Two Very Royal Pineapples

Vicki (of the Unusual Coleslaw blog) commented on our last post with amazing information about Queensland's original wedding gift to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip! For more information ie ideas for a fabulous wedding gift read the following article:

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/lifestyle/royal-wedding/queenslands-prickly-royal-wedding-gift-20110426-1durq.html

My friend Jane found this recipe for Pineapple Royal in the Country Women’s Association of NSW Cookery Book, Home Style Cooking Published 1981 and thought it looked like an interesting challenge. It was one of the stickiest things I've ever made. Okay, Jane made it but I still got very sticky!

I'm not sure that the ladies at the CWA meant it to look like this ! All those years at Art School between us Jane . . . and we've come to this!

Ingredients: 1 tin sliced pineapple, 3 egg whites, sponge cake, ½ cup castor sugar, apricot jam, rum

Cook pineapple in syrup for ten minutes in double boiler. Cut sponge cake into circles the size of the pineapple rings and about 2 cms thick and spread with apricot jam. Flavour heated syrup with rum and dip slices of sponge cake in syrup. Now build up a pineapple shape in a fireproof dish, alternating pineapple slices and cake slices. Pour over the whole a little dissolved apricot jam. Make a stiff meringue from egg whites and sugar, and cover pineapple shape with small spiked meringue shapes, using icing forcing bag, to resemble pineapples. Bake in a slow oven to set meringue. Decorate top with real pineapple leaves. If tinned pineapple is used, angelica cut into leaves may be used.

Pinapplesque.

 The good looking one in the middle is my son Ky, in case you were wondering! Anne.