Moist Pineapple Coconut Cake

IMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.

Ingredients

Pineapple Filling

▢ 1 cup (226 g) canned crushed pineapple - in pineapple juice (not syrup)
▢ ¼ cup (50 g) white granulated sugar
▢ ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
▢ ¾ cup (180 g) milk - full fat
▢ 1¼ tbsp (18 g) fresh lemon juice
▢ ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter - cold and cut into cubes
▢ 1 drop yellow gel food color - optional (see note 1)

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

▢ 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
▢ 3 cups (360 g) powdered sugar - also known as icing/confectioners' sugar
▢ 1½ cup (335 g) cream cheese - cold, firm type (see note 2)
▢ 1½ tsps vanilla essence/extract
▢ 1 tsp coconut essence/extract

Extra

▢ 1½ cup (120 g) shredded coconut - dried & unsweetened, for decorating (recommended for texture). Also called threaded coconut.

Instructions

Pineapple Coconut Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) conventional (see note 3 if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease two 8-inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release). Also line the bottoms with parchment paper.
In a bowl, sift together your flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
In another large bowl, add in your butter, vegetable oil and sugar. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer are both fine - see note 4), cream together for 2 minutes until lighter in color.
Add in the eggs one by one, mixing well in between each addition (about 10-15 seconds between eggs).
Add in your vanilla, coconut essence/extract and crushed pineapple, and mix until well combined. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
Add in half of your premixed dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and gently fold it in with a spatula until just combined. Then add in the coconut milk, and fold it in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold it into the mixture until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 5).
Finish off by adding in the shredded coconut and gently fold with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix the batter.
Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins, and bake for 35-38 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it.
Once baked, allow the cake layers to cool in the cake tins for about 15-20 minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool.

Pineapple Filling

In a saucepan combine crushed pineapple, white sugar, cornstarch, milk and lemon juice. Mix everything well and then place it over a medium heat, continuously mixing until it becomes thick in consistency. It may look like the filling is curdling as it's heating up, but don't worry it will come together once the cornstarch is activated.
Once thick, take it off the heat immediately and add in the butter and gel color (if you're using it). Stir until the butter is completely melted and incorporated. Transfer to a bowl and cover with cling wrap so that the cling wrap is touching the top of the filling (see note 6). Set aside to cool.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream your butter for a few minutes until it's light and fluffy. Either use a hand mixer or stand mixer on a medium-high speed. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
Add in the powdered sugar in 3 batches while mixing on low. Ensure that each batch is mixed into the butter well before adding in the next batch.
Next add in your cold cream cheese, vanilla and coconut essence/extract. Mix just until the frosting is smooth. Avoid over-mixing (see note 7).

Assembly (see video for visual demonstration)

Begin by trimming the tops of the cake layers with a serrated knife so that they're nice and flat.
Place your first cake layer onto your cake stand, and spread out a generous amount of the frosting on top.
Place some of the frosting into a piping bag with a large piping tip (1M or 1A work well), and pipe a border/dam around the edges of the cake layer to hold in the pineapple filling. Fill the middle with half of the pineapple filling.
Place the next cake layer on top and cover the top and sides with more frosting. If you have a cake scraper, you can use it to smooth out the sides.
For the top, pipe a decorative border around the top edges (I like to use a 1M piping tip - see video for demonstration) and then fill the middle with the remaining pineapple filling. Finish off by covering the sides of the cake with shredded coconut by gently pushing the coconut into the frosting. Enjoy!

Notes

Note 1. The gel color is purely for aesthetic purposes - it just provides a little extra pop of color to the pineapple filling. You can leave this out if you prefer or don't have it on hand.

Note 2. To ensure that your frosting isn't too soft, you want to use a firm cream cheese, not the spreadable type. You also want to use cold cream cheese as this will help your frosting stay firmer for longer, particularly if you want to use it for piping. If you stay in a hot climate and your frosting is softening up after some time, simply place it into the fridge for 30 minutes and then rewhip it. This will bring it back to a pipeable consistency.

Note 3. If using a convection oven with a fan, bake at 160C/320F

Note 4. If using a stand mixer, then use the paddle attachment for the initial mixing, but continue to do the last step by hand as stated in the recipe.

Note 5. By gently folding in the ingredients, it prevents too much gluten from forming, thus giving us a softer cake. Only mix until the strands of flour have disappeared and the batter is uniform.

Note 6. This will prevent a skin from forming as the filling cools.

Note 7. Only mix the frosting until it's smooth. Once it's smooth, stop mixing as over-mixing can result in a less stable frosting. This is because of the liquid in the cream cheese breaking down the icing sugar.

Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.