Coconut Cake with Caramel Pineapple Filling Recipe
Some of my absolute favourite flavours to pair with Pineapple are caramel and coconut. While it sounds like an unusual combo to pair coconut with caramel, I can honestly say that this Coconut Cake with Caramel Pineapple Filling is one of the best cakes I have made in a long time. I adapted the “Coconut Pound Loaf Cake” recipe by lovefoodies.com slightly to make a 4 layer cake instead of a loaf. This recipe results in an incredibly flavourful and moist cake and a light and fluffy coconut buttercream.
So how do I make this Coconut Cake with Caramel Pineapple Filling from scratch?
We can break this recipe down into four different easy to follow sections;
– Coconut Cake: This is a simple cake recipe containing lots of unsweetened dessicated coconut and coconut milk.
–Caramel Pineapple Filling: Fresh Pineapple cut into small chunks and cooked in a luscious caramel sauce.
–Coconut Buttercream: A light and fluffy and super flavourful coconut buttercream.
–Assembling the cake: The cake layers are sliced into 4 layers, brushed liberally with coconut milk and filled with the coconut buttercream and caramel pineapple filling.
Coconut Cake
This coconut cake is made using the “creaming method”. This means that the fat and sugar is creamed together, and then the other ingredients are added.
Begin by adding the room temperature butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric whisk or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for 2-3 minutes until pale and creamy. Next, add in the eggs, one by one ensuring you mix for a further minute in between additions. For the next step, add in half of the coconut milk and half of the flour and beat for another minute. Repeat this step with the remaining flour and coconut milk and beat until smooth. Add in the unsweetened desiccated coconut and mix by hand using a rubber spatula until fully incorporated. Divide into two greased and lined 8 inch round cake tins. Bake for 30-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool fully before removing from the tin.
Caramel Pineapple Filling
This filling is made up of a simple caramel, with pineapple chunks added to it.
Begin by taking a fresh pineapple, cut off the top and tail end of it and with a sharp knife, slice off the skin. Cut length ways down the pineapple, avoiding the centre piece. Cut into small squares and leave to one side as you prepare the caramel.
To make the caramel, start off by adding about 1/5 of the sugar to a small dry saucepan. Heat on low/medium heat until the sugar starts to melt and turn golden brown. Add in a heaped tablespoon of sugar and mix. Leave for a few seconds until it begins to melt and turn a light golden brown. Keep repeating this process until all the sugar has been incorporated and melted down. Don’t worry if it starts to form small crystals and clump together, we will continue cooking it so they will melt. Once all the sugar has been added and the caramel is a light golden brown, add in the butter. Mix carefully with a whisk until a smooth caramel has formed. Be careful, as the sugar will like splutter as you add the butter which can burn your hand.
Next, add in the chopped fresh pineapple and mix together. The caramel may start to seize up a little bit here at the addition of a wet ingredient. This is totally normal. Continue cooking on low/medium heat, stirring often, until all the sugar crystals have dissolved and the caramel has started to turn a deeper golden brown colour. Remove this from the heat and transfer to another container or bowl immediately. Allow to cool before using to fill the cake.
Coconut Buttercream
This is a simple, light buttercream made with creamed coconut and coconut milk.
To begin making the buttercream, add the room temperature butter to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer, or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, for 2-3 minutes until pale and creamy. Next, add in the creamed coconut and beat for a further minute until no lumps remain. Add in the icing sugar and coconut milk next and beat for a further 4-5 minutes until fluffy and spreadable. If needed, you can add a few drops of coconut milk if it is a little stiff. If it feels a little too wet and not firm enough to pipe, pop it into the fridge for 10-15 minutes to firm up.
Assembling the Cake
Once the all ingredients have been cooked and sufficiently cooled, we can begin to assemble the cake!
To start off, slice both cooled cakes in half, horizontally, so you have four layers of coconut cake. Place the first layer down onto a large plate or cake board and brush liberally with coconut milk. Add half of the caramel pineapple filling to the middle of the cake layer and spread evenly. Scoop half of the coconut buttercream into a large piping bag with no nozzle or a plain nozzle and pipe a ring around the caramel pineapple filling around the edge of the cake layer.
Place the next layer of cake on top of this and pat down slightly. Brush the cake generously with coconut milk and pipe a thin even layer of coconut buttercream on top. Smooth over with a palette knife and top with another layer of cake. Again, brush this layer with coconut milk.
Spread the other half of the caramel pineapple filling onto the cake and finish with a piping of coconut buttercream around the edge. Place the final layer of cake on top and pat down gently to level off.
Using the remaining coconut buttercream, coat the sides and top of the whole cake using a palette knife. For a smooth finish, clean the palette knife and pour boiling water over it or dip into a tall container of boiling water. Allow most of the water to drip off and use the hot palette knife to smooth over any rough spots on the buttercream. Decorate with toasted coconut flakes, fresh pineapple and pipe the remaining buttercream on top.
For further instruction on how to decorate this Coconut Cake with Caramel Pineapple Filling, check out the short video I have posted below.
Tips for making this Coconut Cake with Caramel Pineapple Filling?
Lots of tips! I have included a few of the major tips that will help ensure this cake is the tastiest it could possibly be! If there’s anything else you may be unsure of, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or send me a message via the “contact me” page.
