Fresh Cream Pineapple Cake

There was a time when the only cakes available in most bakeries in Karachi were fresh cream cakes including pineapple cakes and black forest cakes. Be it anyone’s birthday, the occasion of Eid, or congratulating someone on their success in any field, the most popular choice were these cakes.

Later on, with the opening of some modern bakeries, the popularity of these cakes started diminishing and these were replaced by chocolate mousse cakes, chocolate fudge cakes, coffee cakes, tiramisu cakes, and many other such varieties. This was a welcome change since everyone was tired of having the same old fresh cream cake. Even my family shifted to these new variety of cakes and the fresh cream cakes were forgotten.

And then one fine day, when I was chatting with my husband over chocolate fudge cake and a cup of tea, I asked him which cake was his favorite. He said that he loves those really moist cakes, covered with cream. And that’s when I decided that I have to try fresh cream cake for him.

I started searching for a recipe for the cake. During my search I came across a perfect recipe from none other than my dear cousin who’s settled in Melbourne. She has been making these cakes for along time since her husband also loves fresh cream cakes. She thoroughly explained me the recipe step-by-step and apart from a few hitches the recipe turned out excellent.

And the next thing I knew, I even got an order for pineapple cake from a neighbor of mine for another neighbor’s surprise birthday party. All the guests absolutely loved the cake and by the grace of Allah, I got another order for the cake there and then.

The pictures that I am posting with this blog are from last Friday (also included are a few pictures from my first two attempts of the cake, which I made for order) when I made the same pineapple cake for a dinner party at my place. This time, I even got to try out all my newly learned cake decoration techniques, which added further beauty to the already delicious tasting cake.

When my guests saw the cake, it took them a while to believe that it was homemade and after tasting it, everyone told me that it tasted divine. As for my husband, he said and I quote: “After eating this homemade fresh cream cake, I am forced to believe that so far, all such cakes that I have eaten, haven’t been fresh at all!’ He absolutely loved the moist sponge and the thick cream layers in the cake along with pineapple chunks.

To sum it up, I think I’ll be making many more fresh cream cakes in the near future to satisfy my husband’s and my own sweet tooth!

Pineapple Cake

Ingredients:

Sponge
Eggs 3

Castor sugar 3/4 cup

Flour 1 cup – 2 tbsp

Corn flour 2 tbsp heaped

Baking powder 1 1/2 tsp

Vanilla Essence 1/2 tsp

Water 2 tbsp

Icing

Fresh cream 500-600 gms

Icing sugar 5-6 tbsp

Pineapple chunks

Pineapple syrup

Cherries

Method:

Sponge

• Preheat oven at 180C.
• Grease an 8 inch pan with butter and coat with flour; remove excess flour.
• Out of 1 cup flour, take out 2 tbsp and replace it with 2 heaped tbsp corn flour.
• Sieve flour, add baking powder in it and mix with spoon.
• In two separate clean bowls, separate egg whites and yolks carefully without dripping yolks in the whites.
• First beat egg whites on high speed till soft peaks are formed.
• Add sugar and beat again till hard peaks are formed (total beating time approximately 15-20 minutes).
• In another bowl, beat yolks till it changes color to light yellow (approx. 6-8 minutes).

• Add essence and water and beat again.
• In whites, add yolks mixture and fold gently with spoon in clockwise direction.
• Slowly add flour in 3 parts and again fold with very soft hands in clockwise direction; do not over mix the batter or it will deflate.
• Pour in prepared pan and smoothen the top with a spatula or spoon.
• Bake at 180C for around 20-25 minutes till the cake leaves the sides of the pan.
• Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Cool the cake completely before frosting.
• Cut in three equal layers with a leveler or sharp knife.
• On cake plate, put the first layer (topside down) and pour pineapple juice, specially around the edges; apply prepared cream (method given below) and arrange pineapple chunks on top.
• Put the second layer (topside down) and repeat the above step.
• Put the third layer, pour syrup and apply cream on top and on sides, covering completely; level with a spatula.
• Decorate with pipin bag, pineapple chunks and cherries or as desired.
• Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours and serve chilled.

Icing

• Chill the bowl for beating.
• Place the bowl on top of a bigger bowl filled with ice cubes.
• Add chilled cream and sugar and beat on high speed till hard peaks are formed (approx. 20-25 minutes).
  
  

Tips:

• Do not drip egg yolks in whites or else, the cake will not be spongy. Its easier to separate eggs when they are cold.
• Egg whites should be beaten till hard peaks are formed; if the bowl is inverted, the whites should not fall.
• Folding should be done with very light hands and in clockwise direction to avoid batter from deflating.
• Sponge should be completely cooled (and preferably chilled) before filling and frosting.
• Use chilled cream for better results; if the cream gets loose while icing, beat it again to make it stiff.

My first two attempts of Pineapple Cake, both made for order.