Eggless moist and spongy Pineapple cake

Today I baked an Eggless Pineapple cake which was not only easy to do but turned out to be very spongy and moist like I used to get in bakeries back home in India.

I did not frost this cake because it smelled so good that I didn't have patience to spare my cake for that long. ;)

Ingredients:

250 gms or 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour or maida

1 tin or 400ml sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup/100gm softened butter unsalted
1/4 tsp/ 2 pinch of soda bi carbonate/ baking soda
2 leveled tsp baking powder
3/4 cup/150 ml soda water can unflavored (required to make a flowing consistency of cake batter)
1 tsp pineapple essence or extract

1/4 cup pineapple chunks (cut into smaller pieces) well-drained and coat with a little flour from above

5-6 tsp pineapple juice(I used fresh pineapple chunks which I had crushed)

Method:

Preparation for baking :

Before baking, prepare your oven by preheating it to 180°C/350°F at least 10 minutes in advance. Then, take your cake-baking pan and grease it with butter or oil. Next, sprinkle the pan with 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour and tap the pan gently to ensure that the flour spreads evenly. Finally, remove any excess flour and set the pan aside until you're ready to use it.

Making the batter:

• Beat softened butter and condensed milk in one direction until it turns creamy and uniform (a blender can be used).
• Add pineapple essence to the mixture and mix well.
• In a separate bowl, sieve together flour, baking powder, and soda bicarbonate at least three times to ensure proper mixing. Set aside.
• Start folding flour and soda water into the butter mixture alternatively, starting and ending with the flour.
• Repeat the process until the flour and soda water are used up completely or until the correct consistency of batter is achieved. Folding means to slowly turn dry ingredients into the wet in a circular inward to outward motion. Do not beat or mix vigorously.
• Add pineapple chunks to the batter and mix it gently.
• Pour the batter into a prepared cake pan and bake at 180 degrees C for 30 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven.
• Check the cake by inserting a toothpick or knife in the middle. If it comes out clean, remove it from the oven. Otherwise, let it bake for a few more minutes.
• Once the cake is out of the oven, let it cool for 20-30 minutes on the countertop. Do not attempt to cool it under a fan as it may turn dry.
• Loosen the sides of the cake using a knife and then invert it onto a plate or cooling rack.
• Poke holes with a fork in a few places on the cake and brush a few teaspoons of pineapple juice all over the cake until it is moist but not soggy.
• If you want to frost your cake, wait for the cake to cool down completely.
• You can use this cake as a base for making pineapple pastry, which is commonly found in Indian bakeries.

In Microwave:

Did you know that you can cook a cake in a microwave in just a few minutes? It may not turn brown or have a hard crust on top, but the taste will be just as delicious.

To make a microwave cake, simply grease a microwave-safe bowl (such as a glass bowl) and pour in the cake batter. Cook on high power (100%) for 5 minutes or until the cake is set. Check it every 2 minutes and continue cooking in 30-second intervals if needed, depending on your microwave's settings.

After cooking, let the cake cool for 15 minutes before inverting it and following the same rules as you would for an oven-baked cake.

But, it's important to note that when microwaving a cake, you should use the microwave cooking setting, which is used for reheating or defrosting, not the convection mode/grill used for baking or grilling. Give it a try and enjoy a quick and easy cake in minutes!

Note-

• Baking time and cooling time are determined by the amount of batter used in the pan. More batter will require more time to bake and cool, while less batter will take less time.
• To prevent pineapple chunks from sinking to the bottom of the cake during baking, coat them with flour before adding them to the batter.
• Be careful when using baking soda as it can affect the taste of the cake. To avoid this, use a greater amount of baking powder and soda water instead of baking soda. Note that baking powder and baking soda are two different ingredients.