BLUEBERRY, PINEAPPLE & NUT CAKE : tea/coffee time indulgence; dairy-free option

This rich, fine-crumbed Blueberry, Pineapple & Nut Cake is perfect for visitors at Easter/Ramadan... 

Quite a bit of this got eaten before remembering to take a picture!!

'Oooh! Really good!'

Inspired by Twitter account The Southern Lady Cooks (lots of tempting sweets from the American south), 67's bake contains an inspired combo of pineapple, blueberries and nuts.   

67's recipe is more cake than tea bread; it's also higher in fibre and lower in sugar.  Options for toppings include: a glaze, a buttercream or a simple dusting of icing sugar.

Blueberry, Pineapple and Nut Cake is not exactly frugal but does repay the investment in flavour and texture.  It's full of fruity flavour; a moderate-sized piece is satisfying for most.  

Fresh pineapple are still good value, around a pound in price (See How to deal with fresh pineapple) but 67 used a tin of pineapple from the Blackout cupboard.   Blueberries cost more but provide plenty of important antioxidants and there will be leftovers.  

 

Cost: £3.75'ish, more for buttercream icing (3/23)

Makes: Serves 8-10

Ingred:

Cake:   
   1 tin (net weight) drained 435gm/15.3oz pineapple slices/wedges in juice OR

    about 275g fresh pineapple (see How to deal with fresh pineapple)

   110gm/4oz softened dairy or plant butter
   85gm/30oz sugar

   2 room temperature eggs

   125gm/4.4oz plain flour 

   50gms/1.7oz wholemeal flour
   1.5 tsp baking powder
   pinch salt
   

   2-3 tbsp pineapple juice from tin (or milk)

   1/2 cup walnut halves (ideal) or other coarsely chopped nuts (pecans

   3 rings pineapple, drained & dried OR fresh, each cut into 10 wedges§1    

  2 handfuls fresh or frozen blueberries

Pineapple Glaze:

• mix one cup icing sugar with 1 tablespoon max pineapple juice; stir until white & thick but still flowing
• if you have to add more juice; do it drop by drop 
• dribble generously over the cake 

Method:

1. Line a 23cm/9 inch springform pan (detachable sides) OR equivalent size square or round pan 
2. Preheat oven to 180c/350f/gas4
3. Drain pineapple, keeping juices; if using rings, slice each into 5 equal wedges (1 + 4 pieces); place on a plate lined with paper towels with another towel on top; set aside
4. With hand or stand beaters, whip butter & sugar till pale & fluffy - a few minutes
5. Add eggs one by one, scraping down the sides of the bowl in between  
6. Combine flours, baking powder & salt 
7. On low speed, mix in 1/3 flour; beat, add 1 tbsp pineapple juice; repeat until all flour is gone (if there isn't enough pineapple juice, replace with milk ) 
8. Pour batter into the pan; it will be very thick; push it to the corners and sides; level it out.  
9. Generously cover - more generously than the photo, probably -  with pineapple wedges, blueberries & walnuts
10. Bake 25-30 mins or until cake is firm and well risen
11. As soon as the tin comes out of the oven, brush top liberally with pineapple juice from tin
12. Cool 15 mins in tin; release sides of springform pan if using; otherwise place serving platter on top of tin and flip over, releasing the cake.  Transfer to a cooling rack. 
13. When completely cold, top with pineapple glaze 

Comments:

'Oooh!  The icing/glaze is so delicious it makes me want to shove the whole slice into my mouth and eat it in one go.' Political Agent

'Wow!  Really good! I have family in Texas and the pineapple-blueberry-nut combo does seem like food in south USA.' Boston Uni political intern.

Tips:

• 67 is happy to keep sugar levels down by just sprinkling icing sugar over but the guinea pig tasters love icing
• Self-raising brown flour has disappeared from 67's area, with only stoneground wholemeal on the shelves.  Make your own self-raising brown by finely processing wholemeal flour, and for every 150gm s.r. brown needed, add 2 teaspoons baking powder
• No wholemeal flour?  Replace with plain white
• Don't faff if you don't have the right size pan: use a clean casserole dish OR invest in packs of small inexpensive foil trays from M&S, Waitrose or onlne which can be reused 3-4 times. If  the batter is too much for the pan, the excess goes into handy-dandy (inexpensive) silicon cupcake moulds (Amazon) or a 5in/cm cake tin

If you liked this, you will probably like:

Hot Pineapple Pudding: frugal but fantastic

Pineapple Ginger Upside Down Cake: special occasion, opt booze 

Pineapple Plum Crumble Cake: indulgence

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This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  They may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.permission.