Pina Colada Cake and Aloha

During the ending months of the 2012 Presidential campaign, I got to the point where I hardly ever checked my FaceBook feed because of all the political misinformation and hate messages around. Thankfully that content has almost dried up these days. But what it has been replaced with lately is nearly as dangerous. I'm talking about recipes. Lots and lots of shared recipes, most of them for cakes or pies full of sugar, fat and everything else we shouldn't consume in mass quantities.

There is one, in particular, that piqued my interest and, since it is my husband's poker night tonight and lots of people will be here to eat the results, I decided to try the recipe for Pina Colada Cake. Here's how it turned out.

Scott and I ate the "photo" piece and it was very good. Reminded us of a pineapple tres leches cake. Here's the recipe I used and, as always, made a few adjustments, like adding rum. How can you have pina colada cake without rum? Also, the original instructions were to top with whipped cream and then cover with pineapple and coconut. I opted to put the pineapple and coconut into the sauce that gets poured over the warm cake, then cool it, add whipped cream and sprinkle toasted coconut on top. Hope it turns out as well for you as it did for me.

Pina Colada Cake
1 yellow cake mix (I always use Duncan Hines)
1 large can of crushed pineapple, drained
2 14 oz. cans sweetened condensed milk
1 cup shredded coconut
2 teaspoons Mexican vanilla
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 cups whipped cream or whipped topping

Prepare cake according to directions on the box. Add 1/2 of the drained pineapple, 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla and 1 tablespoon rum. Bake in 9x13 pan until done.

While cake is baking, mix two cans of sweetened condensed milk with the remaining pineapple, 1/2 cup of coconut, 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla and 1 tablespoon rum. 

Remove cake from oven and let cool slightly. While still very warm, poke holes in the cake with a wooden skewer or fork. Pour milk mixture over cake and allow it to soak in completely. Cover and refrigerate at this point. Toast the remaining 1/2 cup of coconut until lightly browned and reserve. 

Just before serving, top the cake with whipped cream and sprinkle the toasted coconut on top. Invite a lot of people over to your house to share it because, if you don't, you'll end up eating the whole thing yourself. It's that good.  

This will be my last post for at about three weeks because tomorrow Scott and I are off to Hawaii. We'll stay a week in Honolulu with my niece, Marsha, seeing all Oahu has to offer. Then he and I board a cruise ship for a week of seeing the islands of Maui, Hawaii and Kauai. We'll return to Honolulu and spend another five days before coming home. I have never been to Hawaii so I'm hoping for a beautiful adventure. Hopefully I'll have lots of photos and great stories to tell you when I get back. 

Until then, thanks for stopping by today and Aloha!