Coconut layer cake with lime and pineapple filling

1.Prepare the pineapple first. Trim both ends then cut away the skin and eyes. Cut pineapple into quarters lengthways and cut off the centre core. Finely chop enough pineapple to make ½ cup; put remaining pineapple into a container, refrigerate and serve as a fresh fruit. Drain off 25ml fresh pineapple juice for the lime curd. Mop chopped pineapple with paper towels before using.

2.To make the lime curd, put butter, sugar, lime zest and juice and reserved pineapple juice in a sturdy glass or china bowl and cover with heavy-duty plastic wrap. Cook in a microwave on high power for 4 minutes. Remove bowl, carefully remove plastic wrap and add the strained eggs. Stir. Cook uncovered on high power for 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor and blend for 2 minutes. Cool then refrigerate. (If you don’t have a microwave, simply make a traditional stove-top lemon curd, replacing the lemon with lime.)

3.To prepare the cake, line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with baking paper on the base and sides. Preheat oven to 180°C.

4.Sift flour, baking powder and salt together onto a piece of paper. Beat butter with an electric beater until soft and loose, then gradually beat in sugar and continue beating until creamed (light and white in colour). With the machine running, gradually beat in the eggs, adding up to 3 tablespoons of the sifted dry ingredients in stages during beating. Stir in remaining dry ingredients, alternating with the milk mixed with vanilla extract. Pour into tins and gently smooth the tops to make them even.

5.Bake for about 25 minutes until lightly browned on top and slightly pulling away from the tins. Leave in tins for 15 minutes to cool, then turn out, remove baking paper and cool on cake racks.

6.Once the sponges are cool, sandwich them with lime curd (you’ll only need half the curd; reserve the rest to use on pancakes, toast or other desserts) and the finely chopped pineapple.

7.For the frosting, put all the ingredients except vanilla and coconut in a china mixing bowl. Add a few grains of salt and set the bowl over a small pan of gently bubbling water. Beat with a hand-held beater for 4 minutes, or until the mixture will stand in peaks. Remove from heat and beat for 2 minutes, or until the frosting is thick and stiff. Add vanilla extract and spread over cake, including the sides. Sprinkle with coconut. Leave cake for at least 30 minutes before serving. It can happily sit at room temperature for several hours, or transfer to a cake container and serve within 2 days.