Sunday, December 09, 2007

And you've got to bake this cake

I discovered this recipe for Pineapple Torte this week, and decided to make it for a party we were invited to.

I've only made a few cakes in my life.

This cake was so good people were almost in tears. I'm not kidding. They tracked me down to find the recipe. They were gushing about it, and it was gone. I only had a sliver, and it was just what I'd hoped it would be.



Since I don't have a bowl mixer, I made the cake part with a cake mix. I chose French Vanilla. I should have used two 9 inch pans, instead of 8 inch, but other than that it went smoothly. You mix up the cake mix, coat the meringue on top of the cakes almost to the edge, sprinkly chopped almonds on them, and bake. This provides an exquisite crunchiness which is unlike other cakes.



While they're cooling you make a pineapple custard in a double boiler, then let that cool. Ours was extra yellow because our chickens laid the eggs.

When all is cool you combine the two layers with custard in the middle, then whipped cream along the edges to make it look smooth and yummy. Refrigerate for a while. Don't throw it or drop it. I know it doesn't look so splendid, but it was truly unforgettable.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow
i have a christmas potluck friday
dare I try this? it looks hard

Anonymous said...

This looks DELICIOUS. But would it be even better if you left the pineapple out?

Sally said...

Even though I don't usually choose pineapple, I think it's really key to this cake, because the flavors combine in an elusive and wondrous way. Sal, if I can bake this, you can. The cake mix route simplifies it extremely. It took time waiting for the parts to cool, and be sure you pick the right cake pan size. I can't say enough how people were in love with this cake. They came up to introduce themselves to me-- are you the one who made that cake?

Sally said...

The reason I mention about cake pan size: when you're baking it you're watching that the meringue doesn't over brown. But because I had extra batter in my smaller pans, (distribution of volume) I had to give the cakes extra time for the cake mix batter to also fully bake. If I'd followed the direx from the start it wouldn't have been a problem.

Anonymous said...

Sal: Make the cake! Then if you can make it, I'll try it.

Anonymous said...

I want to make the cake, but this Friday might not be the time since I work all week (including Friday). Sounds more like a project for a day off. Will keep you posted.

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

Even I want to try this now!