Serves: 8 – 10
Cake tin: 9″ round/square pan
Oven Setting: 180°C
Make sure all your ingredients, including the eggs, are at room temperature.
Ingredients for the base of the tin:
- Butter- 40 grams
- Demerara sugar – 40 grams
- Pineapple slices – 10 to 12 drained (reserve the liquid)
Ingredients for the cake:
- Flour – 200 grams
- Baking powder – ½ teaspoon
- Cinnamon powder – ½ teaspoon (optional)
- Soft Butter – 150 grams
- Powder Sugar – 150 grams
- Eggs – 4
- Milk – 2 tablespoons
- Vanilla – 1 teaspoon
Method:
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 °C.
- Line the base and sides of a 9″ cake tin (or a 9″ x 9″) with baking paper.
- Generously spread the butter at the base and on the sides of the tin. Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the butter base and up the sides of the tin. Line the base with pineapple slices in whatever way you like. Cut some of the slices into halves or quarters and stick them on the side of the tin. Set the tin aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Using a stand or hand held mixer whip the eggs until you have soft peaks.
- Beat the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy.
- With the stand mixer on, begin adding the eggs. Start with 2 tablespoons, then progress to 4, then 6 and so on, mixing between additions, until you’ve used up all the egg.
- Using a spatula gently fold in the flour mix. Make sure you have no flour streaks.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 60 -75 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Place the cake while still in the tin on a wired rack to cool completely to room temperature.
- Once cool, pour ¼-½ cup of the reserved juice from the drained pineapple onto the top and along the edges of the cake. And let the cake soak in the juice for at least an hour.
- Upturn the cake onto a plate after one hour.
Note:
- I have used fresh and canned pineapples with equally good results. So when pineapples are in season feel free to use fresh fruit. Slice the pineapple and sprinkle sugar between the slices, stack them in a glass bowl with a lid and leave to rest in the refrigerator for a night or two. Drain and use. remember to reserve the drained juice, it always come in handy.
- To whip eggs into soft peaks: Crack the eggs into a deep bowl. Tilt the bowl to a slight angle and start whipping with a hand held mixer at full speed until the eggs froth. Once frothy, straighten the bowl and continue whipping at full speed until you have soft peaks.