Coconut-pineapple Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 (15 1/4 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained, divided use
• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup carbonated lemon-lime beverage
• 3 cups cake flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 ounces shredded coconut (for coating sides of cake)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 lb powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Recipe

• 1 grease three 9" round cake pans, and line bottoms with parchment paper.
• 2 drain pineapple, reserving 3/4 cup juice.
• 3 remove 1/4 cup of the juice for the cream cheese frosting.
• 4 reserve the pineapple for the pineapple filling.
• 5 beat butter at medium speed with a mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well.
• 6 add eggs, one at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
• 7 combine 1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice and 7-up.
• 8 add flour to butter mixture alternately with juice mixture, beginning and ending with flour.
• 9 beat at low speed until blended after each addition.
• 10 stir in extracts.
• 11 pour 1/3 of batter into each of the prepared cake pans.
• 12 bake at 350 for 25- 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
• 13 remove from pans immediately; cool on wire racks.
• 14 meanwhile make pineapple filling.
• 15 stir together sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan.
• 16 stir in pineapple and water.
• 17 cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until very thick.
• 18 cool.
• 19 when cake is cool, make cream cheese frosting.
• 20 beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended.
• 21 gradually add powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough pineapple juice to make frosting a good spreading consistency, mixing well.
• 22 when cake has cooled, stack cake layers, spreading 3/4 cup pineapple filling between each layer, and spreading remaining filling on top of cake, spreading to within 1/2" of edges.
• 23 spread cream cheese frosting on sides of cake, and pipe a border around the top 1/2" edge, or just spread some of the frosting around the edge.
• 24 sprinkle coconut on sides and border, coating the cream cheese frosting.