Roasted pineapple & passion cake

We all need a bit of sunshine in our lives… and I find that this is the cake equivalent of that. It’s bright, zingy and the addition of pineapple and passionfruit makes it taste like summer! Perfect for a summer garden party (or for breakfast on a cloudy rainy morning, in my case today).

Roasted pineapple and passion cake 

400g pineapple flesh, cubed (removing the outer skin with a serrated, cut out the core and dice up the flesh)

200g salted butter, softened

200g caster sugar

3 eggs

200g self raising flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp milk 

For the icing 

150g butter, softened

300g icing sugar, sifted

2 large passionfruit, sliced in half and pulp scooped out

1 Grease and line a 900g loaf tin (mine was around 10cm x 20cm x 6cm high) with a little butter and two strips of baking parchment going in each direction across the tin, leaving some hanging off the edges as this will help take it out the tin. Heat oven to 180/160C/gas 4. 

2 Take your cubed pineapple flesh and place on a flat baking tray for 20 mins, turning halfway through, until it starts to turn slightly golden and goes a little drier. Remove from the oven, transfer on to a plate and allow to cool.

3 Beat together the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl or stand mixer for around 4 mins until soft, light and fluffy. Gradually add in each egg until smooth (don’t worry if it curdles at this point, it’ll come together when you add the flour). Fold in the flour and vanilla until your mix is smooth, loosening it by mixing in the milk. Then mix in most of the cooled roasted pineapple chunks, saving the 2 tbsp for decoration.

4 Place into your lined loaf tin and bake for 1 hour 10 mins – 1 hour 15 mins until it’s golden and a little skewer is inserted and comes out clean. (You can put some foil over the top of it if it’s colouring too much whilst cooking). Leave to cool for 30 mins, transfer onto a wire rack and leave until completely cooled.

5 For the icing, in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using an electric whisk, beat together the butter, icing sugar and the pulp from 1 ½ of the passionfruit. Whisk for around 5 mins until it’s pale and fluffy & whisk in up to 1 tbsp hot water to loosen.

6 You can either spread it over the top of your delicious cooled cake, or put the icing in a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe in rows on top of the cake until it’s all covered. Top with the remaining pineapple pieces and pulp from the left over half of the passionfruit.