Pina Colada Pound Cake

Summer is calling and your favorite tropical beverage turned cake will bring plenty of smiles with this from scratch Pina Colada Pound Cake recipe. 

You may be wondering why I’m calling this a pound cake but showing photos of a Bundt so let’s talk about the difference between the two before we move onto baking up this gorgeous Bundt cake of all bundt cakes. 

While often used interchangeably, a pound cake is typically baked in a tube pan, one that has high sides and a hole in the middle needed to cook thoroughly, whereas a Bundt pan (also a type of tube pan) has the ridges and grooves that allow more of the cake to come in contact with the edges of the pan, allowing the heat to transfer more evenly and giving you that light crust outer edge while keeping the center nice and moist. 

And the obvious, of course. A Bundt pan also allows for a beautiful cake straight out of the pan, leaving icing and decorating completely optional whereas a tube pan is what I think of when I think of angel food cake which are quite boring without the toppings.

Not all cake recipes are suited to be baked in a Bundt pan, though. They’re really best for dense cakes like butter, coffee, and pound cakes, leaving the lighter cakes for the tube pan.

For this cake, I was really going for both beauty and flavor and knew I wanted to bake it in this spiral Bundt pan.

I always add icing to all my cakes but that’s because I think that’s often the best part of every cake. You don’t “have to” add the coconut rum icing to this Pina Colada Pound Cake for it to be delicious, but I would if I were you. 

You could also add some toasted coconut flakes and really amp up the coconut flavoring, but I didn’t want it to compete with those swirls of icing and found that by using coconut milk and coconut rum in the recipe, it wasn’t lacking any of that tropical taste. 

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Pina Colada Pound Cake

Yield: 1 cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Turn your favorite tropical drink into an easy bundt cake bursting with pineapple flavor and topped off with a coconut rum icing.

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Ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons Barcardi coconut rum
• 4 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
• For the Icing:
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Barcardi coconut rum

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10 inch Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray with flour, or spray with nonstick baking spray and then sift flour into the pan, tapping to remove any excess.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, cream the sugar and butter together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and rum, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until each egg is combined.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients and coconut milk to the butter mixture, alternating between the two, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat on medium, scraping down the sides and bottom with a spatula. Fold in the crushed pineapple.

Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cake stand to cool completely.

To make the Icing: Whisk the milk, powdered sugar and rum until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and drizzle over the top.

Speaking of those icing swirls, have you ever try to use a fancy, decorative Bundt pan only to have it stick and not come out when you try to invert it? Have no fear. 

After having that issue myself, even when I sprayed and dusted with flour, I set out to experiment with a non-stick cooking spray WITH flour. 

Y’all, I’m happy to report that this beauty of a Bundt cake baked in probably the most difficult pan to use came out like a charm by using Baker’s Joy baking spray. No, this is not an advertisement for them but I’m telling you that you will save yourself the misery of a stuck cake by giving it a whirl. Be sure to be generous and get into each of the grooves. 

I love this cake in the summer. It would be perfect for a poolside celebration, for making while on vacation, or heck, for making while stuck at home dreaming of being on vacation. 

With Father’s Day coming up, it would also be the perfect dessert after an afternoon of barbecuing. 

And to keep with the tropical theme, go ahead and whip up a batch of these Frozen Pineapple Margaritas while you’re at it.