice.
How to stop the cake from getting burnt?
At times, the outside of the cake starts browning faster while the inside is still raw. A simple trick to ensure that the cake is cooked through is tenting it. Roll a foil into a cone and place it on the surface of the cake like a tent. It’ll conserve steam and deflect some oven heat.
Coconut Pineapple Cake Ingredients & Substitutions
Pineapples: Fresh pineapples add a tropical flavor to the cake. Yes, slicing and dicing them takes longer, but it's worth it. If you don't have fresh pineapples on hand, tinned pineapples will suffice. However, avoid those that have been canned in sugar syrup.
Look for pineapple slices or chunks canned in natural fruit juice. Why? It brings down the sugar content, so the cake is not overwhelmingly sweet. I also rinse and drain the slices, for the same reason, before I incorporate them into the batter.
Pineapple juice: This gives a lovely little tang to the cake. You can substitute the juice with milk (any kind you prefer) or even plain Greek yogurt, as I did for my Coconut Peach Cake.
Flour: Substitute all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, or you can use half of both. For a gluten-free pineapple coconut cake, switch to buckwheat flour.
Sugar: From regular to cane, any sugar you regularly bake with is good here. Do note that the color of the cake will differ based on the type of sugar you use. Mine is almost caramel in hue because of the coconut sugar.
Nuts: Walnuts, almonds, pistachios – any nuts work like a charm in the cake. Don’t like the mouthfeel of nuts? Please feel free to leave them out.
Coconut: Somehow, I’m nutty about the crunch of desiccated coconut, but the recipe will be equally delightful with unsweetened, shredded coconut.
How To Serve The Coconut Cake
The whole idea behind the pineapple coconut cake was to keep it easy and light – something you can whip up in a jiffy. So, I served the cake as-is, without even a speck of icing sugar or frosting.
For those in the mood for something richer, I recommend a cream cheese frosting followed by a dusting of some desiccated coconut. Garnishing it with toasted nuts – cashews, almonds, pistachios – is another option.
More Easy Cakes:
Half the joy of cooking is sharing it with others. That’s why I’m always eager to hear from you. So go right ahead & drop a comment or reach out on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or Facebook. I hope you love this Coconut Pineapple Cake as much as we do!
📖 Recipe
Coconut Pineapple Cake
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup All-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Desiccated coconut
- 1.5 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp Ground flaxseed
- 6 tbsp Water
- 1/3 cup Coconut oil
- 1/3 cup Pineapple juice
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup Pineapple, cut into small pieces You can use canned or fresh pineapple.
- 1/4 cup Cashew nuts, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C. Grease and flour a 6" cake tin.
- In a small bowl, combine flaxseed powder and water. Stir well and keep aside for 10 minutes.
- Whisk together the flour, desiccated coconut, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- Stir in the coconut sugar.
- Combine the flax mixture, coconut oil, pineapple juice, and vanilla extract together and pour over the dry ingredients. If the batter seems too thick, add some more pineapple juice or milk.
- Fold in the pineapple bits and cashew pieces.
- Gently stir the mixture. This will be a thick batter.
- Pour into the prepared pan and smoothen the top. Sprinkle some more pineapple bits and cashews and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before turning it out on a cooling rack.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nisha says
Hi natasha...
I made your coconut pineapple cake... it was super simple but the pineapple flavour didn't come through at all... would you know why...
I used fresh pineapple and since it wasn't tinned I used milk instead of the juice...
Would love to know where I went wrong ...
Nisha
Natasha Minocha says
Hi Nisha, you could try using pineapple juice next time instead of milk. I'm sure that will enhance the flavor. Thank you so much for supporting and following along. xx