Coconut is one of my all time favorite flavors – and paired with pineapple it’s brought to whole new levels, so this gluten free pineapple coconut cake is a DREAM. It’s made of four incredibly delicate, perfumed pineapple cake layers, filled with the silkiest pineapple coconut buttercream, the floofiest coconut whipped cream, and sprinkles of buttery, toasted coconut! Sound good? Read on. This cake was actually a happy mistake: I had committed to make a mini celebratory pineapple coconut cake for a friend in the Bay Area for her anniversary, and to make the recipe a bit easier, I just made triple what I would have needed for that tiny cake. And bam! I suddenly had the fixings for a larger, albeit not huge, pineapple coconut cake! It’s one of my new favorites and it’s actually quite easy to make!
Tips for a dreamy gluten free pineapple coconut cake:
- I used canned crushed pineapple for this and recommend it over fresh pineapple just because you get more liquid and it’s already softer so easier to use in cake batter.
- Freeze dried fruits make AMAZING buttercream! Sometimes it can be tricky to find them, but freeze dried fruits have the huge benefit of being packed full of flavor and having absolutely zero moisture in them which means you can toss a bag of freeze dried fruit in a food processor or other blitzing-up machine you might have and end up with a fine fruit powder that can be added to buttercreams, meringues, pastry cream, dusted on top of baked goods for a punch of flavor, etc. I found this freeze dried pineapple online but depending on where you live, you may have easy access to it in grocery stores.
- Freeze your cake layers before constructing! I let my cake layers cool completely, then slice them into the appropriate layers (instructions below), then wrap them in plastic wrap and pop them in the freezer for a few hours so that they’ve firmed up/frozen. This will really help with constructing because your cake won’t be soft/will be easier to frost, and the cold cake will also firm up the buttercream instantly, essentially gluing your cake in place.
- Serving: I recommend serving this cake at room temp (not chilled/frozen) – the flavors and textures are sooooo much better at this temperature!
If you’re into this flavor combo as much as I am, check out our piña colada cupcakes, or if pineapple is your thing, try our poached pineapple upside down cake or this floofy layered pineapple cake with whipped cream!
Gluten Free Pineapple Coconut Cake
A heavenly cake made of pineapple cake layers, toasted coconut, pineapple slices, and coconut whipped cream!
Servings: 10 people
Calories: 500kcal
Equipment
- Two 6-inch round cake pans
- Electric mixer
- cake pan strips
- Piping bags and tips
- Whisk
- Frying pan
Ingredients
For the cake layers:
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 Cup white sugar
- 1/4 Cup plus 2 Tbsp milk
- 1/4 Cup plus 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 Cup canned crushed pineapple in its juice plus 2 Tbsp juice
- 1/2 tsp coconut extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum in it (link below to the one we use)
- 3/4 Cup packed blanched almond flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the frosting:
- 2 Cups salted butter room temperature
- 6 oz cream cheese room temp
- 3-4 Cups sifted powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 Cup powdered freeze dried pineapple (two packs of freeze dried pineapple, linked below)
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- pinch salt
For the construction:
- 1 Can sliced pineapple
- 1 1/2 Cups unsweetened desiccated coconut toasted – instructions below
- 1 1/2 Cups heavy cream cold
- 2 tsp coconut extract
Instructions
To make the cake layers:
- First, preheat the oven to 350° and start soaking your cake pan strips in a large bowl of cool water. Then make the cake batter! In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, milk, crushed pineapple and juice, vanilla, and coconut extracts until smooth. Add in the gluten free 1-1 flour mix, blanched almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk until just-mixed.
- Squeeze the excess water from your cake pan strips then affix them to each of the two 6-inch round cake pans. Then grease the pans with butter or cooking spray and pour the cake batter evenly into the two pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before turning out, then wash and dry the cake pans and carefully wrap each cake layer in two layers of plastic wrap and return the wrapped cakes to the cake pans, then freeze both for at least two hours.
To make the frosting and filling:
- While the cakes are freezing, make the frosting and fillings! First, make the toasted coconut. Pour the unsweetened desiccated coconut into a large frying pan and heat over medium, stirring constantly, until the coconut begins to toast and become light brown. Do not let the coconut burn, keep stirring it until most of the coconut is a light golden brown, then remove from heat and pour into a medium bowl to cool.
- First, the frosting. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the room temp butter for 1-2 minutes until fluffier, then add 1 cup of the sifted powdered sugar, the cream cheese, and the vanilla and coconut extracts and beat to combine. Separately, using a small blender or Nutribullet/food processor, blitz up all of the freeze dried pineapple (about two bags) to a fine powder. Add the powder to the buttercream and beat to combine. Then continue adding the remaining powdered sugar until the frosting is thick enough to frost with and the flavor is to your liking, then set aside.
- Once the toasted coconut is fully-cool, make the whipped cream! In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk the cold heavy cream until thicker. Add in 3/4 cup of the cooled toasted coconut and the coconut extract and continue whisking until stiff peaks form.
To construct the cake:
- Once the cake layers are frozen, carefully unwrap the plastic wrap, and prepare a cake decorating stand. Use a long, sharp knife to carefully slice your two cake layers in half so that you have four thinner cake layers. Place one of the cake layers on a cake board on the cake decorating stand. Then frost the layer with a thin layer of the pineapple buttercream, using a palette knife to smooth the frosting. Then scoop some of the buttercream into a piping bag and cut a 1/2 inch opening in the tip. Pipe a ring around the edge of the cake layer as a barrier, and place a few pieces of the sliced pineapple (cut into 1 inch pieces) inside, then fill the rest of the space with some of the coconut whipped cream. Place a second cake layer on top of this and repeat the layer and ring of buttercream, pineapple, and whipped cream on each layer until the fourth cake layer is placed on top.
- Crumb coat the entire cake with more of the pineapple buttercream, then freeze the entire cake for 15-20 minutes to set the cake and the frosting. Remove the cake from the freezer and add a final layer of the peanut butter buttercream and freeze for 10 minutes. Then remove and place back on the cake decorating stand.
- Scoop the excess pineapple buttercream into a piping bags with a tip of your choice. Pipe buttercream around the top edge of the cake, and add the remaining toasted coconut to the bottom or top of the cake.
- I recommend Keeping the cake in the fridge until an hour before serving. It is easiest to slice the cake while it is still chilled (just out of the fridge), and use a long sharp knife that you either hold over an open flame or dip in a pitcher of hot water to get clean slices in the cake.
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cake!
