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Fresh Pineapple Marinated in Rum

This straightforward, mind-blowingly delicious recipe is for adults only! 

Ingredients:

1 pineapple, cut into cubes

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons rum, preferably dark

Cut the top and bottom from a pineapple. Cut down the sides to remove peel and eyes. Cut the pineapple into quarters. Remove the core. Cut the quarters into cubes. 

Or:

Use a handy pineapple slicer like the one I borrowed from my daughter. This tool cores and slices the pineapple all at once, and I will buy one the minute I find one. Remove the stack of sliced pineapple from the device and cut it into cubes. 

Method:

Place the pineapple cubes in a medium-sized bowl. Mix the rum and brown sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Pour rum mixture over the pineapple and stir to coat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or a few hours. 

Serve the pineapple in chilled stemware and garnish with berries. 

This simple fruit preparation is delicious on a warm day or after a robust meal. I have also served it over a slice of Chameleon Cake with a dollop of whipped cream. Yummy. 

This recipe was adapted from Anne Lindsay’s The Lighthearted Cookbook. Healthy never tasted or smelled so good!!

Pineapple Pecan Loaf

I have a better relationship with food when I don’t repeat the same food items each day. I stock my big basement freezer with containers of pancakes, loaves, and scones. I use recipes that call for a variety of protein, fruit, and grain. I fill my stackable Freezer Mates Plus storage containers with a variety of breakfast options. This stacking container separates spicy pumpkin pancakes from apple raisin scones and slices of Pineapple Pecan Bread. I never mix a variety of flavoured baking in one container because the tastes transfer and ruin the eating experience. 

One stack of Freezer Mates holds a week’s worth of breakfasts and takes up very little room in my narrow kitchen freezer. At the end of the week, I replenish my kitchen stash from the containers in my basement deep freeze.

One of the breakfast foods I enjoy is Pineapple Pecan Bread, which is delicious when eaten frozen, warmed slightly, or enjoyed at room temperature. I eat it plain, but it is tasty with butter or cheese. The flavour of pineapple and the crunch of pecans enhance this breakfast experience. Yummy! 

Pineapple Pecan Bread

Preheat oven to 350°F and butter a loaf pan

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour or flour of your choice

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup chopped pecans

Moist Ingredients: 

⅓ cup shortening

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

3 tablespoons sour cream

1 cup canned crushed pineapple, drained

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Stir in nuts. Set aside.  

Cream shortening and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in sour cream and pineapple. 

Fold dry ingredients into moist ingredients just until blended. 

Turn into a buttered 8” by 4” loaf pan and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 60 to 65 minutes. Cool loaf in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Turn loaf out of the pan and leave until fully cooled. Wrap in plastic. This loaf improves over the next few days; slice and freeze. 

NOTE:

I used my heavy red enamel loaf pan and placed the oven rack in the center of the oven. This loaf was ready in 60 minutes.

Golden Angel Food Cake

After making the recipe for Vintage Angel Food Cake featured in Saskatoon HOME Magazine's spring issue, you will have 10 or 12 egg yolks remaining. If baking one cake a day is enough for you, you will be glad to learn that egg yolks will keep for about 24 hours covered and refrigerated. 

The next day, take the yolks from the fridge about an hour before you want to make this Golden Angel Food Cake. If you hope to make a truly golden cake, choose eggs with bright yellow yolks. This recipe produces a not-quite angel food cake because it contains egg yolks rather than egg whites. It is like angel food because it is free of shortening, rises well, and is best baked in an ungreased angel food pan with a removable bottom.

Preheat the oven to 350°F

Ingredients:

10 to 12 egg yolks

1 2/3 cups sifted cake flour (sift flour before measuring)

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup hot water

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

Method:

Add baking powder and salt to the sifted, measured flour and sift again.

Beat yolks until slightly thickened, then add hot water gradually, and beat until fluffy. Add flavouring to the yolks, then add sugar gradually while continuing to beat until thickened and smooth.  

Fold flour into the egg mixture ¼ at a time until blended. 

Spoon batter into an ungreased angel food cake pan.

Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes until the top bounces back when touched. Invert pan to cool. 

Sometimes, I fill my 7 ½ inch angel food cake pan to the 2/3 line and bake the rest of the batter as cupcakes (6 to 8). My husband likes this cake served with maple syrup. He also enjoys it topped with Maureen’s Butter Tart Sauce. I prefer it topped with fruit and whipped cream.

Other recipes that include egg yolks are:

The Boy's Favourite Butterscotch Pudding

Raspberry Bundt Cake

This cake is a staple at my house. I have made it often and in several different pans. It is delicious at a brunch buffet, served with coffee for a quiet breakfast, or dressed up for a special occasion. Several years ago, I gave my mother-in-law a take-home Raspberry Bundt Cake and a new coffee pot on her birthday. She was hosting her bridge club the next day, and I knew she would enjoy serving the cake and pouring coffee from her shiny new pot. 

