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Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Easiest Cake Ever

I am not sure if I found this recipe or if this recipe found me. Thinking about it, I am pretty sure it was the latter because I cannot imagine a world where I would consciously look for a pineapple pecan cake. Somehow or another a picture of this cake landed on a page I was reading. I guess the genesis does not matter as much as the fact that I actually decided to make it.

TheHub and I do not usually have desserts. It is really a rarity around here, unless I am doing Keto and then I will make one once or twice a week. When I cook or bake something keto there is little damage, since they are usually tasty when you eat them, but not so tasty you want to overeat them.
Since Son3 and DIL3 have been here, I have made them more often, and they have been nothing remotely like a keto dessert.  I think I only tried this because I had everything on hand that the recipe called for and it looked like it was going to be a snap to make.


But first, music! I don't remember when I first heard this and it took me a bit of searching to find it, probably because I had the name of the song totally wrong. Hope you enjoy it anyway.




And now__Cake
For the cake:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs
1 20 ounce can  crushed pineapple (do not drain)
1 cup pecans (optional, but see below)

For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl and stir to blend. In a small bowl, beat the eggs then add them along with the pineapple (juice included) and the pecans to the flour mixture. Stir with a fork until it is just moistened. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350°F  for about 35 minutes until it is completely done (use the toothpick testing method)  Cool completely before icing the cake.

Beat the butter and cream cheese until it is nice and smooth and well blended. Add the confectioners sugar and continue beating until it is smooth, then add the vanilla and stir until it is creamy.  Frost the cake and enjoy.

I was surprised that the cake baked so beautifully. It was a lovely caramel color and rose well for a pretty dense cake. The pineapple flavor is not as pronounced as I thought it would  be, but it was pretty tasty anyway. The day after baking it the cake; however, was very moist and the pineapple flavor was a little  more pronounced. I used an off brand of pineapple that was canned in its own juice. I am going to try it again this week (halving the recipe) and use Dole to see if that makes a difference. Additionally I am going to add 1/4 teaspoon of pineapple extract to it just to see if that adds a bit more flavor punch.

TheHub and DIL3 both loved the cake. After  he finished his cake when I asked TheHub for a critique he told me he was not sure yet and needed another piece so he could be a well informed critic. My guess is that he was still not sure because I saw him sneak a third very small piece right before he went to bed.

Son3 did not like it at all. He is a tactile eater and found the cooked pineapple "feel" off putting. I also am a tactile eater and did not find this cake "felt" bad at all, so maybe I am not as freaky about the way food feels in my mouth as I thought I was. That being said, keep jello and bananas totally away from me!

And now following Roberts's Rules of Order, I have additions and subtractions to the reading of the minutes.

I know some of you live in areas where pecans are fairly expensive. I live in an area where pecans grow in every cow pasture I have ever driven by. They are plentiful and during the fall are not terribly pricy. I would have been really teed off to use so many and not get the full flavor if I paid a premium for them.

Do not put the pecans in the cake. They did not add enough flavor to waste that many. Instead use about 1/4 cup and sprinkle them across the top of the iced cake. That way you would actually enjoy the taste and crunch of them better. To be honest the pecan flavor never really came through the baked cake at all. 

When I try it again I will post the results of the changes here.



29 comments:

  1. I have everything but the pecans, so I am going to go for this. This cake is one that would probably benefit from a Tablespoon of rum. But, since I don't keep rum on hand, I will never know. I think Dole will taste better as the off-brand stuff never tastes much like pineapple to me. So, I never purchase the off-brand pineapple and found Dole's at a great sale. Sprinkling some of the pecans on top is a better idea than putting pecans in the cake. I have found a guy who sells pecans in a sandwich bag for $5, so I cannot wait until Fall. Before, I was spending $10.50 for the same amount. Oh, these are pecan halves. So, not a bad bargain in my book.

