Cream of Coconut Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I came up with this after mistakenly buying cream of coconut, thinking it was coconut cream. Cream of coconut is usually used for making pina coladas (e.g. Coco Goya® Cream of Coconut) and is not the same thing as coconut cream. It turned out so great I had to go back and buy another can!

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 2 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 22 mins
• Calories: 438 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup butter
• 2 egg whites
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 egg yolks
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar, divided
• 1 (15 ounce) can cream of coconut
• 7 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes
• 7 ⅓ tablespoons butter
• 1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, juice reserved, divided

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 2 baking pans.

Step 2

Place brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and coconut flakes in a microwave-safe container and heat until warm, about 2 minutes. Mix into a paste.

Step 3

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Whip egg whites in a metal bowl with a clean electric mixer until stiff peaks are formed.

Step 4

Beat 1/2 cup white sugar and 7 1/3 tablespoons butter in a bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add remaining 1/2 cup white sugar, cream of coconut, reserved pineapple juice, egg yolks, and vanilla extract; mix thoroughly. Add the flour mixture; stir batter slowly until fully combined. Fold in the whipped egg whites using a spatula.

Step 5

Spread the brown sugar paste over the bottoms of the prepared pans. Arrange pineapple chunks on top. Pour in the batter.

Step 6

Bake in the preheated oven until tops are brown and crisp and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool, about 25 minutes. Flip cakes over onto a serving plate and out of the baking pans.