When I was a kid my favorite ice cream flavor of all time was Thrifty's Coconut Pineapple. Truth be told it's still my number one, even in adulthood. I'd been meaning to make a cake version of this ice cream flavor and I finally got around to it after being inspired by Baking With Blondie's Mango Coconut cake. Swap out the mango for pineapple and I present to you my Piña Colada Cake.
I used Baking with Blondie's coconut cake recipe and Cook's Illustrated
recipes for the pineapple filling and coconut buttercream frosting.
The cake recipe actually uses a Duncan Hines cake mix as its base. Yes, this is a
bit controversial in a world of "from scratch" baking but one that I
welcome to be honest. I grew up eating cakes made from a mix so this
brings back a lot of nostalgia for me. There's nothing wrong with taking shortcuts if it doesn't compromise the taste.
For the filling it was important that it contain fresh pineapple and was sturdy enough to hold up between the cake layers. Ground instant tapioca did the job of thickening the pureed pineapple while still retaining it's fresh fruit flavor. As for the frosting I went for an American buttercream which is easier to pull together than Swiss meringue, my normal go to. To finish the cake off I had to recreate these amazing buttercream pineapples I saw from @makefabulouscakes...are they not the cutest things you've ever seen?
When I had a taste of the finished cake I was blown away by how delicious it was. The tender coconut infused cake with the fresh pineapple filling is a taste home run! I will definitely be making this cake again.
When I had a taste of the finished cake I was blown away by how delicious it was. The tender coconut infused cake with the fresh pineapple filling is a taste home run! I will definitely be making this cake again.