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    1. There re a few places we buy pecans, usually in the shells and I shell them during the cooler months then freeze them for baking later

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  2. We really don't do desserts here. It is usually only two of us here and they get gorged and/or go to waste.
    Having said that I will bookmark this for some time in the distant future when there are additional people to feed. And thank you for the hint about pecans. On the icing it is.

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    1. It was quite good but I am going to cut the recipe in half to to try it again this week, This time I will leave it unfrosted and freeze it after a taste test.

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  3. Quick question, was it really 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of flour. If that is correct, it seems a bit too much sugar for me but I could cut it back. My daughter is allergic to pineapple, but I bet applesauce would work too. And walnuts instead of pecans. ;)

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    1. It really was two and two. Applesauce and walnuts should work just fine.

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  4. I think this cake sounds really good. However, I have one son who has problems with textures of foods, also. I wounder if this would bother him? Maybe I will have to try it and see.

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    1. Truth be known I think SOn3 just dislikes any cooked fruit and that is where the texture issue is with him.

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  5. Just add carrot and raisins too and this is my carrot cake recipe(basically). lol I sub applesauce for any veg oil too and it's so moist and sweet it doesn't need frosting either. I love me some cream cheese frosting but as I age I find it's too sweet(unless it's in a Danish pastry. ;-)

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    1. TheHub has a serious sweet tooth and nothing is too sweet for him. I had to remove about half the icing on the piece I ate. I have substituted applesauce a lot of times, but never in brownies. I think it is required by law that brownies must be eaten as intended. (And if you are like TheHub with a side of ice cream)

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  6. It sounds good to me. Especially the cream cheese frosting! LOL.

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  7. Reminds me of Hummingbird cake except that one has mashed bananas too. I like cake but I prefer a layered cake with cream cheese icing in between. I have made a few desserts the last 5 months but mainly key lime pies. I ordered a 6 pack of condensed milk online LOL. Now I'm craving cake or cupcakes. PS I love pecans and always have a bag or to in the freezer.

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    1. During the fall I can find pecans that are fairly inexpensive, or if I am at my sister - law's I can go in their front pasture and gather them. Free is always good but you have to dodge cow poop.

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  8. That cake sounds so good and I was thinking it would be moist with the pineapple. Sounds like your dh really liked it. Thanks for the tip about the pecans, no need to waste them in the batter.

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    1. And that is what they were__wasted! They added no flavor at all to the cake but I think it would be great on top of the icing.

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  9. I love a god cake recipe and thanks for th etip onthe nuts. I rarley bake with nuts anyway becasue of a sister with a tree nut allergy, and I generally bake when we are bringing things places. With sprinklin gon top, I could half the cake in two pans, top one with and one without. I am not a tactile eater, but my youngest is as well. If it feels weird, it ruins the expereince for her.

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    1. This was seriously easy. I am very funny about the way things feel in my mouth and it did not bother me. I think Son3 was hiding his disdain for either pineapple or cooked fruit as a tactile issue.

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  10. One of my colleagues was from Benin and he used to bring back the most delicious pecans when he had been home! And I remember buying them spiced in Sri Lanka - absolutely delicious. Over here they don't taste like much to be honest! That cake looks good but since I live alone ....

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    1. We can get gorgeous pecans or not great ones depending on the year. Some years they are dry and peppery and some years they are plump delicious nuts. We have had so much rain this year it will be interesting to see what affect it has on the crop.

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  11. We lived in Texas decades ago, and loved all the cheap pecans we could buy there. Now, they ARE pretty pricey. But we buy 'em anyway. :-) This looks like a terrific recipe -- thanks.

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    1. I would buy them even if I could not find them reasonably priced (or free)

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  12. We don't usually do dessert either, but this cake is a must bake. Absolutely my kind of cake, pineapple heaven and no chocolate!!! Thanks for the calories!!!!

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  13. Replies
    1. It was good but needs a little punching up. I really do think the name brand pineapple would have been better.

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