Whole Pineapple Cake
We love this cake because it uses the whole fruit and extracts maximum flavour from the pineapple’s flesh, core and skin. Serves 8
1 pineapple
1½ cups almond meal 2¾ cups desiccated coconut 1 teaspoon baking powder 6 eggs
250g caster sugar To serve toasted coconut flakes natural or Greek yoghurt
Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a 30cm loaf tin with baking paper.
Cut the skin off the pineapple and set aside, then cut the flesh and core into small cubes and blitz them in a food processor until smooth. You’ll need 400g of pineapple purée for the batter.
Whisk together the almond meal, desiccated coconut and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy (or you can do this in a large bowl with a hand whisk). Add the pineapple purée to the egg mixture and whisk for another minute. Slowly add the dry ingredients in batches, whisking well after each addition. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50–60 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Meanwhile make the pineapple skin syrup (see opposite).
Leave the cake to cool in the tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes then turn out. Serve straight away or keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Serve warm or toasted with the syrup, toasted coconut and yoghurt.