Belizean Coconut Trifle Cake

Belizean coconut trifle cake is a one-pan butter cake, heavy with coconut, scented with pineapple essence and lime zest, baked in a 9×9 pan and cut into squares. Despite the name it is not a layered custard trifle. In Belize the trifle is this cake.

Evaporated milk keeps the crumb wet, which is why it stays moist for days rather than drying out overnight the way a plain butter cake does.

Belizean Coconut Trifle Cake Ingredients:

• 1 cup (227 g) butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) pineapple essence
• 3 cups (360 g) flour
• 3 teaspoons (12 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) nutmeg
• Zest of one lime
• 1/2 bag (7 oz / 200 g) coconut flakes, or 1 whole shredded fresh coconut if available
• 1 large can (12 oz / 354 ml) evaporated milk. Use only half the can if using fresh shredded coconut

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9×9-inch (23×23 cm) baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with evaporated milk, and mix until well combined.
5. Fold in the coconut flakes or shredded fresh coconut.
6. Add pineapple essence and lime zest, mixing gently to incorporate.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared 9×9-inch pan.
8. Bake for 50 minutes at 350°F (175°C) or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It is a deep pan of batter, so start checking at 45 minutes and give it up to 60 if the middle is still wet.

Storage and Make-Ahead

This is a cake that improves on day two. Covered at room temperature it keeps four days, and the evaporated milk and coconut keep the crumb wet the whole time. Do not refrigerate it. Cold firms the butter and the texture goes tight and crumbly.

It freezes three months, whole or in squares. Wrap tightly, thaw at room temperature, and if you want it warm give a square 15 seconds in the microwave rather than an oven, which dries the cut edges.

Bake it a day ahead if you are making it for something. Cut squares dry faster than a whole cake, so leave it uncut until you serve it.

Equipment

A 9×9-inch (23×23 cm) square pan. A round 9-inch tin holds about a fifth less and will overflow with this much batter. Two loaf tins work if that is what you have.

An electric mixer for the creaming stage. A cup of butter and a cup and a half of sugar creamed properly is what gives the cake its lift, and it is a long job by hand.

A fine grater for the lime zest. Take the green only and stop at the white pith, which is bitter.

Tips and Variations

Fresh grated coconut beats the bag if you can get it, and the recipe already accounts for it: use only half the can of evaporated milk, because fresh coconut carries its own moisture.

Pineapple essence is doing real work here and there is no pineapple in the cake otherwise. If you cannot find it, vanilla makes a good cake but a different one.

Sweetened coconut flakes will push it noticeably sweeter. Drop the sugar to 1 1/4 cups if that is what you are using.

Nutrition is estimated from standard ingredient labels, per square, twelve squares from a 9×9 pan.

Related Recipes

Enjoy this recipe? You may also enjoy our Belizean rum cake recipe or 7UP Cake recipe.

For the other coconut sweets: coconut crusts, coconut tableta and coconut cream pie.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Belizean trifle cake actually a trifle?

Not in the British sense. There is no custard, no jelly and no layering. It is a baked coconut butter cake, cut into squares, and trifle cake is simply what it is called.

What does pineapple essence do if there is no pineapple?

It carries the whole tropical top note. Two teaspoons against three cups of flour is enough to scent the cake, and with the lime zest it is what stops this tasting like a plain coconut sponge. Vanilla is a workable swap but the cake changes character.

Can I use fresh coconut instead of the bag?

Yes, one whole shredded fresh coconut. Halve the evaporated milk when you do, because fresh coconut brings its own moisture and the full can makes the batter too loose to bake through.

Why is my cake still wet in the middle at 50 minutes?

It is a deep pan of heavy batter and ovens vary. Give it up to 60 minutes, and cover the top loosely with foil if it is browning before the centre sets. The toothpick is the test, not the clock.

Can I bake it in a round tin or a loaf tin?

A 9-inch round holds about a fifth less than a 9×9 square and will overflow. Two loaf tins work well and bake faster, so start checking at 40 minutes.

How long does it keep?

Four days covered at room temperature, and it is better on the second day. It freezes for three months. Do not refrigerate it.

How many does it serve?

Twelve squares from a 9×9 pan, or eight larger pieces. It is rich, so twelve is the realistic count.

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