Tropical Pound Cake

A yummy pound cake with a taste of the tropics. I hope you'll give this one a try rather than thinking just another pound cake.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 20 mins
• Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

• Tropical Poundcake

• 3⁄4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 2  cups sugar
• 1  cup butter, softened (1 cup)
• 3  eggs
• 4 1⁄2 cups flour
• 1  tablespoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 cup sour cream
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1  teaspoon  rum extract
• 1  grated lemon, rind of
• 1 (16 ounce) can pineapple chunks in juice, drained (reserving 1/4 cup juice)
• 1⁄2 cup  mashed ripe banana
• 1⁄2 cup pitted dates, chopped

• Crunchy Topping

• 1  cup  dried banana pieces, crushed
• 1  cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1  tablespoon sugar
• 1  teaspoon cinnamon
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Place the coconut in a shallow pan and bake 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until golden.
3. In a large nonreactive bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream sugar and butter about 1 minute or until well blended.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. By hand, blend in flour, soda, sour cream, vanilla, rum extract, lemon rind and 1/4 cup reserved pineapple juice.
6. Mix well.
7. Blend in toasted coconut, drained pineapple, mashed bananas and dates. (The mixture will be fairly thick.)
8. To make topping: In a small bowl, blend all topping ingredients together.
9. Spoon cake batter into a lightly greased and floured 8-inch Bundt pan; sprinkle topping mixture over batter and bake 1 hour and 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
10. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
11. Remove from pan and slice.