The Charmed Kitchen

This cake roll makes a great dessert for almost any occasion. The tender sponge cake is filled with a mixture of sweetened pineapple, chopped nuts and coconut. Then it is topped with more pineapple and toasted coconut.

It looks difficult, but it is really easy to make. Most cake rolls are baked, then rolled,  cooled and filled. In this recipe, the filling is baked in the roll. The pineapple mixture is placed in the baking pan, then the batter is  spread on top, before baking. Once baked, the cake is rolled up and cooled. Once cooled, it is topped with the pineapple sauce and toasted coconut. You can make the cake a day or two ahead, wrap and pop in the fridge, then just add the toppings before serving. It also freezes well.

Here is the recipe. Hope you will give this one a try. I think you will love it as much as I do.

Pineapple Cake Roll

1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, unsweetened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup flaked coconut

1/4 cup chopped nuts

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

4 large eggs

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Powdered sugar

Topping, see below

Drain pineapple well; reserve 3/4 cup juice and 1/2 cup crushed pineapple for topping. Combine in a large mixing bowl the drained pineapple, brown sugar, coconut, nuts (your choice), 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, cinnamon and cloves. Mix well and spread over the bottom of an ungreased 15 × 10 × 1-inch jelly-roll pan. Set aside. Place egg whites in a bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/3 cup sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and pale yellow; gradually beat in remaining 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Gently fold egg whites into egg yolk mixture. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Gently fold flour mixture into egg mixture. Spread batter evenly over pineapple mixture in pan. Bake in preheated 375° oven for 20-25 minutes. Carefully loosen cake around edges. Invert cake onto kitchen towel which has been sprinkled with powdered sugar. Let stand 3-4 minutes then roll up, jelly-roll fashion. Cool cake then garnish with pineapple topping.

Topping: Combine 3/4 cup reserved pineapple juice, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in saucepan; blend well. Cook until thick and clear. Stir in reserved pineapple; cool. Spoon on cake roll and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

To toast coconut- place about a cup of coconut on a baking sheet . Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 5-8 minutes, or until coconut turns a nice golden color. Watch carefully, so you don’t burn it. I like to use large flake coconut.