Pineapple coconut loaf (1)

My mother baked for the two some years that we spent in the States. One of her best creations was a coconut cake. I was probably only 7 years old at the time when I first tasted it but even decades later, I remembered it as a scrumptious cake loaded with shredded coconut with a crunchy sugary topping. When I was older, I asked her for the recipe, but she couldn't remember it, claiming that she'd got the recipe off the papers or magazine and didn't keep it.

For years I'd been trying to find that recipe and even attempted a coconut loaf glazed with coconut milk syrup a couple of years ago but to no avail. A couple of weeks ago, when I was making a pork stir-fry with pineapples, it occurred to me that I could pair pineapple with coconut in a cake. Adapting my recipes for the madeira cake and lime & coconut cake, I made a pineapple coconut loaf. At the time I wasn't thinking about my mother's cake. But when I took the first bite of this pineapple coconut loaf, I nearly shrieked with excitement. Could I have possibly stumbled upon the right recipe?

Ingredients

1½ C + ½ C medium desiccated coconut

1 C almond flour, spooned & levelled, sifted

2 tbsp + 2 tsp coconut flour, spooned & levelled, sifted

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp fine pink salt

¼ tsp mixed sweet spices

1 tsp cinnamon

½ C (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature

¾-1 C demerara sugar

3 very large free range eggs

½ tsp vanilla bean paste

1 C sour cream (or whole yoghurt)

1½ C (250g) pineapple chunks, drained well

¾ C pineapple juice

Method

1. Lightly toast the desiccated coconut (either in a preheated oven at 175°C or in a bottom-heavy pan over a medium heat for 6-10 minutes tossing occasionally). Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the sifted flours, baking soda, spices, and salt together. Set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer on high speed, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, and then mix in the vanilla.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and alternately add in the flour mixture in three parts and the sour cream in two, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined (do not overmix).
5. Using a rubber spatula, fold the pineapple chunks and 1½ cup toasted coconut into the batter. Slowly pour in the pineapple juice, mixing well before adding in more. Let the batter sit in room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

   

   Batter just mixed

6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 175°C and prepare a 9”x5” loaf pan (grease if required).
7.  When the batter has absorbed the juice sufficiently, spoon it into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup toasted coconut on top.
   
8. Bake for about 70 minutes, until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean (you may have to cover pan with foil halfway through to prevent the top from burning).
9. Let cake cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
   
10. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 6 days.

This cake was delectable, and it really did remind me of my mother's coconut cake. The toasted coconut beautifully balances the tart sweetness of the pineapple and provides a crunchy topping. I did, however, perhaps added in too much pineapple juice, as the top of the cake had browned enough but the centre was still a bit wet. Even though it tasted cooked, the excessive moisture meant that the structure of the loaf didn't hold as well and crumbled upon slicing, particular the centre. I added in the pineapple juice so the coconut flour had enough liquids to hold on to, but next time, I will add in only half as much at most (around ¼ cup). I also think that the pineapple chunks could be smaller to make for easier slicing.