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This Pineapple Coconut Cake Recipe is the most moist and delicious pineapple coconut cake perfected with a smooth, sweet and flavorful pineapple filling and topped with a creamy rich coconut buttercream making this Southern classic cake one for the ages! Big Mama’s classic coconut cake recipe was considered a masterpiece in Winona, Mississippi. Back in the day, Big Mama would take a whole coconut, crack it and then grate the insides right over the perfect white cloud of frosting. Big Mama’s secret was a pineapple filling tucked inside the layers of the coconut hinted cake. What Makes This Southern Coconut Cake Recipe Taste So Great? Layers of tender, moist coconut cake similar to this Yellow Cake Recipe, sweet pineapple filling, and whipped coconut cream cheese frosting pair together perfectly. Everyone loves a moist tender cake, and this one is exactly that.
It melts in your mouth with each and every bite. As we all know, every perfect cake starts with a perfect batter. I love butter based cakes like this Sour Cream pound cake because the flavor of real butter is undeniable. It is a wonderful fat for all of your baking needs. However for a more moist cake, I add another ingredient: oil. The oil helps to keep the cake batter wet to some degree, and it coats all of the crumbs.
I also add a large amount of eggs to this cake which creates a much softer texture overall. Finally for additional moistness, I use sour cream. The flavor is rich, and the end results are incredible. Because I don’t want to overwhelm the coconut in this cake because pineapple is also a star, I add just a teaspoon of coconut to the final batter. It still shines through but isn’t too much! Pineapple Curd Filling This is a true southern treat.
Adding pineapple curd to the middle of coconut cakes is a southern tradition my Big Mama loved doing. This isn’t a hard recipe at all, but the final results taste tropical and southern all at once. Starting with canned pineapple so the results are consistent, I like to use the smaller tidbits so the pineapple doesn’t have too much bite. I also liven it up with butter and finally bring out the flavor with citrus. I use fresh lemon juice but you can also use lime or orange if that is your preference. Cooking it down and thickening it up with cornstarch allows it to be smooth and thick enough to spread between the different layers of the cake.
