Makes 1 cake

(enough for 12-16 slices)

Active time: 20 minutes

Inactive time: 1 hour

Kitchenalia: 35 x 23 x 5 cm cake tin, stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment

Ingredients

1 x 430g tin crushed pineapple in juice

3 eggs

330g white (granulated) sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

150ml neutral oil

90g unsweetened desiccated coconut

320g spelt flour (see note)

½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

½ tsp fine sea salt

Icing

120g unsalted butter, at room temperature

250g block cream cheese, at room temperature

175g icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of fine sea salt

110g coconut flakes
(see note)

This cake reminds me of home. Growing up, we used to have something similar that must have had bran mixed into the batter, giving it a slightly nutty flavour. I’ve mixed desiccated coconut and wholemeal flour to give it that lovely nuttiness I remember so intensely from my childhood. Using tinned pineapple means that you can make this cake all year round.

Method

Preheat your oven to 160C fan-forced. Grease and line the base and sides of your cake tin with baking paper. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the pineapple (including the juice), eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. In another mixing bowl, combine the desiccated coconut, flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Tip the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk to combine. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the tin.

To make the icing, beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until uniform and light. Beat in the cream cheese, followed by the icing sugar, vanilla and salt. Lift the cake onto a platter or board, removing the baking paper from underneath. Spread the icing over the cake and finish with the coconut flakes. Cut into squares and serve.

Notes: Spelt flour is worth seeking out – I love the nuttiness it gives to cakes – but you can swap it for wholemeal or plain (all-purpose) flour. For a stronger toasted-coconut flavour, toast the coconut flakes on a baking tray in a 160C fan-forced oven for about 5 minutes.

From Recipes for a Lifetime of Beautiful Cooking by Danielle Alvarez with Libby Travers: Murdoch Books, $50