I don't know why it has taken me this long to get around to making Tessa Kiros' Portuguese pineapple cake because it's pretty straight forward, incredibly moist and completely delectible. The fact that I recently found my Piri Piri Starfish book under a pile of other books that I had tossed in a corner may have had something to do with it.  So the other day when I was at the greengrocers and found myself staring at a lovely ripe pineapple I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.

Of course the minute I said 'cake' Hoover ran to get her apron. Before I had all the ingredients laid out she already had her sleeves rolled up and was asking to lick the bowl. As there was no bowl to lick (yet) I gave her a loaf tin and a slab of butter and asked her to grease the tin. After promptly completing that task Hoover then wanted to help with arranging the pineapple. Tessa is careful to note at this point that you should try to 'imagine' what the cake will look like when you turn it upside down to serve.




Well you try explaining that to a determined four year old girl wearing a floral pinny apron. Needless to say I let Hoover have her way and did not interfere too much with *her* process. When the cake had eventually cooled and we turned it out of the loaf tin Hoover innocently declared - 'look Mama we just made a pineapple boobie cake'.

No amount of Photoshop was going to correct our 'pineapple placement issues' - but the cake was just too delicious to not share it with you.

 

Portuguese Pineapple & Caramel Cake

Recipe source - Tessa Kiros 'Piri Piri Starfish' (2008)

This is a deliciously moist cake that is very popular in Portugal. To avoid a repeat of our 'pineapple boobie' cake I suggest you follow Tessa's advice and try to 'imagine' how the cake will look once it is turned upside down prior to serving. If you do not have a loaf tin handy a ring-shaped tin works just as well.
 

Ingredients

350g of castor sugar

1 fresh pineapple

4 organic eggs separated

200g unsalted butter

200g flour

1 tsp baking powder

 
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4

2. Grease a 30x11cm loaf tin and set aside

3. To make the caramel, tip 115g of the caster sugar and a tablespoon of water into a non-stick pan. Heat the sugar and water over a medium heat until the sugar starts to melt. Tilt the pan and swirl it around until all the sugar is melted and has turned a nice caramel brown colour. Pour the caramel into the loaf tin ensuring that it covers the entire base of the tin. Leave to cool.

4. Peel the pineapple and cut into 1cm rings, you will need about ten rings. Cut out the core and discard. Arrange the rings over the base of the tin on top of the caramel. Overlap them as much as possible, thus trying to avoid our 'pineapple placement issues'.

5. Whip the egg whites into soft peaks and set aside. Mix the butter and remaining sugar together until creamy. Add the egg yolks and mix until well combined. Sift in the flour and baking powder and then gently fold in the egg whites.

6. Spoon the mixture into the tin over and around the pineapple. Gently tap the tin a couple of times on the bench to settle the mixture.

7. Bake for an hour until the top is golden and a skewer comes out fairly clean. Allow the cake to cool and then carefully loosen the sides with a knife and turn the cake out. Cut into thick slices and serve either warm or cool.