Pineapple Juice Cake With Lime Glaze

What do you do with leftover pineapple juice? Why, you make a pineapple juice cake, of course. The recipe produces a lovely light sponge which is soaked in pineapple, lime and chilli syrup. For those that prefer not to have a kick to their traybake, the chilli is entirely optional.

We had a friend over for Sunday brunch recently. As well as making some of my homemade vegan honey and almond granola, huevos rancheros and banana and peanut butter muffins, we needed something to drink. I reckoned pineapple juice would add a slightly festive touch. Oh and coffee, naturally.

The pineapple juice was nice, but we didn’t finish it. Thus it was I had half a carton of pineapple juice with nowhere to go. CT and I are not great juice drinkers, so what to do with it? I suddenly had a bright idea. Why not make a drizzle type cake with it for our next batch of visitors? And that’s precisely what I did.

Pineapple Juice: Health Benefits

Pineapple juice has a number of surprising health benefits. It’s a traditional folk remedy in South America, where it originally came from. It contains a number of vitamins and minerals and is particularly high in vitamins B6 and C as well as copper and manganese. (Ref: Healthline)

It’s also high in various antioxidants including bromelain. This latter compound acts as an anti-inflammatory whilst improving digestion and boosting immunity.

Whilst I can’t claim that my pineapple juice cake is healthy, I’m always keen to include beneficial nutrients in my bakes where I can. I’m now wondering why I don’t drink pineapple juice more often.

Pineapple Juice Cake

Pineapple and lime go together like gin and tonic or salt and pepper. So I made sure to add limes to the pineapple syrup which you drizzle over the top of the pineapple juice cake. Chilli is an excellent addition too, if you like a bit of heat. If you don’t, just leave it out.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the cake tastes of pineapple and zesty lime with just a hint of heat from the chilli. It’s delicious. It’s not too sweet either and has a lovely juicy and spongy texture. Perfect, in fact, for afternoon tea in the garden.

I love the flavour of pineapple, but I’m not too keen on chunks of it in cakes. Although I have a recipe for pineapple upside-down cake here on Tin and Thyme, it’s not my favourite. This pineapple juice cake gives all of the flavour, without the unappealing texture.

Ingredients

Despite some of the more unusual ingredients I’ve used in this pineapple traybake recipe, you don’t actually need any special ingredients to make the cake. Well apart from pineapple juice, obviously. You do need a lime to make the pineapple and lime syrup though. But you already know that.

Eggs

You need four medium eggs for this recipe. I happened to have some turkey eggs and duck eggs when I made this cake. They are both fabulous for baking. If you want to know why, head over to my duck eggs are perfect for baking post. So instead of using four hens eggs, I used two turkey eggs and a duck egg.

Fat

The fat in this recipe for pineapple juice cake is a mix of butter and sunflower oil. It produces a wonderfully light and spongy crumb without losing that delicious buttery flavour. It soaks up the syrup well too.

Flour

I’ve used emmer flour, which has a lovely warm yellow hue to it. Emmer flour is a heritage grain which was once grown in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Just like spelt, more and more people are realising that it’s a lovely flour for baking and it’s getting easier to get hold of all the time.

If I didn’t happen to have some emmer flour in the cupboard, I’d use my go to baking flour, wholemeal spelt. Use whatever flour you’re comfortable with, though I always recommend whole grain flours as a healthier alternative to the more refined ones.

Pineapple Juice Cake: Step-by-Step

This pineapple juice cake is a fairly straightforward one to make. It does involve creaming butter and sugar together, so make sure your butter is suitably soft before you commence operations.

You can use a bowl and wooden spoon for this recipe, or an electric mixer if you prefer. I make most of my cakes with the former method.

Make sure you preheat your oven before you start.

Step 1. Cream Fat & Sugar

Beat the softened butter and sugar together until it’s pale in colour and you have a fluffy texture. This is called creaming.

Add the oil and beat into the creamed butter and sugar until it’s fully incorporated.

Top Tip

Take the butter out of the fridge a good hour before you need it so that it can soften. If it’s too hard it’s nigh on impossible to cream it.

Cut it into smallish cubes and place it in your mixing bowl. This will speed up the softening process.

Step 2. Beat In Eggs

Crack the first egg into the bowl and beat it into the creamed mixture. Then break in the next one and do the same. Repeat with the remaining eggs.

If the mixture starts to split, add a little of the flour as you go along and it will come back together again.

Top Tip

If your eggs are at room temperature, your mixture shouldn’t split.

Step 3. Sift In Flour

Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. You can either tip any bran you have left in the sieve back into the bowl or discard it. If you keep it, the sponge won’t be quite as light.

Gently stir the flour into the cake batter until it’s just mixed in. Its never a good idea to be too strenuous with flour when making cakes as it can make the finished bake a bit tough and rubbery.

Step 4. Add Pineapple Juice

Pour in the pineapple juice and stir gently to combine.

