A friend of mine asked if I would post a loaf cake recipe that wasn’t the usual banana, lemon or pumpkin loaf, so that she would have a new kind of loaf to enjoy with a cup of tea. I hadn’t made any loaf cakes recently and all of my current recipes are listed above, so I looked around the internet for flavour combination ideas. One recipe that stood out for me was a pineapple coconut loaf. With its tropical flavours, I thought it would be a nice summertime treat.
I looked at a few different recipes but they all seemed pretty similar and seemed to be based on a recipe posted by Martha Stewart. The recipe is a basic loaf that has toasted coconut and drained, crushed pineapple in it. The main liquid other than eggs was sour cream. I wondered if I could amp up the coconut flavour a bit, since we are big coconut fans in my house. First, I considered substituting coconut milk for the sour cream, but there were two issues that I was concerned about. First, sour cream has some acidity, so I would need to offset the lack of acidity in the coconut milk by adding some vinegar. That was fine, but I was also concerned that coconut milk is much thinner than sour cream and I would also probably need to adjust the quantity of liquid. The third concern was that coconut milk flavour can be pretty subtle in cooking, so was it worth it to even do the substitution? Someone suggested using coconut extract, but I was worried about the coconut flavour being overpowering. Sometimes I don’t like the taste of extracts.
When I went to the grocery store, I found my solution. Coconut flavoured Greek yogurt! It has the same consistency as sour cream and enough coconut flavour in it to contribute to the flavour of the loaf. I picked up a reduced sugar yogurt so that it wouldn’t add too much sweetness. I ended up also reducing the sugar in the cake from 1 cup to 3/4 cup to balance the sugar in the yogurt.
After getting home from the store, I noticed that the recipe said sweetened coconut. I usually have unsweetened coconut on hand rather than sweetened. I decided to go with the unsweetened for the cake batter. It also said to put toasted coconut on top of the loaf before baking. I was concerned with around 70 minutes of baking, the coconut would burn, even if I put it on not toasted, so I came up with a different topping. Instead of just coconut, I made a glaze to spread on top of the loaf after baking, and I stirred some toasted coconut into the glaze. The sweet glaze on top was another reason I reduced the sugar in the cake. I kept 2 tbsp of the toasted coconut aside and sprinkled that on top of the glaze. The sticky glaze would help the coconut stick.
The verdict? We really liked it! You could definitely taste both the coconut and the pineapple but neither was overpowering, as I think it would have been if I used coconut extract. The loaf did take longer than the 65-70 minutes posted in the recipe. I ended up needing 80 minutes for it to be baked through. Perhaps I should have squeezed out more juice from the pineapple.
With the pineapple in the loaf, it came out deliciously moist! The coconut glaze on top gave a nice additional texture from the crunch of the toasted coconut. I did try using coconut milk for the glaze but didn’t notice that it added much flavour so either coconut milk or regular milk would be fine. You could use plain yogurt instead of coconut flavoured, but then you should increase the sugar to 1 cup.
[recipe title=”Pineapple Coconut Loaf” servings=”1 9 inch loaf” cooktime=”65-80minutes” difficulty=”easy” description=”This delicious loaf cake combines pineapple and coconut for a tropical flavoured cake that is perfect with a cup of tea! If using plain yogurt instead of coconut flavoured, increase sugar to 1 cup.”]
[recipe-ingredients]
– 1 1/2 cups (354 ml) medium unsweetened coconut
– 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
– 1 1/2 cups (7.5 oz/213 g) all-purpose flour
– 1 tsp (5 ml) baking soda
– 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt
– 3/4 cup (178 ml) granulated sugar
– 3 large eggs
– 1 cup (250 ml) coconut flavoured Greek yogurt
– 1 19 oz (560 ml) can of crushed pineapple, well drained
– 1/2 cup icing sugar
– 2 tbsp (30 ml) milk or coconut milk
– 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) vanilla extract.
[/recipe-ingredients][recipe-directions]
1. Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C) and grease a 9 inch loaf tin.
2. In a large skillet, toast coconut over medium heat until golden.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Add eggs, on at a time, beating between each addition.
6. Add flour alternating with yogurt in three additions each, mixing between each addition.
7. With a rubber spatula, stir in 1 cup of toasted coconut and all of the drained, crushed pineapple. Mix gently to combine.
8. Pour mixture into your prepared loaf tin and smooth top.
9. Bake for 65-80 minutes until tester inserted in centre of loaf comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, whisk together icing sugar, milk and vanilla to form a thick but runny glaze. Stir in all but 2 tbsp (30 ml) of remaining coconut.
11. After loaf has cooled for 10 minutes, run a knife around the edge of pan and remove to a serving plate.
12. Spread coconut glaze over top of loaf then sprinkle with remaining coconut.
[/recipe-directions][/recipe]
In a large skillet, toast coconut over medium heat until golden
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, on at a time, beating between each addition.
Add flour alternating with yogurt in three additions each, mixing between each addition.
With a rubber spatula, stir in 1 cup of toasted coconut and all of the drained, crushed pineapple. Mix gently to combine.
Pour mixture into your prepared loaf tin and smooth top.
Bake for 65-80 minutes until tester inserted in centre of loaf comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together icing sugar, milk and vanilla to form a thick but runny glaze. Stir in all but 2 tbsp (30 ml) of remaining coconut.
Stir in all but 2 tbsp (30 ml) of remaining coconut.
After loaf has cooled for 10 minutes, run a knife around the edge of pan and remove to a serving plate. Spread coconut glaze over top of loaf then sprinkle with remaining coconut.
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