Easiest Pineapple Cake

This really is one of the easiest cakes I’ve ever made.  And I love that it was even easier than making a box mix cake and definitely not full of so many things you can’t even pronounce and shouldn’t eat!

I’ve made this cake three times in a couple of weeks and it’s been liked and popular by everyone who has eaten it.  I made it for my sister-in-laws birthday and everyone liked it.   Then I made a cake for the funeral of a neighbor’s dad and someone who went and had some took the time to message me and say how yummy it was.  I also made one for a family reunion we just had—but we had so many desserts, it wasn’t even touched.  So I took some of the cake to the friend who praised it after the funeral and she again said it is delicious, and that was after the cake was a couple days old (I’d had it sitting in our fridge waiting for the reunion for a couple days).  I also gave more of it to my sister-in-law.  I have to admit, I took a little bite of the cake, even though I’m not eating gluten and sugar, I needed to know if it really is good.  It is!

It was a cinch to whip up and make and is perfect for any occasion, especially a group get together, party or holiday!  I found this cake at my blogging friend, Mary’s blog, Bunny's Warm Oven.  When I think of cakes, I definitely think of her blog as one of the first places to look for ideas and great recipes.  But check out her blog for plenty more goodies as well as delicious-looking savory food now and then. 

I love that the cake also has no oil or butter and is still moist and tasty.  With the usual baking ingredients like sugar and flour, you just add a can of crushed pineapple (in it’s own juice).  So simple.  And you certainly can’t beat a cream cheese frosting and nuts on top!  I didn’t even notice until writing this up that the recipe actually says to frost the cake while it’s still warm (making it even faster)!  I waited until it was completely cool.  You choose what works best for you.

 

Easiest Pineapple Cake, very minimally adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys! from Mary at Bunny’s Warm Oven

2 cups (240 grams) all purpose flour

2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1—20 ounce can of crushed pineapple (in it’s own juice, NOT syrup), undrained

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

8 ounces cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat kind)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1  1/2 cups (165 grams) powdered sugar, sifted

1 cup walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9x13 inch cake pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.  Whisk together in a large bowl the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda.  Add the eggs, vanilla and pineapple and stir with a spatula until well combined.  Pour into the pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.

To make frosting—Beat the butter, cream cheese, vanilla and salt in an electric mixer until creamy.  Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth and creamy.  When the cake has cooled, spread the frosting evenly over the cake.  Sprinkle with nuts.

I need to find a way to try this gluten free and refined sugar free.

Banana Split Granola

 

Banana Split Granola, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

I think this is right up there as one of my favorite granola creations.  And yes, I know, I think I say that with all of them.   This one is so good just as a snack by the handfuls.  It’s almost gone and I’ve yet to put it on yogurt or have it with milk.  But I’m sure it would be fantastic like that, too.

Have you seen all the freeze dried fruit that is out there?  I like freeze dried much more than just dried fruit.  Love the crunchier, lighter texture.  I’ve made a dark chocolate raspberry granola with freeze dried raspberries.  I’ve also put them in Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I have a few family members who LOVE those chocolate chip cookies with the raspberries added.  I think they are great, too.  And while Kevin doesn’t like fruit with chocolate things, he’ll snitch a cookie or two when I make them with the raspberries and I’m pretty sure he secretly likes them. ;)

You can get small bags of freeze dried apples, pears, and a combo of bananas and strawberries.  The boys like all of those, too.  They prefer the apples and pears though, so when I recently bought a big box of the individual bags at Costco, a number of the banana/strawberry ones sat in the pantry not getting eaten.  It hit me one day recently to put them in granola.  I then decided just bananas and strawberries weren’t enough, so I also added some dried pineapple, some cocoa almonds (love those, too and just recently tried them for the first time), and some chopped dark chocolate.  All of a sudden this Banana Split Granola came to life!

Banana Split Granola, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

4 cups old fashioned oats

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup ground flax seeds (meal)

1/2 cup unsweetened grated coconut

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup canola oil

1/4 cup agave nectar (or honey)

1/2 cup freeze dried bananas and strawberries

1/3 cup chopped dried pineapple

1/4 cup cocoa-covered almonds, or just plain almonds

1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate (or chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper.  In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, flax, coconut, brown sugar and salt.  Stir to combine.  In a medium sized, microwaveable bowl, combine the oil and agave.  Microwave for 30 seconds.  Add the vanilla and whisk until well combined.  Pour over the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until it is all moist.  Spread the mixture evenly onto the baking sheet and bake for 22 minutes.  Let sit on the baking sheet on a cooling rack until completely cooled.  Break into pieces into a bowl.  Add the dried fruit, almonds and chocolate and mix to combine.  Store in an airtight container after trying not to eat too much of it at once. ;)

Get a bite of it with a banana, a strawberry, a piece of pineapple, an almond, a piece of chocolate and some granola—YUM!  I will be making this again very soon!

Pineapple Sherbet (Sherbert)

Do you say “sherbet” or “sherbert”?  I say sherbert—and I say it with pride.  It drives Kevin bonkers.  He gave me a stuffed monkey for our 9th anniversary (someday I want to hold a real chimpanzee!), and for fun, I named the monkey Sherbert.  You say tomato, I say tahmaut0…..anyway, I had a big can of pineapple juice and I opened it for using just a little bit of it.  Then it sat in the fridge for a few days.

I decided that  juice needed to churn into a frozen treat and my version of pineapple “sherbert” was created!  I think it’s perfect.  I like a little dish of a frozen treat just as much as the next gal, but I cannot afford for it to always be a decadent, fattening ice cream as I’d really wish.  Thank goodness I really like this kind of thing, too!  It was easy to make.

Pineapple Sherbert or Sherbet, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

3 cups no-sugar added pineapple juice, divided use

1/2 cup lite coconut milk***

1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk***

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

***you could use one cup of any dairy you’d like—all milk, buttermilk, yogurt, etc., I just happened to have 1/2 cup of coconut milk to use up and had just bought some buttermilk, so I thought I’d try it.

Put one cup of pineapple juice and the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.  Take one tablespoon of the remaining two cups of pineapple juice and mix with the cornstarch in a small cup or bowl.  Pour into heated juice and whisk until mixture slightly thickens.  Remove from heat.  In a medium sized bowl, combine the milk, remaining juice and vanilla.  Pour the heated juice into the cold milk and juice mixture.  Set the bowl in an ice bath.  Whisk together every few minutes until mixture is cold.  It won’t take but 20 minutes or so.  Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Freeze in an airtight container.  Remove from freezer about 10 minutes before serving to soften slightly.

Kevin and I had our14th anniversary in June.  I still have the monkey and still call him Sherbert and enunciate the BERT everytime, it’s all in fun, you know. 

This post has been added to Recipe Sharing Monday at Jam Hands.