Tropical Pineapple Butter Cake

 

The tropical, rough leaf pineapple, in all it's golden glory is the heroine of this cake. It feels like Summer here now in Tropical North Queensland,  and it should be the season of colour, happiness, and sunshine, and yellow to me is the embodiment of these sentiments. This is a fruity, luscious, moist cake, quite sinfully delicious in it's flavour, and we kept coming back for just another mouthful. If I can't make an amazing pineapple cake in the tropics, well where can I make it?

I'll be honest with you dear reader, I've made this cake a couple of times over the last two days as I thought it was worth persisting with and perfecting, more for the right size than anything. The cake didn't need any improvement. The original recipe from American Chef Dennis Littley suggested using a 23 cm/9" round cake tin, however it was too flat for my liking. So I've adjusted this recipe down to a 20 cm tin and whilst it's still not a high cake, it's deep enough for a rich fruity buttery cake, which is perfect for dessert or afternoon tea, served with lashings of cream, mascarpone, or yoghurt if that is your preference. I really urge you to try this one if you can buy pineapples where you live. I think the fruit needs to be fresh, not tinned or frozen so that the juices, sugars and flavours can develop and caramelise perfectly.

Ingredients:

113 g (4 oz) butter

2 cups fresh pineapple chopped into about 3 cm pieces (this was one rough leaf pineapple which are smaller, sweeter, and juicier if you can get them)

2/3 cup plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, all at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Icing sugar for dusting

I used edible pineapple sage for extra colour and pizzazz on the plate, as we have a large bush of it growing. It has a very subtle pineapple flavour and lovely red flowers.

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 deg. C or 350 deg. F.

Butter a 20 cm spring form baking tin, and line the base and the sides with non-stick baking paper.

Prepare the pineapple. Remove the core, and slice the flesh into small pieces.

In a frying pan, large enough to fit the pineapple in one layer, melt the butter over a medium heat. Then pour 6 tablespoons of the melted butter into a small bowl and reserve for later. (This will be most of the melted butter.)

Add the pineapple to the frying pan in one layer, and cook for 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn it. Turn over the pieces after 5 minutes. Most of the juices will evaporate off. Only the pineapple and not the juices will be used for the cake.

Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together into a small bowl and set aside.

Beat the eggs, and egg yolk together in a larger mixing bowl, add the reserved melted butter, sugar, vanilla essence and lemon zest and mix in by hand.

Add the flour and pineapple and mix in gently by hand.

Spoon the batter into the prepared spring form cake tin. This is a wet mixture.

Bake until the cake is browned on top, 30-35 minutes. It develops a nice crust.

Cool the cake in the tin on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, and remove the sides of the tin. 

Then invert the cake onto a plate to remove from the base, and invert again onto another plate and return to the cooling rack to cool completely.

To serve, dust cake with icing sugar, add some cream, mascarpone or yoghurt. I also garnished the plate with a sprig of edible pineapple sage.

This was the cake I baked for my Mahjong friends this week as I hosted it at my home, and I think they enjoyed it with a delicious espresso coffee made by Mr. HRK. I urge you to spoil yourself and bake this one. It's a keeper.

It seems that there are lots of colds and viruses out there in the community at the moment, and they are in addition to Covid. Hope you are well, and please take care of yourself.

Warm wishes

Pauline