Toasted Pound Cake with Pineapple and Coconut Rum Caramel

When Mai-yan and I were on our bike tour we didn’t make many desserts (though we may have eaten quite a few).

One of the few that we did make was simple: toasted store bought pound cake with fresh grilled fruit. It was so simple, but so delicious and memorable. I don’t think we really thought it through. It was just one of those times where all the right pieces came together and we ended up with this beautiful eating experience. On our last camping trip, I decided to try to recreate (a different rendition of) that dessert, this Toasted Pound Cake with Pineapple and Coconut Rum Caramel.

Store bought pound cake is just fine here. I used a mediocre pound cake that had been hanging out in my freezer for a little too long, and it was perfect. We toasted slices of the pound cake using a camp stove toaster. You can also toast the cake in a skillet or on a grate over the campfire, but those camp stove toasters are pretty great.

For the topping, fresh pineapple gets doused in a coconut rum caramel sauce. Super simple, and super delicious on top of buttery toasted pound cake! If you have a campfire going, I’m sure it would be spectacular to grill the pineapple and just pour the caramel sauce on top.

Toasted Pound Cake with Pineapple and Coconut Rum Caramel

Yield

8 servings

Prep Time / Cook Time

5 minutes / 25 minutes

Activity Guide

Car Camping

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil
• a big pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons rum
• 1 pineapple, peeled and chopped
• 1 store bought pound cake

Tools

• Can opener
• Cutting board
• Knife
• Whisk
• Camp toaster or grill
• Heavy bottomed medium pot

Method

1. First, make the caramel. Have all your ingredients within reach and ready to go. Heat the sugar and water over moderately high heat, shaking the pot occasionally to keep the sugar from burning. Eventually the sugar will melt completely and turn a deep amber color. Once that happens, remove the pan from the heat and add the coconut milk and coconut oil (be warned that the mixture will bubble up quite a bit at this point). Whisk vigorously until the sauce is smooth. If the sugar seizes up, return the pan to low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until it melts again.
2. Once the sauce is smooth, add a big pinch of salt and the rum. Whisk again to combine.
3. Add the chopped pineapple to the hot caramel and stir until it is coated in the sauce.
4. Toast the pound cake slices on a camp toaster set over your camp stove. Serve with the pineapple and caramel sauce.