This cake stays fresh for a few days on the counter, and the remaining cake can be frozen. Decorate it to suit any season. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F

Ingredients for Raspberry Bundt Cake: 

To make this cake, you will need a full cup of raspberry yogurt. The rest of the ingredients are pantry basics and include butter, brown sugar, vanilla, egg, flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Have fun choosing your Bundt pan. 

Cream the following ingredients in a large mixing bowl:

½ cup softened butter 

1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer.  Add egg and beat well. Add vanilla and mix. 

Sift dry ingredients together in a separate bowl:

1 teaspoon soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour 

Mixing Method: 

Add dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture alternating with 

1 cup raspberry yogurt 

Once this thick batter is well mixed, spoon it evenly into a well-greased and floured 9-inch tube pan (8-9 cup) or Bundt pan, and bake at 350°F for 50 minutes. Cool and sprinkle with icing sugar or drizzle with glaze. This cake can successfully be made a day ahead of serving. Enjoy!

NOTE: My mother-in-law was 89 in the introductory photo. She lived past her 98^th birthday. 

My Favourite Vanilla Glaze

Melt ¼ cup of butter. Blend in 2 cups of sifted icing sugar. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Gradually add 2 to 4 tablespoons of hot water, one spoonful at a time, whisking until the glaze is the desired consistency. 

Spiced Autumn Angel Food Dessert

Low in calories and fat, this delicious dessert tastes just like a bite of rich pumpkin pie. My grandson eats the spicy angel food cake all by itself, but the rest of us love the pumpkin sauce. I adapted this recipe from one I found decades ago in Prevention Magazine. Of course, you can use any brand of angel food cake mix or a made-from-scratch recipe. Just add the spices to the dry ingredients and sift twice to mix well. 

Cake Ingredients:

1 package (16 ounces) angel food cake mix; I use gluten-free Kinnikinnick’s angel food mix. 

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cloves

Whisk together cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cake mix. Follow the package directions to prepare, bake, and cool the cake. 

Pumpkin Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup 2% or skim milk

½ tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup canned pumpkin

3 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed

1 package of Dream Whip, whipped according to directions

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin Sauce Method:

Combine milk and cornstarch in a saucepan. Stir pumpkin and brown sugar into the mixture. Cook on medium heat, constantly stirring until the mixture boils and thickens. Pour into a bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the pumpkin sauce to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate for approximately 3 hours or until well chilled. Fold in the whipped topping and vanilla. Serve cake slices with a scoop of sauce and, if desired, garnish with a sprinkling of nuts or dried cranberries. 

Lemon Angel Food Slice

During the 1970s, my mother-in-law often served this refreshing, make-ahead dessert. Refrigerator slice desserts develop flavour and texture when made at least 24 hours before serving. Vintage instructions were usually minimal. I found the following version written in my mother-in-law’s handwriting. Scroll further down for my more detailed instructions.   

Cake Layers: Slice one angel food cake, as you would a loaf of bread. Use a mix or buy a cake.

Filling: Lemon Cream

Cook a double Jell-o lemon pie filling, cool

Prepare a double Dream Whip

Fold Dream Whip into cooled lemon pie filling

Method: In a 9” by 13” pan, place half of the cake slices to cover the bottom. Layer half of the lemon-Dream Whip mixture. Repeat with the remaining cake and end with the lemon mixture.

Cover the top with toasted almond slices. 

Refrigerate for 24 hours before serving. 

Angel Food Lemon Slice

This is my version of a delicious vintage slice.

Ingredients:

Base:

1 angel food cake

Filling:

1 recipe of lemon pie filler made from scratch

2 envelopes of Dream Whip or a large container of Cool Whip or 1 cup of real cream whipped

Topping: Toasted almonds to cover

Method:

I make the vintage angel food cake recipe featured in “Maureen’s Kitchen” in Saskatoon HOME Magazine's spring issue. When my gluten-free family members are visiting, I prepare a Kinnikinnick Gluten-Free Angel Food mix, starting with fresh egg whites.  

I make a recipe of microwave lemon pie filling from scratch. My Six Minute Lemon Pie Filling is gluten-free. I have also used Versatile Lemon Pudding which contains flour.     

If you want your lemon pie filling to have a rich yellow colour, use eggs with brightly coloured yolks or a drop of yellow food colouring. 

To Make Lemon Cream:

Fold your chosen whipped topping into the lemon pie filling.  

