Pineapple Coconut Sheet Cake or Pina Colada on a Plate

It's Sheetcake Week here! Actually, I made 2 different kinds of cake for a lunch I held for some bible study friends this week so, I thought I'd post the recipes I came up with. I also made the Biscoff Sheet Cake you can find here!   

This is a dense full of flavor sheet cake. Packed with coconut and chunks of pineapple, it's a slice of a tropical paradise on a plate.   You can top this cake with a thinner Coconut Glaze as shown or with a slightly thicker Icing.  It's good either way. 

      Pineapple Coconut Sheet Cake

  Click here for a printable version of this recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

Cake:

• 2 1/2 cups Flour
• 2 cups White Sugar
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1- 20 oz can of Crushed Pineapple in Natural Juice not syrup- Don't drain. 
• 1/3 cup of Shredded Coconut
• 1/2 cup Butter- 1 stick
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream- can be low fat
• 2 large eggs

Glaze:

1 cup Butter- 2 sticks

1 1/2 cups of White Sugar

2/3 cup  coconut milk- or if you thought you had coconut mil but it turned out to be Coconut Ginger Soup instead- just use 2/3 cup milk and a 1/2 tsp of coconut extract. 

1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flaked coconut- I like to toast mine but you can add it straight out of the bag. 

  OR
Icing:

1/2 cup butter- 1 stick

1/3 cup coconut milk or regular milk and 1/2 tsp coconut extract

2  cups  powdered sugar
1/2 cup flaked coconut

1 tsp vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 400º F 
2. Grease and flour a 12x17 Jelly roll pan, or a 9x13 pan (thicker cake) or a 14"x11" pan- just use what you have!
3. In a large bowl place the 2 cups flour, 2 cups white sugar the 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder and the 1/2 tsp of salt. Mix together with a whisk until well combined.
4. In a small microwavable bowl, place the butter.  Heat on high for 45-60 seconds until the butter is melted.  Remove and set aside
5. In a small bowl. Mix together the 1/2  cup sour cream and the 2 eggs until well combined. Pour into the large bowl with the dry ingredients.  Don't stir yet!
6. Open the can of crushed pineapple and dump it into the bowl- juice and all. 
7. Pour the melted butter on top and then mix everything together until well combined. 
8. Pour batter into the prepared pan and put into oven. 
9. Bake for 20- 28 minutes depending on how big a pan you have. The larger the pan- the thinner the batter will spread and the faster it will cook. 

Glaze:

1. In a large saucepan, over medium place the 1 cup butter, 2/3 cup milk and the 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Bring to a boil stirring constantly and boil for 2 mins.
2. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and coconut and stir until smooth. 
3. Using a fork, poke holes every inch or so into the top of the cake.
4. Immediately pour over the glaze over the hot cake and spread around to cover the top. 

Icing:

1. In a large saucepan, over medium place the 1/2 cup butter, 1/3 cup coconut milk and bring almost to a boil.
2. Remove from the heat (take it off the stove so you don't have powdered sugar all over it to clean up from the grates and burners- Yep that's what I do sometimes and it's a mess)  
3. Add 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla (and the coconut extract if you're using regular milk) to the hot mix and stir until smooth. 
4. Add the coconut and stir to combine.
5. Immediately pour over the hot cake and spread around to cover the top. 

Eat warm or let cool before serving.