Pineapple Confetti Cake

I enjoy making cakes from scratch, but every once in awhile I need to make something faster, or I feel lazy, and a box comes in handy. This cake is a lazy example. I could have shaved the top layer to make it flatter, but that would have been far too much effort!

Pineapple Confetti Cake

Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp butter
8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained (press into strainer and retain juice)
pinch salt
pinch nutmeg

Cake:
1 box white cake mix
1 cup water
retained pineapple juice
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 large egg whites
1/4 cup colored sprinkles

1 can white frosting (or 2 cups homemade buttercream frosting)
1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut flakes


Preheat oven to 350. Combine all filling ingredients in medium saucepan. Simmer and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and no longer looks cloudy (about 5 minutes). Set aside to cool.
Spray 2 9” round baking pans with baking spray. Combine cake ingredients in mixer (or by hand) and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined. Pour equal amounts batter into pans, smooth out with a spatula. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and pick inserted comes out clean.
Let cool, remove from pans. If desired, trim layers to make them more flat and even. Spread thin layer of frosting on top of first layer. Spread pineapple filling on frosting. Place second cake layer on top.
Frost cake and sprinkle with coconut flakes.

Avocado Coconut Pound Cake

More fun with avocado! When I open up an avocado, one of the first things that comes to mind is the buttery texture. I love to bake, and I was curious to see how well avocado would substitute for butter in a cake recipe. Pound cake seemed to be the perfect buttery cake to experiment with. It worked wonderfully. The result was a very moist cake with a beautiful color and great flavor. I paired it with coconut and lime flavors, which were very complimentary.
I used a fancy bundt pan, because I have one, but any bundt pan will do. Mine is non stick, but I still sprayed it liberally with baking spray. If you don't have cake flour, you can substitute 3/4 cup all purpose flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch for each cup of cake flour.

Avocado Coconut Pound Cake

2 avocados, peeled and mashed
3 cups white sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup sour cream
3 cups cakes flour
1 tsp baking powder
zest 1 lime (reserve a tsp for glaze)
1 cup sweetened flake coconut (plus a little extra for garnish)

Glaze :
1 cup confectioners sugar
3 tbsp lime juice
reserved lime zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees . Thoroughly spray standard size bundt pan with baking spray. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the avocado and sugar until thoroughly mixed. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla, lime juice, sour cream, lime zest and coconut. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 1 hour or until pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, then invert onto another plate.
Combine garnish ingredients and drizzle on warm cake. Sprinkle with coconut.