Birthdays are a big deal where I’m from and lockdown has changed our birthdays ever so slightly. We haven’t gone out in the same way but I still tried to make Joel’s birthday a special one. This starts with cake of course.
This cake is filled with pineapple pieces, sprinkled with pineapple juice to keep it moist and topped with dried pineapple flowers! This idea I got from this Spanish post on Pinterest.
If you like pineapple, you’ll love this. If you’re not so much into it, it’s not overpowering but you could switch it for apples too 🙂
The buttercream frosting was way too sweet for us! We are not used to that much sugar anymore and so it could have been better without. If you have a sweet tooth though, add the buttercream. I think this simple cake has a wow factor with the layers and easy decoration.
It is gluten-free and not taste free ha! I added roasted walnuts as well as spelt flour. It is a little more crumbly I think using spelt instead of wheat so if you want you can also switch this for wheat flour.
Pineapple Celebration Cake (Vegan + Gluten Free)
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Ingredients
- 1 pineapple
- 1 cup of vegetable oil
- 1 cup of sugar (I used cane + coconut)
- 3 flax eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla essence
- 3 cups of spelt flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 cups (about 3 medium) of banana puree
- 1 cup pineapple diced
- 1 cup of grated coconut
- 1 cup of toasted and chopped walnuts
Instructions
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cut pineapple in half across the width and reserve half for the filling.
2. Then cut 8-10 extremely thin slices across the width of the pineapple.
3. Place the slices on a muffin tin and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until they dry, forming a kind of flower.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and place the slices in the muffin pans and bake for another 20 minutes. Let it cool completely inside the pan.
5. Chop the remaining pineapple into pieces and reserve for the cake.
6. In a large bowl, beat the oil and sugar until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Add the flax eggs, then add the vanilla essence.
7. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until combined.
8. Beat again, adding the banana puree, the coconut and a cup of chopped walnuts.
9. Pour the mixture into three removable buttered and floured cake pans and bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 180º.
10. Buttercream frosting: in a large bowl, beat butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the icing sugar until smooth and white. Add the lemon juice and the vanilla essence.
11. To assemble the cake: place one of the layers and cover with 1/2 cup of buttercream. Spread so there is an even layer and cover with another layer of cake.
12. Repeat with the third sponge cake.
13. Cover the cake with half the rest of the buttercream frosting and send to the fridge for 20 minutes.
15. Decorate with the pineapple flowers that were made at the beginning and serve.
Have you made this recipe? Share it with me by tagging @notetoiris and using the hashtag #notetoiris
