Every so often we have the privilege of celebrating a special friends birthday. A chance to show them how much they mean to us and to give back some of the joy they bring into our lives. Such an occasion calls for a really special birthday cake, no run of the mill cake will do! No doctored up boxed mix; no halfway homemade concoctions, thank you very much! I’ve had the idea for this cake on the back burner for quite a long time but most of my family aren’t crazy about coconut like I am (what the heck is wrong with them?) so I have been patiently waiting for the perfect occasion to make this very special cake.
Last summer I enjoyed some of the best Piña Coladas I’ve ever tasted. My girl Iesha can make a mean Piña Colada! She’s got a blender that could pulverize an iceberg if needed…LOL! So when I volunteered to make her birthday cake I knew exactly which cake I wanted to make to celebrate her!
How can you not want to celebrate some one as special as this? This girl not only brings the party, she is the party!
A special girl deserves a special cake!
Make the filling:
Place crushed pineapple, cornstarch and sugar in a saucepan.
Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Stir constantly until the mixture thickens, about 6-8 minutes.
Remove pan from heat and allow mixture to cool slightly, then pour it into a container.
Place plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until ready to use.
Make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350℉.
Line the bottom of two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and spray generously with non stick cooking spray. Set aside.
TIP: Open the dishwasher and place cake pans on the door. Spray pans with non-stick cooking spray. Any overspray will stay in the dishwasher and be washed away the next time you run the dishwasher. No more sticky overspray on your kitchen countertops to clean up. You can thank me later.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
In another mixing bowl beat softened butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat together with the butter for another minute or two.
Add 2 teaspoons coconut extract and 1¼ cups coconut milk to the batter (reserve the remaining coconut milk for the frosting). Beat until well combined.
Slowly add the flour a cup at a time, and continue mixing until all the ingredients are well combined and smooth, about two to three minutes.
Separate egg yolks from egg whites.
In another mixing bowl beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter just until incorporated. Do not over mix.
Divide batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and allow cakes to cool completely.
Make the frosting:
This is my very favorite frosting recipe. I incorporated the coconut milk and coconut extract to my basic frosting recipe and it was the perfect finishing touch to this amazing cake. It’s light and fluffy and not overly sweet.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat softened cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.
Add sugar, reserved coconut milk, and coconut extract.
Beat at high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Reduce speed to low, add whipping cream.
Increase speed to high and beat until frosting increases in volume and soft peaks begin to form.
Assemble cake:
Place one cake layer on a platter. Remove parchment paper.
Spread chilled pineapple filling evenly over the first cake layer.
Top with the second cake layer. Peel off parchment paper.
Frost the cake with the frosting, covering the entire cake. The recipe makes a generous amount of frosting, so frost away! You can’t have too much frosting!
Sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with shredded coconut.
Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving.
On a scale of 1-10 this cake is definitely a resounding 10! It’s absolutely delicious! It was a big hit! It has a lovely coconut flavor, but it’s not overpowering. The pineapple filling is not too sweet, and the whipped cream frosting is light and creamy and not overly sweet either. All the elements come together to create a truly delectable cake.
This is however a more difficult cake to make; not because it’s all that complicated, there’s just a lot more steps involved and more advanced techniques, like folding egg whites into the batter. I would say it’s an intermediate level of difficulty, but if you take your time and follow the instructions above you can definitely pull it off and get to enjoy a really special treat.
A special friend deserves a special cake like this one! As Iesha loves to remind me when we are having a great time together, “We’re living our best life”! I’m so blessed to live my best life with her and all my girlfriends! Great friends make life worth living!
Happy Birthday Iesha! I hope I get to share many more birthdays with you!
Piña Colada Cake
Equipment
- 2 9 inch cake pans
- stand or hand mixer
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
For the cake:
- non stick cooking spray
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 13.5 oz can unsweetened coconut milk, divided
- 2 tsp coconut extract
- 5 large egg whites
For the filling:
- 20 oz can of crushed pineapple
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 tbsp corn starch
For the frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- remaining coconut milk
- 2 tsp coconut extract
- 1¾ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
Instructions
Make the filling:
- Place crushed pineapple, cornstarch and sugar in a saucepan and heat over medium heat.
- Bring to a simmer, stirring mixture constantly until the mixture thickens, about 6-8 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat and allow mixture to cool slightly, then pour it into a container.
- Place plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until ready to use.
Make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Line the bottom of two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and spray generously with non stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- In another mixing bowl beat softened butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat together with the butter for another minute or two.
- Add 2 teaspoons coconut extract and 1¼ cups coconut milk to the butter and sugar (reserve the remaining coconut milk for the frosting). Beat until well combined.
- Slowly add the flour a cup at a time, and continue mixing until all the ingredients are well combined and smooth, about two to three minutes.
- In another mixing bowl beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter just until incorporated. Do not over mix.
- Divide batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow cakes to cool completely.
Make the frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat softened cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.
- Add sugar, reserved coconut milk, and coconut extract.
- Beat at high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Reduce speed to low, add whipping cream. Increase speed to high and beat until frosting increases in volume and soft peaks begin to form.
Assemble cake:
- Place one cake layer on a platter.
- Spread chilled pineapple filling evenly over the first cake layer.
- Top with the second cake layer.
- Frost the cake with the frosting covering the entire cake.
- Sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with shredded coconut.
- Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving.
Did You Make This?
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Colossians 3:17
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