Step 5. Bake Cake

Scrape the batter into the silicone mould or lined tin and roughly level the top with a knife or spatula. It will even out as it bakes.

Place the cake on the middle shelf of your pre-heated oven. Bake for approximately forty minutes. It’s done when the top is brown and firm to the touch. Check the cake towards the end of its baking time to ensure it doesn’t get overdone. A burnt dry cake is not at all delicious.

Step 6. Make Syrup

Whilst the cake is baking, make the syrup. Measure the pineapple juice and sugar into a small pan and place over a low heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved.

Grate the lime zest into the pan, then juice the lime and add that too. Add the chilli flakes. Turn the heat up and bring to the boil.

Add the butter and as soon as it’s melted, give a good stir and turn off the heat.

Top Tip

A microplane is a brilliant tool for grating citrus zest. I use mine all the time.

Step 7. Soak Cake

As soon as the cake is out of the oven, poke holes all over it with a skewer. The wider the holes, the more evenly distributed the syrup will be. On the other hand, if you don’t want the holes to look too obvious, you’ll need to use something finer like a toothpick. You can see I’m completely unabashed.

Gradually pour the syrup over the cake, making sure the whole thing is covered. Don’t worry if it seems like a lot, the cake will soak it all up.

Leave in the tin to go completely cold. The cake needs time to soak up the syrup and the crumb is fragile when it’s still warm.

Slice the cake into sixteen squares, then transfer them onto a plate with the aid of a palate knife. Enjoy with a fork and cup of tea.

Other Heritage Flour Recipes You Might Like

• Emmer scones
• Grapefruit & honey almond cake
• Lemon coconut cakes with freekeh flour
• Spelt & freekeh apricot buns
• Spelt waffles with rose raspberry sauce
• Wholemeal spelt Welsh cakes

And if you like the idea of using up juice, I also have an apple juice cake. It’s quite different to this pineapple juice cake, but equally delicious.

Keep in Touch

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this pineapple juice cake, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?

If you’d like more traybake recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.

Choclette x

Pineapple Juice Cake. PIN IT.

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5 from 15 votes

Pineapple Juice Cake

What do you do with leftover pineapple juice? Why, you make a pineapple juice cake, of course. The recipe produces a lovely light sponge which is soaked in pineapple, lime and chilli syrup. For those that prefer not to have a kick to their traybake, the chilli is entirely optional. Perfect for afternoon tea in the garden.

Cook ModeToggle to keep screen awake

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Afternoon Tea, Dessert

Cuisine: British

Keyword: cake, chillies, fruit cake, lime, pineapple, traybake

Servings: 16 pieces

Calories: 277kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

• 125 g unsalted butter softened
• 225 g golden caster sugar
• 100 ml sunflower oil
• 4 medium eggs (I used 2 turkey eggs & a duck egg)
• 300 g wholemeal flour (whole wheat) (I used emmer flour)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 100 ml pineapple juice

Pineapple Lime Syrup

• 100 ml pineapple juice
• 2 tbsp golden caster sugar or golden granulated
• 1 lime juice and zest
• ½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
• 25 g unsalted butter

Instructions

• Turn oven on to 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4).
• Cream the sugar and butter together until pale in colour with a fluffy texture.
  125 g unsalted butter, 225 g golden caster sugar
• Beat in the oil.
  100 ml sunflower oil
• Beat in the eggs, one by one. If the mixture starts to split, add a little flour as you go along, but if everything is at room temperature, you should be okay.
  4 medium eggs
• Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. You can either tip any bran you have left in the sieve back into the bowl or discard it. If you keep it, the sponge won’t be quite as light. Gently fold the flour in until it’s fully incorporated into the mixture.
  300 g wholemeal flour (whole wheat), 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• Pour in the pineapple juice and carefully stir until you have a smooth batter.
  100 ml pineapple juice
• Scrape the mixture into a 23cm (9 inch) square silicone mould or lined cake tin. Place on the middle shelf of your preheated oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The cake is done when it's brown on top and firm to the touch.
• As soon as it’s out of the oven, poke holes all over the cake with a skewer and pour the hot syrup over the cake. Don’t worry if it feels like a lot, the cake will absorb it all.
• Leave in the tin to cool completely, then cut into sixteen squares.

Pineapple Lime Syrup

• Whilst the cake is baking, pour the pineapple juice into a small pan and add the sugar. Place it over a low heat and give an occasional stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the chilli flakes, (if using) the lime juice and zest and bring to a gentle simmer.
  100 ml pineapple juice, 2 tbsp golden caster sugar, 1 lime, ½ tsp chilli flakes
• Add the butter. As soon as it’s dissolved, give the syrup a good stir and turn the heat off.
  25 g unsalted butter

Notes

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 88mg | Potassium: 90mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 315IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below letting us know how you got on and do share a photo on Instagram. Tag @choclette8 or use hashtag #tinandthyme.

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Sharing

I’m sharing this recipe for pineapple juice cake with #CookBlogShare, which is hosted by Sew White this week.