Tropical Cake (With No Bits!)

Do your kids make a fuss when there's 'bits' in things? I feel your pain, so this Tropical Cake is a good call, it's fresh, tasty and has...no bits in it! Packed with pineapple and coconut, this tray bake is a yummy afternoon snack, lunchbox filler or anytime pick me up!

Tropical Cake

This cake is an easy way to get some fruit into the kids. I've used pineapple as a substitute for the butter so it's slightly lower fat than usual and the pineapple keeps the cake beautifully moist. This cake was inspired by those 1970's upside down pineapple cakes and tastes a little like them, minus the florescent red sugared cherries!

To prepare the pineapple I whizz it up in the NutriBullet blender. You essentially get pineapple juice, but with the fibre left in. The cake batter looks like it's going to be too 'wet', but it cooks well so don't be concerned if you think the batter is too runny.

Tropical Ingredients

Although there are lots of tropical fruits, Pineapple and Coconut are a couple of the better known ones. They make a lovely combination and are probably best know to us Moms in a Pina Colada. This cake has all the flavor you'd expect, without having to add any artificial flavorings. The flavor of the pineapple is what hits you first followed by the mellow coconut. Stop at one square if you can....

I bake this cake as a tray bake, so in a square pan and then I cut it into squares. There's no filling, no sandwiching this together, it's a simple tray bake eaten as it is. I like to have some snacks on hands for the kids when they get home from school, they generally come home from school starving, since it's been at least 3 hours since they last ate and this is something I make that they're always pretty happy to see sitting on the work top.

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Coconut

I use shredded coconut in this cake to add to the Tropical flavor. Not only does it add to the tropical-ness of the cake but it adds some extra sweetness. I buy coconut that's already shredded and it's widely available. Feel free to sprinkle some over the top for extra texture. If you do this sprinkle it on as soon as it comes out of the oven so they 'stick' to the cake!

Pineapple

My kids love pineapple, whether it's in a smoothie, a cake or in a hot cooked dinner and so this cake is a big hit. I use tinned pineapple in natural juice. The juice softens the fruit and sometimes a fresh pineapple can be a bit tangy, which my kids are definitely not that keen on. You can buy tinned pineapple in most places easily and it's reasonably priced. I usually have a few cans if this in the pantry.

Baking Tips For This Tropical Cake

I bake this cake as a tray bake, so in a square pan and then I cut it into squares. There's no filling, no sandwiching this together, it's a simple tray bake eaten as it is. Make sure you line the baking pan with parchment paper or grease the pan with butter to stop the cake sticking. I prefer to use butter to grease the baking pan, cutting out all the parchment paper seems like hard work to me :)

Once the cake is cooked, let it cool down in the pan and then turn it out onto cooling rack. Because of the pineapple, the cake is moist but firms up whilst it's cooling down, so taking it out of the pan before it's almost cooled means there's a chance it'll fall apart. Avoid this by letting it sit for a while.

Leftovers

This Tropical Cake will be quite happy in an airtight container for up to 3 days. In fact, it's better the following day once the flavors have developed. I tend to make this as an after school snack and then pack it for break time snacks the following day.

You can also freeze this. If you're going to freeze it, wrap slices in parchment paper individually (so you can just take out what you need) and it will keep in the freezer for up to a month. When you want to defrost it take it out of the freezer the night before and leave it in the fridge. If you want to take the chill off it, pop it into the microwave for 30 seconds to bring it up to room temperature.

More Clean Eating Cakes

• Easy clementine cake
• Clean Eating Birthday Cake
• Carrot cake muffins
• Healthy blueberry cake
• Chocolate mug cake

How To Make Tropical Cake

Ingredients

• 3 Eggs
• ½ Cup Coconut flour
• 6 tbsp Shredded coconut
• 4 Rings Pineapple Tinned
• ¼ Cup Coconut sugar
• 1 Banana Mashed
• ¼ Cup Milk Dairy, Oat

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 190° and line a square tin with parchment or foil
• In a food processor, blend the pineapple rings and eggs until they're fluffy and then transfer the mixture to a bowl
• Add the mashed banana and coconut sugar and combine with a wooden spoon
• In the blender, whizz the coconut sugar into a powder, and then add the whizzed coconut and coconut flour to the rest of the mixture and fold gently until it's all combined
• Bake for 35 minutes until cooked through and golden on top. Leave to cool down before slicing into squares
• I like to add some fruit on top if the kids are having this at home, or it's it's being packed for lunch, as is!

Tropical Cake Recipe