Pineapple Cheesecake with Coconut (An Easy Homemade Recipe)

A slice of cheesecake with pineapple topping and whipped cream.

5 from 1 vote

Pineapple Cheesecake with Coconut (An Easy Homemade Recipe)

Easy baked pineapple cheesecake filled with homemade pineapple filling over a coconut cookie crust. Deliciously the best ever!

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Chilling Time4

Total Time5 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: Seven inches round cake

Calories: 4032.8kcal

Author: Priya Maha

Ingredients

Crust

100 g Digestive cookies or Graham Crackers
50 g butter melted
15 g granulated sugar
25 g coconut flakes unsweetened, not toasted

Cream Cheese Filling

450 g cream cheese at room temperature
125 g granulated sugar
125 g pineapple filling (see the ingredients below)
20 g all purpose flour
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
120 g heavy cream
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon lemon juice

Pineapple Filling

275 g pineapple chunks
60 ml water (or pineapple syrup in using canned pineapple)
100 g brown sugar
2 teaspoon lemon juice
½ tablespoon cornstarch (mix with 1 tablespoon water)

Garnish

Whipped cream
Cubed pineapples
Pineapple filling

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Preheat oven to 160°Celsius.

Making the crust

Crush the Digestive cookies into crumbs by processing them in a food processor or by putting them in a zip lock bag and pressing them with a rolling pin.
Place the crumbs in a bowl. Add the sugar and coconut flakes. Mix well.
Melt butter. Let it cool down before adding to the crumbs. Mix well.
Transfer the crust mix into a parchment paper-lined 7 inches round springform pan and press it down evenly and firmly. Set aside.

Making the homemade pineapple filling

Cut pineapple into small chunks. If using canned pineapple, drain the syrup. Measure the fruits and add into a food processor.
Add water (or pineapple syrup) and blend to a smooth paste.
Pour the pineapple paste into a medium-sized pan. Add sugar and lemon juice.
Cook over low heat until the pineapple thickens slightly.
Mix cornstarch with water and pour it into the pineapple filling. Stir quickly and thoroughly.
Continue to cook until the filling thickens further. Check by gathering it to the center of the pan. If it does not spread out too quickly, it is done and can be removed from heat. Let it cool completely before adding into the cheesecake filling.

Making the cheesecake filling

In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth for 30 - 60 seconds.
Scrape the sides of the bowl, add the sugar, flour, and salt. Beat again for 20 seconds.
Add in both the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat for about 10 seconds until the eggs are well combined. Scrape the bowl and continue beating for another 10 seconds until the batter is all smooth and creamy. Do not overbeat to avoid the batter from incorporating too much air.
Beat in the heavy cream until it is well incorporated into the batter, followed by the pineapple filling.

Baking the cheesecake

Pour the batter into the prepared crust and bake in a water bath for 60 minutes at 160 °Celsius. When done, the sides should be firm and the center of the cake still wobbly. Turn the oven off and leave the cake in the oven for another 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and let the cake cool for another 20 minutes before loosening the cake tin and removing the cake out.
Let the cake rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Garnish the cake with a layer of pineapple filling. Whip the heavy cream and pipe swirls on the cake. Decorate with pineapple cubes.
Keep leftovers refrigerated.

Notes

Oven temperature should be reduced

Cheesecakes require a lower baking temperature compared to normal cakes. A general guide would be to lower it by at least 10 degrees Celsius from the temperature used for baking normal cakes.

A high baking temperature will result in overly browned cheesecake tops. There is also a possibility for the top of the cheesecake to crack due to high heat.

Cheesecake batter should not be overmixed

Unlike normal cakes (made using the creaming method) which require the butter and sugar to be well creamed until light and fluffy, cheesecake batter, on the contrary, does not require to be beaten to such an extent. Suffice if the cheese is beaten until it turns creamy. Ideally, this is should be within 60 seconds.

The sugar and eggs are added separately, and each time, these only require 20 to 30 seconds of beating each.

Over mixing a cheesecake batter will result in it incorporating too much air. Too many of these air bubbles will cause the top of your pineapple cheesecake to have unsightly bubbles on the surface after baking.

Position the cake in the lowest rack in the oven

This step would help prevent your pineapple cheesecake from browning too much at the top. It would also help prevent cracks in your cheesecake.

Bake the cheesecake in a water bath (bain marie)

Cheesecakes require a moist oven interior when baking. This is to help the cakes from cracking. One way to keep the interior of the oven moist is by placing a tin of water in the oven when baking. The heat in the oven will cause the water to turn into steam and the steam helps to keep the interior of the oven moist. This method of baking is known as a water bath or bain-marie.

When baking a cheesecake, place your cake tin in a baking dish filled with water in the oven and let the cake cook with the water in the oven.

When using a spring-form pan, to avoid water from the baking dish seeping into the cheesecake, you can wrap the sides of your pan securely with foil and then place it in the water-filled baking dish.

The other way is to place your springform tin in another slightly larger baking tray and then place both in the water-filled baking dish. This will also prevent the water from seeping into the cheesecake as it is baking.

Disable the 'fan' setting in the oven

If your oven comes with a fan function, disable the fan function. This helps in avoiding the top of your pineapple cheesecake from over-browning as well as avoid any cracks.

Do not overbake cheesecakes

Overbaking can result in the cheesecake texture becoming hard and leathery. It can also cause cracks in the cheesecakes.

Ideally, cheesecakes require to be baked until the sides are set but the center still wobbly. The cakes will continue to cook as they cool down in the oven after baking (turn off the oven and leave the cakes in the oven for 10 minutes after baking).

Letting the cakes rest in the oven after baking helps them to cool down gradually. This gradual cooling down process also helps avoid cracks in cheesecakes due to sudden temperature changes.

Texture of the pineapple filling in the baked cheesecake

For easy cutting, it is best that the pineapple filling used in the cheesecake is of a smooth texture (you can read more about this in my posts on pineapple filling recipe and pineapple topping recipe).

Nutrition