Last week was London Cocktail Week and even though I didn’t manage to go to even one of the events, it inspired me to bake a cocktail themed cake. A little while ago we received a bottle of Koko Kanu Rum and this was just perfect for what I had in mind. I wanted to bake a cake that reminded me of summer and sunshine and one of my favourite cocktails – a Piña Colada. Let me tell you: rum, coconut, pineapple and lime work just as well together on a plate than in a glass, believe me!

Please note: I used my new half size baking tin I bought last week from Lidl. For a full size version just double the amounts of all ingredients.

• 4 slices of pineapple (tinned)
• 150g unsalted butter
• ½ tablespoon of vanilla sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 150g white caster sugar
• 2 medium eggs
• 30ml coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons Koko Kanu Rum (or any other coconut rum. Alternatively use plain rum and coconut liqueur mix, or just rum and a bit more coconut milk)
• 150g flour
• ½ tablespoon baking powder
• 50g desiccated coconut
• 5 tablespoons icing sugar
• 1 lime
• a handful of cocktail cherries

Pre-heat your oven to 160C, 150C if fan-assisted. Gas mark 3.

Beat the butter, vanilla sugar, salt and sugar in a bowl until the mixture is creamy and fluffy. Add one egg at a time, then the rum and coconut milk. Mix the flour and desiccated coconut with the baking powder and add as well. Cut up the pineapple into small pieces (keep the juice to one side) and fold into the mixture.

Fill the cake mix into the cake tin and bake for 50 minutes. Check that the cake is fully cooked. If not, put it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes. If you are using a full-sized tin the baking time increases to 70-75 minutes.

Make a glaze with the icing sugar and the pineapple juice by whisking a few drops at a time into the sugar. It should have the consistency of a thick paste. Grate the zest of a lime.

Once the cake is out of the oven let it cool down completely. Pour the glaze on the top of the cake and decorate it with lime zest and cocktail cherries.

And there it is: a juicy Piña Colada Cake with all the Caribbean flavours you expect.

Enjoy!