Coconut Pineapple Cake

This is a proper Southern showstopper, the kind of three-layer cake that turns up at church suppers and Sunday dinners all over the South. The cake is a tender almond-and-vanilla butter cake, and that whisper of almond extract is the note folks can never quite name but always remember.

Between the layers goes a tangy filling cooked right on the stovetop with crushed pineapple, lemon, and egg until it thickens into something close to a fruit curd, then a generous shower of grated coconut.

Crowning it all is seven-minute frosting, a cooked meringue beaten over boiling water until it climbs into glossy, marshmallow-soft peaks.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy for a fine crumb, then add the cake flour and milk in alternating batches, beginning and ending with flour, so the batter stays smooth instead of curdling.

Chef Tips

• Bring the eggs, butter, and milk to room temperature so the batter creams up light and bakes evenly.
• Don’t rush the seven-minute frosting. Beat it over boiling water the full time until it holds stiff, glossy peaks, or it will weep.
• Toast part of the coconut for the top if you want deeper, nuttier flavor and a little crunch.
• Frost the cake the day you serve it, since meringue frosting doesn’t love an overnight stay in the fridge.

Variations

• Use sweetened flaked coconut from a bag if cracking a whole coconut feels like too much.
• Swap the pineapple filling for lemon curd to go fully tart and citrusy.
• Stir a splash of rum or coconut extract into the filling for a piña colada lean.