Hawaiian Pound Cake

This Southern-style pound cake gets the tropical treatment with crushed pineapple folded right into the batter and flaked coconut for chewy texture throughout. The unsung hero here is butternut flavoring, an old-school Southern baking ingredient that adds a deep, maple-walnut warmth nothing else quite captures. Six eggs and two cups of cake flour build the dense, buttery crumb you want from a true pound cake, while the pineapple juices keep the interior moist for days on the counter. The trick is the hot glaze. Pour the simple pineapple juice and powdered sugar mixture over the cake while it is still hot in the pan so the syrup soaks into every crevice rather than sitting on top. The result is a sweet-tangy crust that hardens just slightly as it cools and a luxuriously tender interior. Slice and serve plain or alongside vanilla ice cream.

Chef Tips

• Drain the pineapple thoroughly but reserve every drop of juice. The juice builds the glaze, and excess pineapple in the batter weighs down the crumb.
• Cream the shortening and sugar for at least 5 full minutes. This is what gives pound cake its signature fine, tight crumb.
• Add eggs one at a time and beat well between each. Dumping them in all at once causes the batter to break.
• If butternut flavoring is hard to find, substitute 1 teaspoon of maple extract or 1 teaspoon of almond extract.

Variations

• Toast the coconut before folding in for a deeper, nuttier flavor.
• Drizzle with chocolate sauce in place of the pineapple glaze for a chocolate-tropical mashup.
• Add ½ cup of chopped macadamia nuts for the full Hawaiian flavor.