pina colada – Sweet Tooth Experiments

Pina Colada Cake

Cocktails…some have the most amazing flavours I have tasted. Hello express martini, white Russian, tequila sunrise, mojito and pina colada.

This got me thinking, most of the ingredients in cocktails are variations of juices, fruits and alcohol that you will find in standard everyday supermarkets.

So if the flavor combo is already tried and tested and the ingredients are easy to come by why can’t the recipe be replicated into a cake?

I bake with juices and fruit all the time and have made many alcoholic cakes (see red wine chocolate cake) so a cocktail cake is not really a far stretch away from my usual baking.

As I am a fan of the old Pina Colada it fast became a must on the to-bake-list to launch off my cocktail cake experimenting.

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tbsn baking powder
1/2 tsn salt
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsn vanilla essence
1 + 1/2 tbsn rum essence
1 tsn lime zest
1 can 420g can pineapple (250g pineapple)

Milk:

190ml coconut milk
95ml cup condensed milk
95ml cup milk
1 tsn vanilla extract
2 tsn rum

Topping:

200ml thickened cream
35g sugar
1/2 tsn vanilla essence
1 + 1/2 tbsn coconut, toasted
1 limes zest (1 tsn of this to go into the cake).

Method:

Preheat oven to 175c and line a 23cm cake tin with baking paper.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
In another bowl beat with electric beaters the egg yolks and sugar on high speed for 5 mins until thick and pale.
Stir into the egg mix the coconut milk, vanilla, rum and lime zest.
Sift the flour mix into the egg mix then gently fold in the flour mixture or whisk gently with a hand whisk.
In another mixing bowl beat the egg whites on until soft peaks form.
Gently fold the egg whites into the rest of the mix in 3 lots, following stir in 2/3rds of the pineapple pieces.
Pour the batter into the cake tin and sprinkle the remaining pineapple on top of the cake.
Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Once cooked let the cake cool.
Now make the milk mix by combining the coconut milk, condensed milk, milk, vanilla and rum.
Use a skewer to poke holes in the cake, pressing all the way down to the bottom.
Take the cake out of the tin and wrap with cling wrap allowing for the cling wrap to overlap the tin. Then place back in the cake tin.
Pour the milk mixture over the cake, covering it all over and fold the cling wrap on top of the cake.
Place the cake in the fridge for 3 hours to soak up the mix.
Now make the cream topping by beating the cream, sugar and vanilla with electric beaters until soft peaks form.
Remove the cake and place on a plate, top with the cream, toasted coconut and lime zest. Serve.