Tropical Fruit Cake

My niece Katrina discovered this beautiful recipe and sent this photograph to the Pineapple Princesses. Thanks Kat it looks amazing! Anne.

“It’s supposed to be like a hummingbird cake, the banana was stronger than the pineapple in the cake, but I liked the fresh pineapple on top. The icing is cream cheese with mango. I’ll defini be doing that again!

I cut back sugar to 80g brown and 50g white sugar. I think the cake was still sweet enough but may have been slightly less moist/ faster cooking. Still a very moist cake” Kat.

Sweet, Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh, London 2017

Tropical fruit cake

Serves 8

“This is an exceptionally moist cake – almost unusually so, with its bounty of pineapple and banana and the addition of oil. It’s known as a ‘hummingbird cake’ in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and is traditionally iced with a plain cream cheese icing but we’ve added mango puree here. It’s not that the cake needs any help - you can eat it without any icing at all, if you like – but we love the chrome yellow colour it brings to the cake and the way it compliments the tropical fruits inside. Piled high with fresh fruit on top this is an unexpectedly refreshing cake.” The authors.

1 medium pineapple, peeled and core removed. 300g of the flesh should be cut unto 3–4cm chunks for the cake, 50g of the flesh should be cut into 2–3cm chunks for the garnish (drained, canned pineapple is a fine alternative to fresh); 2 large eggs; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 100g soft light brown sugar; 100g caster sugar; 160ml sunflower oil; 2 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (150g); 45g desiccated coconut; 225g plain flour; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; ½ tsp ground ginger; ½ tsp ground cardamom; ½ tsp salt

Icing: ¼ of a large ripe mango, peeled and roughly chopped (50g); 65g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 100g cream cheese; 75g icing sugar, sifted

To garnish: ½ banana, cut into roughly 1cm pieces (50g); ½ of a large ripe mango, flesh cut into long, thin strips (70g); 50g pineapple flesh (see above); scooped out seeds of 1 passionfruit; 20g flaked coconut

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas Mark 6. Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm round springform tin with baking parchment and set aside.

2  Place 300g of pineapple flesh in a food processor and use the pulse button to crush the fruit, it should be finely chopped but not become a puree. If starting with fresh pineapple, tip the finely chopped flesh into a medium saucepan and place ver a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, cook for 4-5 minutes (taking care that it does not boil vigorously as this will cause too much of the liquid to evaporate, then transfer to a large mixing bowl (large enough to mix the whole cake in later) to cool. If you are starting with canned pineapple you can skip this boiling stage.

3 Place the eggs, vanilla, soft brown sugar and caster sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with the mixer attachment in place. Whisk together for about 3 minutes, until creamy, then, with the machine on a medium speed, pour in the oil in a slow and steady stream until combined. Add this to the bowl of cooled pineapple along with the mashed bananas and desiccated coconut. Stir to combine.

4 Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt together into the wet mix and use a large spatula to fold until just combined. Pour into the cake tin and bake for about 40 minutes, until nicely browned. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas Mark 4 and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

5 To make the icing: place the mango flesh in the small bowl of a food processor and blitz to form a fine purée. Tip out into a small bowl and set aside. Add the butter and cream cheese to the food processor – there is no need to wash the bowl – and process until smooth. Add the icing sugar, pulse to combine, then add the mango purée. Pulse again until evenly mixed and scrape into a bowl. Keep in the fridge, covered, for at least 2 hours – it needs time to thicken – before icing the cake.

6 When ready to serve, use a small spatula or knife to spread a thick layer of the mango icing all over the top and sides of the cake. Place all the fruit for garnish in a small bowl, mix gently, then spoon it into the centre of the cake, you want it to be piled up in the middle, rather than spread evenly over the top. Finish by pressing the flaked coconut into just the sides of the cake and serve.

Pineapple and sweetpotatoes (oh, and marshmallows)

Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook, new revised deluxe edition, 1967 Sydney

mmmmmmm...

Fried Sweetpotatoes: Sweet Potato Surprises

2 cups mashed sweetpotatoes; 1 egg, beaten; ½ tsp salt; 1/8 tsp pepper; 8 cubes of pineapple (alternatives - 8 marshmallows or 8 orange segments); ½ cup crushed cereal flakes

Combine warm potatoes with egg, salt and pepper. If mixture is too dry, add a little milk. Form into 8 balls with a pineapple cube hidden inside of each. Roll in crushed cereal flakes. Fry in hot deep fat (375°F/190°C) until brown, drain on absorbent paper. Serves 4 or 8.

Balls may be rolled in bread crumbs instead of cereal flakes. (I used rice crumbs)

Alternatives – Add ¾ cup shredded coconut to potato mixture or 1 tsp lemon juice to potato mixture.

Delicious!

Sweetpotato Casseroles and Cups: Sweetpotatoes on Pineapple Rings

2 cups mashed sweetpotatoes; ½ tsp salt; ½ cup brown sugar; 4 slices canned pineapple; 4 marshmallows; 4 maraschino cherries

Combine sweetpotatoes, salt, sugar and 3 tblsp butter in a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Place slices of pineapple on a baking sheet. Dot with remaining butter. Force sweetpotato mixture through a pastry bag, using the rose tube, onto the slices of pineapple for individual servings. Top each with a marshmallow and a cherry.

Bake in a hot oven (400°F/200°C) until heated through, about 10 minutes. Serves 4. Potatoes may be formed into round cakes ad placed on pineapple if a pastry bag is not available.

