Pineapple and coconut cake

SERVES 10-14 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 25 MINS (PLUS COOLING, DRYING)

With tropical pineapple and coconut flavours, a silky sponge and vanilla cream-cheese frosting, this tray cake is the perfect sweet finish for your outdoor feast. Pictured p91.

Butter, for greasing 280 gm self-raising flour 120 gm coconut sugar (see note) 120 gm caster sugar 100 gm desiccated coconut 100 gm walnuts, finely chopped 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 300 gm finely chopped fresh pineapple (about 1⁄3 pineapple) 3 large eggs, lightly beaten 100 ml vegetable oil Dried pineapple (see note), edible flowers and chopped pistachio nuts, to serve CREAM CHEESE FROSTING 400 gm cream cheese, softened 200 gm crème fraîche 200 gm pure icing sugar Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean

1 Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease a 20cm x 30cm lamington tin and line with baking paper, leaving a little overhanging. Combine flour, sugars, coconut, walnut and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl, add fresh pineapple, egg and oil and stir to combine. Spread batter into prepared tin and bake until golden and cake springs back when lightly pressed (25 minutes). Cool in tin (15 minutes), then lift out and cool completely on a wire rack. 2 For cream cheese frosting, beat ingredients in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth.

3 Spread frosting over cake and top with dried pineapple, flowers and pistachio to serve.

Note To dry your own pineapple slices, place thinly sliced pineapple on oven trays lined with baking paper.

Bake in a low oven (100°C), turning occasionally, until almost dried (about 1 hour). Coconut sugar is available from health-food shops and select supermarkets.

Drink suggestion Sweet pear cider.