• Note = put the tins of coconut milk for the frosting in the fridge the night before

For the cake

• Preheat the oven to 160c fan
• Grease two 10 inch baking tins with a little oil and line with baking paper
• Drain a tin of pineapple chunks over a bowl saving the juice, it weighed 270g once drained. Place pineapple in a food processor and pulse a few times to break the pineapple down to a crushed/ chunky puree type texture. Pour into a sieve and press out the excess liquid. I weighed it again to check for this recipe and it now weighed 140g. approx 1/3 -1/2 cup
• In a bowl whisk the oil and both sugars together for a minute until well combined, then add the milk and whisk again to combine.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices and add to the bowl and mix in. Add the apple cider vinegar and mix.
• Mix in the pineapple, lime zest and desiccated coconut and chopped candied stem ginger.
• Finally add 3 tbsp of the reserved pineapple juice and mix.
• Dived equally between the two tins and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 30-35 minutes until golden and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Leave to cool in the tins, for half an hour, then gently remove tins and baking paper and cool on a cooling rack.

Pineapple lime filling and flowers

• Cut the skin off a pineapple, cut in half and remove the core and cut into thin small chunks, add to a pan with the juice of half a lime and the sugars and simmer for about 10 minutes until thick and syrupy. Leave to cool completely. Use the rest of the pineapple to make pineapple flowers if you wish.

  Cut thin slices of the pineapple using a mandolin. place slices spaced out on a lined baking tray. Dry out in a low oven at 100c for 1 hour then turn them over and dry out the other side for another hour (you could also flip them every half an hour for 2 hours), then quickly shape them by placing in a small tart tin or over balls of screwed up tin foil and leave to cool and harden in shape.

Coconut cream

• The night before place two tins of coconut milk in the fridge to firm up, open tins and using a spoon remove the hard cream that has set at the top of the tin. discard the rest of the liquid we only need the solid cream part.
• Add cream to a stand mixer with a whisk, or into a food processor, sift in the icing sugar and mix until thick and creamy, add the lime juice and mix in, taste. if you would like more sweetness you can add it now, however remember the filling is very sweet .

  Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up a little, (can be made day or a few hours in advance and left in fridge but mixed again before use)

Assembling cake

• If the cakes have domed while baking level the tops by slicing them evenly using a serrated knife.
• Place one of the cake layers on cake plate and spoon on half of the cream and spread out, then add the pineapple compote, saving a little for the top. Add the second sponge on top and add the rest of the cream. Then spoon on some of the compote and place on flowers and grate over some lime zest and add some toasted coconut (optional)
• Note = add the pineapple flowers just before serving or the cream will soften them after a while.

  The assembled cake is best eaten on the day. If baked as a loaf tin, you can add a lime drizzle icing and keep it in a tin.

  The cake with coconut cream should be kept in the fridge after two hours, but will taste better eaten before it has been in the fridge. The cakes can be baked the day before and wrapped up in plastic wrap and kept in a tin before assembling.