This week we celebrate my husband, Brion’s birthday. Family birthdays forever bring me back to my childhood days. My mother always made the birthday person’s favorite meal on their day along with a cake. Although she excelled at cooking in general, her creative talent was put to good use when she decorated our birthday cakes.
Brion has always loved pineapple pie. I’m not sure where it came from but could possibly have been from time spent in the Cook Islands years ago.
In 1950, the Pillsbury company (General Mills) came out with a pie crust mix. Their promotion read that ‘the quality was assured by the finest ingredients, scientifically blended and perfectly balanced’. All you had to do was add water and mix. To further promote their product they included a recipe for Pineapple Pie supposedly having been written by ‘Ann Pillsbury’. This was a fictitious home economist created for marketing purposes. She essentially represented the members of the Pillsbury Home Service department. Unlike Betty Crocker, Ann Pillsbury did not catch on and was replaced in 1965 by the Pillsbury Doughboy who we still see in their current advertising.
My blog recipe is a bit different from the vintage one but is one of Brion’s favorites. Over the last six months, Brion’s love and support have helped me recover from shoulder replacement surgery for which I’m very grateful.
BIRTHDAY WISHES WITH LOVE!
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Vintage Pineapple Pie
Votes: 2
Rating: 3.5
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Votes: 2
Rating: 3.5
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Instructions
Pineapple Filling
In a saucepan, combine cornstarch & sugar. Gradually stir in water until mixture is smooth. Add lemon zest & undrained crushed pineapple. Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture starts to boils; reduce heat slightly & continue to boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat; quickly stir in butter & beaten egg yolks, mixing well. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature.
Crumb Crust
In a food processor or with a rolling pin, crush biscuits finely & evenly. Melt butter; add to crumbs, mixing well with fork. Press evenly over bottom & up sides of a 9-inch flan or pie pan. Refrigerate crust while filling is cooling.
Meringue Topping
Preheat oven to 375 F. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually add sugar. Beat until sugar is dissolved. Spread filling evenly into crust; top with meringue making sure to spread it to the edge of crust to form a seal.
Bake for about 5-10 minutes or until surface of meringue is evenly golden brown.
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It seems Angel Food cake has been around forever. I remember my mother making it from ‘scratch’, having those wonderful farm fresh eggs at her fingertips. It seemed she had no problem at all to bake this very tall, feather light cake even if she was using a wood burning stove and had no control over an exact oven temperature.
Of course today, all we have to do is buy a ready made mix, add some water and there you have it, one big lovely angel food cake.
Brion has always loved this kind of cake, so when I noticed this little recipe on the ninjakitchen.com website, I decided to make a few mini cakes. Of course, these little morsels were gone in no time!
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Mini Kiwi Lime Angel Food Cakes
Angel Food cake with fresh fruit what could be more 'guilt free'.
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 F. In a small bowl, combine flour with 2 Tbsp sugar. With an electric mixer on high, beat egg whites, vanilla, salt & cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add 1 tsp lime zest & 1 tsp lime juice. Gradually add remaining 4 Tbsp sugar. Beat on high until mixture is fully incorporated, glossy & stiff peaks are formed. Fold in by hand flour/sugar mixture in thirds until fully combined, keeping batter as voluminous as possible.
Fill a 12 cup silicone mini muffin pan( or non-stick mini muffin pan) with batter. In a shallow baking pan (larger than the mini muffin pan), place a wire rack. Pour water in & set muffin tin over water on rack. Bake for 15 minutes or until cakes rise & a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Remove from oven & let cool.
Stir together remaining lime zest, 3 tsp lime juice & powdered sugar to make glaze. Drizzle on cakes & top with kiwi wedges.
Recipe Notes
- I think these little minis would be great with any topping you favor. Next time I make them I might try a caramel topping on them.
No doubt the biggest problem vegetable gardener’s have with the squash ‘family’, is it’s frightening productivity even when growing conditions are marginal. It’s growth is so rapid that when heat and moisture are ideal, you could be picking your zucchini daily. That being said, there’s no such thing as too much zucchini in my opinion. A member of the gourd family, its versatility is amazing! From appetizers to dessert, zucchini covers every recipe category.
This Zucchini-Apple Bundt Cake is a healthy veg/fruit combo topped with a refreshing Limoncello Glaze. Authentic limoncello is made from Italian lemons, which come from the Amalfi coast in Italy. Families have passed down recipes for limoncello for generations, as every Italian family has their own recipe. In the winter of 2013, Brion and I spent some time travelling Italy. It was in Sorrento where we tasted limoncello for the first time and loved it.
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Zucchini / Apple Bundt Cake with Limoncello Drizzle.
Zucchini, apple & limoncello create an explosion of flavors in this moist bundt cake.
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Apple Streusel Filling
Peel & chop apples. In a small bowl, combine apples with remaining filling ingredients & mix well. Set aside. If you prefer, you can cook everything except nuts for 3-4 minutes & then stir in nuts. Cool before adding to cake.
Zucchini-Apple Cake
In a large bowl, beat zucchini, sour cream ( or yogurt), sugar, egg whites, oil, egg & vanilla until well blended. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt; gradually beat into zucchini mixture until blended.
Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray & flour a bundt cake pan. Spread 1/3 of the batter in pan; spoon 1/2 of filling carefully over cake. Top with another 1/3 of cake batter then remaining filling, finishing with last 1/3 of cake batter.
Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
Limoncello Glaze
In a small dish, mix together powdered sugar & limoncello liqueur. When cake is cool, drizzle slowly over top.
