Ma's B'day Cake

For my mom, my world, my best friend, my confidante, my shoulder, my pillow, my heart, my Father's better half, the glue in our house...I love you and Happy Birthday to you once again. 

There are some moments in life when words can't justify the feelings in your heart and love for a person and this is it. 

So it was my mom's b'day on the 14th of this month. I did what all kids (almost all) do once in their lifetime. I baked her a cake. It was a very simple cake. None of the fancy stuff, none of the beautiful frosting, just a simple but honest to God tasty cake. But this was special to me because ma wanted me to bake it for her. She really doesn't really like cakes ordered from outside which is why she asked me to bake it at home. 

I made her this really fun and easy and yummy cake. The flavours are simple and yet go so very well together.  The dominant flavours were lemon and pineapple. The combination always works well for me and makes everything so refreshingly yummy. The tangy-ness of the lemon cuts through the sweetness of the cake and the juicy pineapple keeps everything super moist and just bursts with sweetness in your mouth. 

I used canned pineapple slices for this recipe, which I think work very well. Fresh pineapples might not be as juicy or sweet but you can use them nonetheless. 

Serves: 8-10

Time: 1 hour + frosting

Complexity: **

You'll need

1 can Pineapple slices or about 10 slices

2 cups flour

3 eggs

1 cup sugar (add 2 tbsp more if you like it really sweet)

1 cup/ 2 sticks of unsalted butter

1 tbsp vanilla extract/ 2 tbsp vanilla essence

zest of 1 big lemon

2 tsp baking powder

Fruits like Kiwi, cherries or even candied lemon slices, chocolate dust to decorate (optional)

Tons of love cuz its a b'day cake! 

Method

Have the pineapple slices chopped into roughly 1" pcs. Don't throw away the juice that they are canned it. Its precious to the recipe. 

First preheat the oven at 180C or 250F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or grease well with butter/ oil. Take the butter and sugar and whisk well till they become fluffy. 

Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Whisk again till the mixture becomes frothy.


Add the flour and baking powder to the mix along with the lemon zest. Just pulse in the food processor till combined well or fold it in if doing manually. You can also add some pineapple essence if you want to or some of the canned pineapple juice. But I didn't do that. I just added the lemon zest. 

Pour batter in the greased pan. Bake for 35-40 mins keeping in mind your quirky eccentric friend- the oven. Test with a cake tester or with a toothpick. Insert in the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean, the cake is done. It will be deliciously golden on the top, risen to such heights.

Is the lemony aroma wafting through your house yet? OMG! I can still smell the beautiful fragrance. 

Wait for 5-7 minutes before removing from the baking pan. Cool it completely on a wire rack. 

I usually bake the cake at night so it can cool off overnight and I can frost it in the morning. Did you know, that cakes taste even better the next day! Oh but do not forget to cover it with a cloche or the edges will dry. You can have the cake as it is or frost it to satiate your sugary cravings. 

For the frosting you will need

1 cup whipping cream

4 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract/ 2 tsp vanilla essence

Combine the ingredients together in a bowl. Dunk the bowl in another bowl filled with ice so the frosting remains chilled. Now whisk. Whisk till your arms hurt, till your wrist screams in pain and till the cream begins to form semi hard peaks. Or use an electronic whisk. 

Slice the cake about an inch and a half from the bottom. Drizzle most (5 tbsp) of the canned pineapple juice over it. Let it absorb the juice for a minute or so. Now spread a fourth of the frosting on it. Leave about 1/2" on the edges. Line with some pieces of the pineapple. 

Now place the top part of the cake on it and press gently. See how the frosting from the middle reaches to the edges. Spread the rest of the frosting on the cake, covering it completely from the sides to the top. Now decorate with the fruits as you like. 

I also sprinkled some grated chocolate on it. Whats a cake sans any chocolate! Or you can even indulge in some fancy icing. But this looks pretty, isn't it?

Refrigerate the cake for 30 mins till the frosting is set.

And I realise that there are a couple slices missing from the plate instead of just one in the picture. I don't know where one just magically disappeared! Celebrate and Indulge!! 

Just another pic...Couldn't resist! 

Update 2015

Have been making this cake every year for mom's bday cause she totally and irrevocably fell in love with it! This year, I kept it simple. No pineapple, just lemon. And I made cupcakes instead- I don't know why, they just looked cute! 

I kept the frosting simple. 1 cup sifted confectioner's sugar + 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice. Add a few more drops to get the consistency required. Drizzle the glaze and I zested a little bit of lemon over each cupcake, et voila! Lemon glazed perfection of Lemon cupcakes! 

Indulge!