Let Us Eat Cake
The suggested baking pan size was 9x13 inches. When I used that size pan, I ended up with a burned perimeter and raw middle. And the top was somewhat tough. But, not being one to waste food, I would scrape off the rubbery top and eat the outer perimeter of the cake which actually had a nice flavor and texture to it. It was not the most attractive way to eat dessert, especially if you had company at the table. After several tries with different sized cake pans, I never got the cake to bake properly and gave up trying.
Someone mentioned the same recipe to me last week and I thought that maybe I could experiment a bit and improve my results. I bought the angel food cake mix and pineapple. When I got home from the supermarket, I noticed I had half a bag of coconut left on the counter from some cupcakes I made for a bake sale on the prior weekend. Hmmm…pineapple and coconut are a pretty nice combination, I thought. Very tropical. So I added a half cup of coconut and a tablespoon of coconut extract to the original two ingredients. Then I decided to bake the cakes in giant muffin cups thinking that the smaller cakes would bake more evenly than one large cake. I used silicone bakeware to make certain that the finished cakes would pop easily out of the muffin cups.
VOILA! The experiment was an overwhelming success. The little yellow flecked cakes, perfumed with pineapple and coconut, were delicious, moist and tender. Definitely company-worthy!
I hope you enjoy this new and improved version of the original pineapple angel food cake recipe. It’s a great summer dessert.
Made with fresh mint, whipped topping, angel food cake mix, crushed pineapple, flaked coconut, coconut extract
Serves/Makes: 12
- 1 box (16 ounce size) angel food cake mix
- 1 can (20 ounce size) crushed pineapple in unsweetened juice
- 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 tablespoon coconut extract *
- 4 ounces fat free whipped topping
- 12 small sprigs fresh mint
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray the insides of two 6-cup giant muffin silicone pans with butter flavored cooking spray. (I know the directions on the angel food cake mix box say not to grease the pan. Ignore that instruction for this recipe.)
Put the dry cake mix into a medium sized mixing bowl along with the pineapple with its juice, coconut and extract. Stir until all the ingredients are well blended.
Divide the mixture equally among the 12 muffin cups. (Reminder: Put the silicone bake ware on a cookie sheet or baking tray before you put it into the oven.)
Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the mini cakes comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
Remove the pans from the oven and wait until they are completely cool before removing the mini cakes from the baking pans.
Top each serving with 2 tablespoons of the whipped topping and garnish with a small sprig of mint.
Cook's Notes: *You can sprinkle a teaspoon of toasted coconut, macadamia nuts or a few pieces of finely diced mango (or better yet, a combination of all of these) on top of the whipped topping for a special touch.
To toast coconut, cover a baking tray with non-stick foil and spread the coconut evenly over it. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes or until the coconut turns a light golden brown. Stir the coconut every few minutes and watch it carefully to prevent burning. Cool completely before using.
*Substitute rum extract for the coconut extract and you'll have Pina Colada mini cakes.
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