Coconut Topped Pineapple Cake

Hi all– I sure like this friendly old fashioned cake.  It tastes a lot like a cake my mom would make that involved a can of fruit cocktail– if you’re unfamamiliar– fruit cocktail is a thoroughly alcohol free mixture of cut fruit in a can.

But this little cake is chocked full of crushed pineapple and topped with the kind of coconut topping you usually find on German chocolate cake.  It’s super moist and a little dense –fruity good.

I baked it up for teacher goodie day at school– Students  sometimes wonder what goes on in the kid free “teachers’ room.”  The truth is it’s pretty dull in there, just a lot of grading papers and lesson talk…  But Fridays!  Well, Fridays there is a table well stocked with treats.  And this was my recent contribution.  I think it gets an A+!

COCONUT TOPPED PINEAPPLE CAKE

Cake:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
20 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained

Topping:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 1/4 cup coconut
1 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 tsp. vanilla

To make the cake stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Then mix in the eggs, vanilla and crushed pineapple with the juice.

Scape the batter into a 9″x13″ baking dish (or an 11″ spring form pan) that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Put it into a 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes until the cake is lightly browned around the edges and firm to the touch.

To make the topping, drop the 1 cup sugar, butter and evaporated milk into a heavy sauce pan and bring to a boil and reduce heat and stir for about 5 minutes while it simmers on low– just until the mixture thickens.

Stir in the coconut, nuts and vanilla and pour the topping over the warm cake.  Delicious eaten warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!