1. Preheat the oven to 170C fan-forced (190C conventional) and grease and line three 22cm round cake tins.

2. For the cake, add all the wet ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. The key is making sure all the ingredients have amalgamated into a chunky cake-like batter but that you don't overwork it.

3. Divide the batter into your three tins. Pop in the oven for 30 minutes or until lightly golden on top. The usual cake skewer test doesn't work here as there is banana and pineapple all through the cake, and you might get a false result. The key is to wobble the cakes to ensure no movement, and when you press down on the centre of the sponge, it should bounce back to the touch; while not entirely foolproof this is a great guide for checking the doneness of this style of cake. Allow to cakes to cool completely in the tins.

4. While the cake is baking, prepare the lemon curd. Whisk the sugar, butter, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla in a saucepan over low to medium heat. Once incorporated, turn the heat to low and whisk in the whole eggs and yolks. Whisk continually until thickened and the curd coats the back of a spoon. Strain through a sieve and store in a jar until ready to use. (Any leftovers will last up to two weeks in the fridge.)

5. For the cream cheese icing, add the ingredients to a bowl and use a whisk or fork to combine – you want it to be a lovely malleable consistency.

6. To assemble, add about ¼ cup of lemon curd and one third of the icing between each cake layer, finishing with just the cream cheese icing on the top. Add the dried pineapple pieces, honeycomb and dried chamomile, if using, before serving.

Tips: This cake tastes better with time so if you bake it the day before serving it will be bursting with flavour. Store the cakes tightly-covered in the fridge overnight, and assemble the layers just before serving.

To make your own dried pineapple decorations, see Helen Goh's recipe.