Piña Colada Cake

I'm an early riser. Always have been. Not counting when I was 12 and thought it was cool to sleep in. Peer pressure? I don't know. I was weird.


The only other people around here that wake up in the morning of their own free will are Boots and Cookie. So the first few hours of my every day are usually spent with them. It starts out with, "Yammie! We're hungry! Make us cupcakes!"

For some reason they really like me. I don't know why.

I'm just kidding about making cupcakes for breakfast. I usually say no.

Anyways, after a while, they decide it's time to PLAY. 

 
Anyways, Cookie usually cuddles up in my lap and says, "Let's play fairies and princesses!"

Boots runs in wielding a mace and a sword, "NO. We're playing mutant superheros! What are your powers?"

"Oh oh!" Cookie pipes up, "My princess fairy powers are cupcakes, strawberries, rainbows, and flowers!"

"I'll just have the same as Cookie." I say.

"NO." says Boots, "You are a MUTANT fairy princess. You have to have cool powers too."

"Okay, whatever. I guess I'll take anti-gravity and ninja powers."

"GOOD. Now we have to fight."

He bashes me on the head with his foam mace for a while and then says, "Come on.... FIGHT ME."

Then he gets so annoyed at me that he turns into The Hulk and starts lifting chairs over his head and stuff.

"Boots. If you can't cool it, you're going to have to run around the house a few times to release your energy."

Meanwhile, Cookie has gotten bored and has lined up all the extracts (you know... vanilla, coconut, maple, rum, butter, etc.) on the ground and is playing house with them while she sings softly to herself.

Anyways, about this cake. I just have one thing to say: PIÑA COLADAS ROCK MY LIFE.

Life does not get better than a moist, fine-crumbed, pineapple cake with a fluffy cream cheese frosting loaded with coconut extract. Except an actual piña colada on the beach might be a little better. And these piña colada granola bars take a close third.

Piña Colada Cake

Cake:
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons coconut extract
2/3 cup crushed pineapple (do not drain)
1 1/4 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
A pinch of cream of tarter
2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease two round 8 inch pans and line with parchment paper.
Beat the butter and sugar for about five minutes until fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time beating well until smooth. Add the vanilla and coconut extract and pineapple and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, powder and salt. Sift in a little at a time. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar in a separate bowl until soft peaks form. Add the 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat until medium peaks form. Whisk about 1/4 of the whites into the batter to soften it and then fold in the rest. Do not overmix. Divide evenly into the pans and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting:
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons coconut extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Slightly soften the cream cheese and butter, just enough so that you can beat them together. Beat for about five minutes until smooth. Add the extracts and then the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time until desired consistency is reached. Frost cool cake and top with some sweetened flaked coconut and dried pineapple flowers (mine turned out sort of dumb because I was too lazy to cut them thin enough and so impatient that I turned up the oven temp and burned the edges. But Martha's look great).

Also, if you want it to be like a real piña colada, don't be afraid to add some rum into the cake while you're adding the pineapple and/or mix some into the frosting. I, being only 19, have difficulty acquiring such treasures as rum, but I'm sure it could only make it better.

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