Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Leaving Southern Cakes


The Cake Slice Bakers have been baking for the last 12 months from The Southern Cake Book by Southern Living. Think lots of pecans, brown sugar and dairy products and you get the general idea. Since I grew up in the South I've enjoyed baking from this book. For the final recipe we got to choose any recipe in the book. I chose Hawaiian Sheet Cake and frosted it with the same easy 7-Minute type frosting I used last month. To tell the truth, I made the sheet cake last month, too, and served it up for the birthday party where I served the chocolate cupcakes, also frosted with that sticky, gooey, sugary frosting.

This cake is really moist and delicious and filled with good things. One of the reasons I chose it was because it was in the 'feed a crowd' section, but I also love the combination of bananas, pineapple and coconut, plus spices. It was a big hit with the crowd and with the birthday girl. I didn't get any photos beforehand and so I only have this one photo after most of the cake had been served. Trust me, it was good cake. I used a gluten free flour mixture and it has no dairy, so I was able to have a piece. The cake is fairly sweet and the soft icing was pretty sweet, so small pieces were enough. I used crushed pineapple packed in juice, not syrup, to cut down a bit on the sweetness and only used 1/2 cup of granulated sugar instead of 1 cup, but kept the full amount of brown sugar, because enough sugar is important to the chemistry of a recipe and I like the mellow flavor of brown sugar.

Next month we start a new book, so be sure to come back November 20th to see which book, OK?

Hawaiian Sheet Cake
Serves 15

3 cups all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur gluten free flour blend)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 very ripe bananas, mashed (to equal one cup)
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup flaked coconut
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1/2 recipe 7-Minute frosting
various sprinkles and dragees and candies for decoration

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use shortening to grease and lightly flour a 9 X 13-inch baking pan.

Mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in a large bowl. Set aside

Mix granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, bananas, and eggs in a medium bowl. A whisk works well. Stir in the flour mixture, whisking until blended. Stir in the coconut and pineapple (including pineapple juice from the can) just until blended. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Run a knife around the sides of the pan and carefully invert the cake onto a serving platter. Frost with the 7-Minute frosting and decorate as desired.

7 comments :

  1. What a delicious combination of flavors! The sprinkles and pumpkins make it look so cute as well. I can see why they ate it up before you got a chance to take pictures!

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  2. I like the sound of this fruity bake with all those spices, I also like how you've decorated the cake Elle, it looks so pretty. So glad you've enjoyed this book and I'm also so happy to have you as a dedicated baker with our group. Laura@ Baking in Pyjamas

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  3. Elle, I don't see brown sugar in the list of ingredients. How much goes in? This sounds really good; I may have to try this one for real.

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  4. Carlee thanks...I had a good time with making it and decorating it.
    Laura, you always picked a nice set of recipes. Can't wait to bake from the new book with you!
    Beth, THANK YOU! I just corrected that error. It is 1 cup packed brown sugar. Hope you do try this one. It's delicious.

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  5. Good call on the frosting Elle! Seven minute frosting is 100 times better than a store bought tub of cream cheese frosting!

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  6. LOve love love the feed a crowd section in the book!! And so glad we baked out of this book this year!! I am looking forward to the start of our new book too Elle! This cake looks perfect for a party! I am sure ye had a great time xxx Haze

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  7. Your festive frosting brought this cake up ten notches! Bookmarked your frosting! This was my second choice, so I baked my third choice instead!

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