Coconut Cake
- As with most cakes, ensure that your butter is soft and at room temperature. This ensures the butter can be easily creamed and prevents any lumps of butter being left in your cake batter. Having lumps of butter in your cake batter will result in lumps of butter in the finished product and may result in an uneven rise.
- Similarly, having your eggs at room temperature will give you the best result. Room temperature eggs are easier to incorporate into the cake batter. Room temperature eggs will help prevent curdling which also leads to an uneven rise in the cake. A curdled cake batter may not rise as much as it should while baking also. This results in a dense, chewy cake as opposed to a light and fluffy one.
- Ensure that you bake the cake for the correct time. This cake has a lot of liquid in it so it takes a little longer than a regular sponge to cook. Be patient, if a skewer is still coming out wet after the allotted time, continue to bake it for a further 10-15 minutes until the skewer comes out fully dry.
Caramel Pineapple Filling
- In this recipe, the sugar will probably crystallise as you are making the caramel. This is totally fine. Do not panic and throw it out unless it has crystallised into one giant ball.
- Due to the fact that this caramel is likely to crystallise, make sure at the beginning stages to cook it to barely golden brown. This is because we will cook it properly at the last stage once the pineapple has been added. Under cooking it at the earlier stages will mean we are not at risk of burning it at the final stages.
- Be careful when adding the butter and pineapple, the caramel will start to splutter and may burn your hands. Stand back and pull off the heat if it is unbearable. Mix in carefully, and then return to the heat.
Coconut Buttercream
- As mentioned above, ensure your butter is soft and at room temperature. This allows everything to incorporate easily and results in a light, fluffy buttercream. The butter should be soft, but not liquid. A liquid butter will result in a very soft buttercream and it may not be spreadable.
- If the buttercream is too soft, place it into the fridge to stiffen up for 10-15 minutes.
- If the buttercream is too dry, add a teaspoon or two of coconut milk and mix well until the desired consistency is reached.
How long does this cake last for?
The un-decorated cake itself can be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 3 months.
The caramel pineapple filling can be made up to 3 days in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge.
The buttercream can be made up to 5 days in advance and kept in the fridge in an airtight container. It will stiffen in the fridge considerable so ensure to take it out to soften at room temperature for at least an hour before using.
The fully decorated cake may be kept for up to 5 days in the fridge, if freshly made and decorated. Cover with a cake cover or light cling film. Cut into slices as you need and allow each slice to come to room temperature before eating for best results.
Want to see more Cake Recipes? Check out my Cake Category, here.
Coconut Cake with Caramelised Pineapple Filling
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Electric whisk or stand mixer with paddle attachment
- Rubber spatula
- Two 8 inch round cake tins
- Sharp Knife
- Small saucepan
- Wooden spoon
- Palette knife
Ingredients
Coconut Cake
- 175 grams butter room temperature
- 250 grams caster sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 175 grams full fat coconut milk
- 225 grams plain flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 90 grams unsweetened desiccated coconut
Pineapple Caramel Filling
- 1 whole pineapple ripe
- 150 grams caster sugar
- 50 grams butter
Coconut Buttercream
- 150 grams butter
- 50 grams creamed coconut
- 300 grams icing sugar
- 150 grams coconut milk full fat
To soak the cake
- 100 grams coconut milk
Instructions
Coconut Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180°c (360°f) or 170°c (340°f) if fan assisted.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar. Using an electric whisk or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat for 2-3 minutes until pale and creamy.
- Add in the eggs, one by one, beating for another minute between additions.
- Add in half the coconut milk and flour and beat until just combined.
- Add in the reaming coconut milk and flour and beat until just combined.
- Add the desiccated coconut and mix by hand with a rubber spatula until fully combined.
- Grease and line two 8 inch round cake tins and pour all of the cake batter into the two tins evenly.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Allow to cool fully before removing from tin and slicing.
Caramel Pineapple Filling
- Prepare the fresh pineapple by chopping off the top and tail. Remove the skin and slice into the pineapple flesh avoiding the tough centre. Chop into small squares and set to one side.
- Place a dry small saucepan on a low/medium heat. Add in about 1/5 or 30 grams of sugar into the saucepan.
- Heat until the sugar melts and starts to turn a light golden brown.
- Add in a heaped tablespoon of sugar and mix until dissolved fully. Continue this process until all the sugar has been added and has dissolved.
- Next, add in the butter and mix gently until combined.
- Add in the chopped fresh pineapple and continue cooking until all the sugar has completely melted and a deep golden brown colour has been achieved.
- Pour into another container or bowl immediately to prevent it from cooking further.
Coconut Buttercream
- Place the room temp butter into a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium for 2-3 minutes with an electric whisk or stand mixer with the paddle attachment until pale and creamy.
- Next, add in the creamed coconut and beat for another minute.
- Add in the icing sugar and coconut milk and continue beating for another 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
Cake Assembly
- Cut the cooled cakes into two, horizontally so you have four cake layers.
- Brush each layer liberally with coconut milk and fill with the buttercream and caramel pineapple filling.
- Use the remaining coconut buttercream to cover the sides and top of the whole cake. For decorating inspiration, check out my post above.
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