It’s mid-April and I’ve still got perpetually cold hands, feet, and nose. It needs to WARM UP already. To try to imagine myself somewhere tropical (i.e. my homeland in the Florida Keys), I created this little dude: vanilla cake, coconut buttercream, with crushed pineapple between the layers.
Vanilla Cake
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup egg whites
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/16 cup vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two 6″ cake pans with cooking spray and parchment paper rounds.
Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt) in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until fully combined.
Mix chunks of room temperature butter slowly into the dry mix, on a low speed. Continue to mix until no large chunks of butter remain, and the mixture becomes crumbly.
Pour in egg whites, and mix on low until just incorporated. Mix in the buttermilk in two installments on a low speed. Add in vanilla and oil and mix at a low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
Divide evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake for about 40 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before emptying on cooling rack.
Coconut Buttercream
- 4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp coconut extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
While cake layers cool, mix the buttercream.
Beat the butter on medium speed for 30 seconds with paddle attachment, until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Alternate with small splashes of cream. Once fully mixed, add in the extracts and salt, beating on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated and desired consistency is reached.
Beat on low for 2 minutes to get out any extra air.
If the frosting is too thick, add in cream one tsp at a time. If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar, ¼ cup at a time.
Constructing the Cake
Place the first layer of cake onto a cake board, securing with a dab of buttercream.
Create a buttercream dam around the edges of the first layer of cake and frost the middle with a layer of buttercream. On top of the middle, add some drained crushed pineapple in an even layer.
Place the second layer on top of the first and crumb coat the cake. Once the crumb coat is complete, pop the cake in the fridge for 15 minutes to harden the buttercream a bit.
Take the cake out and complete the frosting with the white coconut buttercream to create as smooth a finish as possible. I use a couple tools to help me get a smooth finish:
I mixed part of my buttercream with green, blue, and black food gel coloring in order to create a nice deep palm leaf color for decorating. I used a No. 2 piping tip and a small flat paintbrush dipped in water to create the design on the cake.
