A tres leches soak is the difference between a fruit loaf and this one. The Pineapple Coconut Cake starts as a moist pineapple cake, takes a rich tres leches over the top, and finishes under a layer of coconut. The soak is what keeps the crumb properly moist, which on a dessert table is a practical virtue rather than a poetic one.
What you get, and how much of it
Two formats, the same cake. A 20cm loaf is $35 and serves eight. A 25cm bundt serves sixteen. The bundt has the shape that holds a table together visually; the loaf slices faster and stacks better if you are running more than one flavour. There is no soft frosting on the outside and no filling in the middle, so nothing shifts while it waits.
One of three cakes with a no added dairy option
This is one of only three cakes where no added dairy is a preference you select at checkout rather than something you have to ask about. The other two are the Brazilian Carrot and the Apple Crumble. As it comes by default this cake is topped with a rich tres leches, so the no added dairy version is a different build of the cake rather than the standard one with something left off. Under recent New Zealand food labelling rules we do not claim anything is dairy free, only that we have not added any dairy-containing ingredients, and our kitchen is small and without exclusive production areas for all of our different recipes, so traces may occur. Nothing here is guaranteed safe for severe coeliac disease, and nothing on the menu is both made with no added gluten and made with no added dairy at the same time. The dairy free cakes and desserts on request collection and the no added gluten cakes and desserts collection are the two places to start, and there is more on the no added gluten range here.
The reason this matters at an event is not the label. It is that the guest who avoids dairy gets a slice of the same cake as everyone else, off the same board, rather than a separate plate produced apologetically from the kitchen. Most of our hot and cold drinks also have a dairy-free milk option as standard, so a hot chocolate alongside it is straightforward too.
Why a travel cake suits a room without a kitchen
The pineapple coconut belongs to a range of nine tea cakes and loaves we call travel cakes. They are sturdy, they carry in a box, they hold at room temperature away from sun and heat, and there is no delicate finish to protect. If you are hosting fifteen to fifty people in a hall, an office or someone's back garden, that removes the three things that usually go wrong: no fridge to commandeer, no plating on site, no assembly while guests watch.
Counting heads and adding height
Work from the serving numbers rather than instinct. Three bundts feed forty-eight. Two bundts and two loaves feed forty-eight as well, and give you four flavours, which is what makes a table look planned. Trays from the mini cake range come as six or twelve, one serving each, and they fill the gaps between the larger cakes. If you want a taller centrepiece as well, the layer cakes come as a 15cm serving twelve to fifteen, a 20cm serving twenty to twenty-five, and a 25cm serving thirty to thirty-five. The dessert catering boxes page sets out the remaining formats.
Taste it with the person you are hosting with
Bring your co-host in and order a Tropical Coconut slice from the cabinet between you. It is not the same cake, it is a slice of our four-layer Tropical Coconut Cake, vanilla sponge with a silky coconut filling and caramelised pineapple on top, but it puts the pineapple and coconut pairing in front of both of you. Deciding that over a table with someone else takes ten minutes and settles an argument that would otherwise happen on the day.
Ordering and visiting
Travel cakes need two days' notice, and the checkout date picker only offers dates the kitchen can meet for what is in your cart, including the dietary preference you have chosen. Pickup is from our patisserie inside The Welder on Welles Street in the central city, and we are collection only, events included. We are open 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am to 3pm Saturday. The frequently asked questions page covers storage and changes, and this piece on ordering walks through the process.
