Time for cake and coffee
Dear TEAM: I enjoy reading your column and I was wondering if you could help me find a recipe for a pineapple slice. The bottom of the slice is a light textured cake with crushed pineapple in it. It raises to about an inch when baked. The topping is icing sugar, shredded coconut and walnuts. This seems to be poured on while the cake is warm. It isn’t a sweet cake at all. – E.K., Montmartre, Sask.
Dear E.K.: The closest I was able to come to the recipe you would like was this recipe for pineapple crunch cake. By leaving off the cooked topping and sprinkling the cake after it is baked with icing sugar, walnuts and coconut, you can produce the cake you describe.
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Pineapple crunch cake
1Ú3 cup butter or 75 mL
margarine
1Ú2 cup white 125 mL
sugar
1 egg 1
1 cup crushed 250 mL
pineapple
1 teaspoon vanilla 5 mL
11Ú4 cups flour 300 mL
11Ú2 teaspoons baking 7.5 mL
powder
1Ú4 teaspoon salt 1 mL
Topping:
1Ú3 cup brown 75 mL
sugar
1Ú3 cup chopped 75 mL
walnuts
1Ú3 cup coconut 75 mL
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Grease and flour a 9 x 9 inch (22 x 22 cm) pan. Drain the pineapple, reserving 1Ú2 cup (125 mL) of the syrup.
Cream butter or margarine with the sugar. Beat in egg. Add part of the flour, the baking powder and salt. Add pineapple syrup and vanilla, then the rest of the flour. Stir in the crushed pineapple. Pour into baking pan.
Topping: Mix brown sugar, coconut and walnuts. Pour over the batter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until done.
Topping variation: Omit the topping above. Bake. Let cool briefly in the pan. While still warm, lightly dust with icing sugar, walnuts and coconut.
Source: The Blender Way to Better Cooking by Betty Sullivan, published by Odyssey Books.
Coffee time
This Pineapple Crunch Cake could be categorized as a coffee cake. It is not too sweet, often sprinkled with sugar or glazed (rather than a layer of icing) and gets crumbs all over when you eat it. Many coffee cakes are best served warm and fresh from the oven. One reference said when it comes to coffee cakes they look for “good dunkability – if it soaks up half the cup of coffee, then you’ve got something.”
Coffee cakes can be described more by function than type. You eat them with coffee or tea, usually on their own, rather than at the conclusion of a meal. They signal a time for activity to stop and this is likely the real reason why we all love them. They give us a chance to nibble something, to take a few minutes to chat or just sit in peace.
Coffee cakes can be divided into quick cakes leavened with baking powder or soda (non-yeasted) and yeast-leavened versions that require kneading and long rising times.
Examples could include plain butter cakes, crumb cakes, tea cakes, yeast breads and sugar-glazed pastries.
The following two cake recipes were handed down to me by my mother. When the baking is over, they are ready to serve, with no icing to do.
Crumb cake
2 cups flour 500 mL
1 cup white 250 mL
sugar
3Ú4 cup melted 175 mL
butter or margarine
Mix together to form crumbs. Reserve one cup (250 mL) crumbs for the top. Mix the remainder with:
1 egg 1
1 cup sour milk 250 mL
1Ú2 teaspoon baking 2 mL
soda
2 teaspoons 10 mL
baking powder
1 teaspoon cloves 5 mL
1 teaspoon 5 mL
cinnamon
1 cup raisins 250 mL
Pour into a well greased 9 x 9 inch (22 x 22 cm) pan. Cover top with the one cup (250 mL) of crumbs. Bake at 350 F (180 C) for 35 minutes.
Jiffy cake
Base:
1Ú2 cup white sugar 125 mL
1Ú2 cup butter or 125 mL
margarine
3 egg yolks 3
1 cup flour 250 mL
1 teaspoon baking 5 mL
powder
1Ú2 cup milk 125 mL
Top:
3 egg whites 3
1Ú2 cup white sugar 125 mL
1 cup coconut 250 mL
Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg yolks. Add half the flour, baking powder, milk and then the rest of the flour. Put in a greased 9 x 9 inch (22 x 22 cm) pan.
Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar. Fold in the coconut. Spread over the batter. Bake at 325 F (160 C) for 40 to 45 minutes.
Reference: Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax, Chapters Publishing Ltd.
Smelly jars
We have already printed a few ways to remove jar odors, but decided to add one more.
Dear TEAM: After thoroughly washing and drying the jar and lid, fill it packed full of dry newspaper (not glossy magazines) and seal it up. It takes three or four months for this to work, but by printing it now, those wishing to try it would have the months ahead to have the jars ready for summer use. Wash after removing the paper and no smell will remain. I have used this method for years. – R.M., Rosetown, Sask.
Organizing your life
Home Tips – How to Organize Your Home and Personal Life and Work Tips – How to Organize Your Professional and Business Life are fun books about organizing our lives. They are written by Saskatonian Patricia Katz who also wrote Getting It Together, the first in the series. These books are easy to read and contain easy to implement ideas for managing time and energy.
In a chapter on “Someday Soon,” referring to projects waiting to be done, Pat suggests:
“Look that list of unfinished and unstarted business straight in the eye. Discard those items that are least important. Toss out the projects that you know in your heart you’ll never tackle. Sweep them off your list and out of your mind. Write them on a list and bury them in the backyard if you must.”
She then suggests ways of tackling the tasks still on the list. One suggestion is to:
“Dedicate 30 minutes to the job. Set the timer. When the buzzer rings, you may be far enough into the job that you’ll want to continue or you may already be done. If you don’t want to keep going, at least you will have made some progress on the task.”
She also says, “Above all, reward yourself! Promise yourself small treats when you finish parts of a job and a bigger treat at the end. You’ll deserve them all and they’ll keep you going!”
Copies of Pat’s books are available at bookstores or from: The Leader-Post Carrier Foundation Inc., Box 2020, 1964 Park St., Regina, Sask., S4P 3G4, 306-565-8240. Cost: $14.95 each, plus $3 shipping and GST. (Make cheque or money order payable to the foundation.)
Crunchy granola
L.D., Maple Creek, Sask. requested a recipe for crunchy granola, like the Harvest Crunch cereal at the store. After experimenting with several recipes, I have the following recipe which is clumpy, tastes similar to Harvest Crunch but is not as white. Baking browns the mixture, but without baking it is soggy. I didn’t find a way to solve that problem.
Crunchy granola
1 cup brown 250 mL
sugar
1Ú2 cup butter or 125 mL
margarine
1Ú2 cup milk 125 mL
2 tablespoons 30 mL
honey
21Ú2 cups rolled 625 mL
oats and/or an equivalent mixture of
rye, wheat and oat flakes
1Ú3 cup coconut 75 mL
1Ú3 cup sliced 75 mL
almonds
In a saucepan bring sugar, butter or margarine, milk and honey to a boil. Boil one minute. Add the rolled oats, coconut and almonds. Put in a 9 x 13 inch (22 x 23 cm) baking pan. Bake at 275 F (140 C) for 30 to 40 minutes or until dried with a tinge of brown. While baking, stir every 10 minutes, leaving some clusters.
Baking time will vary depending on the type of baking pan and the thickness of the mixture. After removing from the oven, stir while still warm to prevent sticking. Cool and serve. Makes six cups (11Ú2 L).