Sweetpotato Casseroles and Cups: Pineapple Marshmallow Sweetpotatoes

2 cups mashed sweet potatoes; 1 cup milk; ½ cup pineapple juice; 1 cup diced pineapple; 2 tblsp butter; ½ tsp cinnamon; marshmallows

Mix all ingredients except marshmallows and beat until light and fluffy. Use more milk or fruit juice, if needed. Place in well-greased casserole (I used individual small ramekins) and bake in a moderate oven (350°F/180°C) until heated through, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover top with marshmallows. Return to oven to brown. Serves 6

WARNING: Do not eat too many extra marshmallows during the food preparation!!!

Cake with pineapple and fennel

https://www.goodfood.com.au/recipes/caramelised-pineapple-and-fennel-upsidedown-cake-recipe-20170925-gyo00x

Caramelised pineapple and fennel upside-down cake recipe

Recipe by Adam Liaw

Time: 30 mins - 1 hour   Serves: 8 to 10

“It may seem strange, but the aniseed flavour of fennel combines with the tartness of pineapple to make a fantastic match” from the website.

Ingredients: ¼ cup white sugar; 1 small fennel bulb, cut into thin half-moons (reserve fronds for garnish); 25g butter, plus extra for greasing; ½ small pineapple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced lengthways into wedges; 2 tbsp brown sugar; 300ml double cream, to serve

Cake batter: 2 cups plain flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp ground fennel; ½ tsp salt; 150g butter; ½ cup sugar; 2 eggs; 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Combine the white sugar and 1½ cups water in a small pan, bring to a simmer, add the fennel and cook for 10 minutes, until tender. Drain, reserving 2 tbsp of the fennel water. 

2. In a frying pan, heat the butter and fry the pineapple for about 3 minutes until lightly browned. Add the brown sugar and stir gently to create a caramel. Stir in the drained fennel and reserved fennel water, ensuring that the caramel thoroughly coats the pineapple and fennel. Arrange the pineapple and fennel in the base of a greased and lined 22cm-diameter cake tin. 

3. Preheat your oven to 180°C. For the cake batter, place the flour, baking powder, ground fennel and salt in a bowl and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, or the basin of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix through the vanilla. To this, add the dry ingredients a little at a time, mixing at a slow speed to form a smooth batter. 

4. Pour the batter over the pineapple and fennel and bake for 35 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin, then turn out, garnish with the reserved fennel fronds and serve with cream.

Hear all about it right here:

http://www.abc.net.au/radio/canberra/programs/sundaybrunch/pineapple-princess/9459316

Pineapple stuffed with pork and wrapped with bacon!

Lizzie D and Jess R both let me know about this amazing creation – a pineapple stuffed with marinated or spiced pork and wrapped in bacon known in some places as “swineapple”!

Les helped me cook it! Anne

Marinate some pork in the fridge for about an hour

Peel and hollow out a fresh pineapple

Stuff the pineapple with the marinated pork

Wrap the stuffed pineapple with strips of bacon – hold them on with toothpicks and/or string

Bake in the oven or a Weber for about 1 hour, then wrap in foil and bake another 1 ½ hours

Styled by Brad

For more instructions check this out:

http://kitchen.nine.com.au/2017/08/09/13/12/swineapple-is-the-latest-food-hybrid-to-invade-instagram?ocid=Social-9Kitchen

Pineapple and grapefruit marmalade

The Jean Bowring Cookbook 1970 Sydney

Jams and jellies: Grapefruit and pineapple marmalade

2 medium-sized grapefruit; 2 medium-sized smooth yellow lemons; 1 medium-sized pineapple; 6 cups water; sugar

Remove the outer rind from the grapefruit and lemons and shred very finely. Squeeze the juice from the fruits and strain through a fine strainer. Cut up the white pith and tie it in a piece of muslin with the pips.

Place the fruit rind and juice in a bowl and add the water. Allow to stand overnight.

Next day, place in a preserving pan with the pineapple which has been peeled and shredded, and the bag of pips and pith. Simmer gently until the fruit rind is quite soft – this may take 40 to 60 minutes.

Measure the fruit and liquid (first removing the muslin bag) and to each cupful add 1 cup of sugar. Boil steadily for about 40 minutes, or until a little will jell when tested on a cold saucer. Cool slightly before pouring into heated jars. Seal when cold.

Pineapple Waldorf Salad

Thanks to my friend Jenny for this delicious Waldorf Salad recipe.  

“We were living in Belltrees in the early 1970s. Chris had the school and I was the Postmistress and telephone exchange operator. To fill the days I decided to learn to type on Chris’s portable typewriter so I typed out the recipes I used all the time. Hence the poor layout and misspelt words all through it!

In my book this is called a Waldorf Salad and as we know from ‘Faulty Towers’ that can mean any combination. I don’t know where it came from but have been making it since at least 1970 when I put it in the book” Jenny.

Waldorf Salad.

1 large tin of pineapple pieces, drained; 4 red apples (I usually put 2 red and 2 green) finely sliced; 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (I prefer pecans, Chris walnuts); 1 cup celery cut diagonally; 4 shallots chopped finely

Combine all these.

Dressing: 1/4 teaspoon mustard (any sort); 1/4 teaspoon salt; pinch paprika; 1 dessertspoon of pineapple juice; 2 teaspoons of honey

Mix together with 150ml whipped cream folded into the honey. Mix carefully coating the salad vegetables with the dressing.

Pinapalia Presents, thanks everyone!

A coaster from Cuba, thanks Catherine

Earrings from John

Solar lamps from Ky and Krystal

Cookie cutters from Rose and Tony

Socks from Louise and Rob

Socks from Phyl and Greg

Floating pool drink holder from Julia

Dish from Ky and Krystal

Lip gloss from the Griffos

Paper clips from Jesse

Salad servers from Phyl and Greg

Decoration from Alex and Dean

Haute Couture for Sinbad from Ky and Krystal

"I am so outta here, this is the last straw!" muttered Sinbad as he made for the gate.