To Toast Almonds: 

Set the oven to 350°F. Spread almonds onto an aluminum pan and toast for about 8 minutes stirring at 2-minute intervals. 

Assembly:

Choose a container for the dessert. It can be a 9” by 13” cake pan, an antique bowl, or a trifle dish. There are no rules. Cover the bottom of your container with a layer of cake. Spread half of the lemon cream over the first cake layer. Add another layer of cake and end with the rest of the lemon cream.

Top the dessert with a layer of toasted, thinly sliced almonds. 

Place the covered dessert in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving. This dessert also freezes well and tastes great right from the freezer.  

Feel free to improvise with this dessert. Choose to use a combination of mixes and homemade ingredients if that is what you have on hand. 

Chocolate Angel Food Cake with Coffee Whipped Cream

My mother often made chocolate angel food cake from a mix. It was delicious and quick to make. She served a slice of this cake with coffee-flavoured whipped cream. The combination was exquisite. Lately, I have been unable to find a chocolate angel food mix, but I came upon this old recipe in my family files. I incorporated farm fresh eggs, and the results were yummy.    

Ingredients:

¾ cup of sifted cake and pastry flour

¾ cup extra-fine granulated sugar (castor or berry sugar)

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 ½ cups of egg whites (about 12)

1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

½ teaspoon almond extract

Another ¾ cup of extra-fine granulated sugar 

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350°F

Have a ten-inch tube pan (with removable bottom) ready; do not grease

Have egg whites at room temperature

Method:

Sift flour, ¾ cup of sugar, and cocoa powder together at least 3 times. 

Measure egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla into a large mixing bowl. Beat until foamy. Gradually add the last ¾ cup of sugar in three portions, whipping for ten seconds after each addition. Keep whipping until stiff peaks form. 

Once the stiff-peak stage is reached, remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and sift about 3 tablespoons of the cocoa flour mixture over the egg whites. Using a large metal spoon or spatula, gently fold the flour mixture into the egg white mixture until no flour remains. Repeat until all of the flour and cocoa mixture has been incorporated. 

Spread the batter into a large, ungreased tube pan with a removable bottom. Cut through the batter a few times with a thin knife. Be sure the batter is level. 

Bake for 35-45 minutes. If fully cooked, the cake should bounce back when touched. 

Make a Vintage Golden Angel Food cake to put the leftover egg yolks to delicious use. 

Coffee Whipped Cream

My mother used a mix for the whipping cream as well as a mix for the cake. It was the trend in the 1960s. 

Prepare two envelopes of Dream Whip and add 1 rounded teaspoon of Café Vienna – a cinnamon coffee beverage. This is also delicious with plain instant coffee. Serve on chocolate angel food cake.

You can also whip 1 cup of whipping cream, sweetening with 3 tablespoons of sugar. Keep beating until stiff and fold in instant coffee granules to taste. Start with ¾ of a teaspoon.  

Be-Anything Pumpkin Bread

This is a large recipe and makes over 3 dozen muffins, which become cupcakes if you ice them. Alternately, you could make three pumpkin loaves or a very large Bundt cake. Layer Cakes are also an option.  

This recipe is very forgiving, and I have made it with various flours and oils. Vintage recipes calling for salad oil are usually referring to corn oil. For the cake pictured here, I used all-purpose flour and corn oil. The cake rose higher than expected, and it was delicious. I could have made a few muffins and not filled the Bundt pan quite as full if I had wanted a flatter base.

This cake tastes better after a couple of days on the counter, so it is an excellent make-ahead recipe. I freeze the cake, in quarters or slices, on the third day.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Combine the following wet ingredients in a stand mixer:

3 cups of granulated sugar

1 cup of salad oil (corn or canola oil)

4 beaten eggs

1 ¾ cups of pumpkin purée (I use canned pumpkin)

Mix the following dry ingredients:

3 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice 

2 teaspoons salt

2/3 cup of water

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the water, mixing well, and ending with dry ingredients. 

Pour into three buttered loaf pans or one large, buttered and floured Bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees, testing for doneness after one hour using a toothpick or cake tester.

When cooked, remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool for fifteen minutes. A Bundt cake should be inverted at this time. If your cake rises above the pan, invert it onto a bowl-like plate, slice the top off, or let the icing drizzle onto the plate, giving the illusion of a flat bottom. The cover photo shows that the cake looks fine the way it is.

Both cupcakes and layer cakes should be baked at 375°F. Cupcakes take about 20 minutes, while layer cakes take 40 minutes. Check for doneness before time is up because bake times vary with pan-colours and ovens.    

This is a Be Anything Pumpkin Bread. I love it slathered in cream cheese icing. 

It is delicious covered in cheese slices.

I often cut the cake into quarters and wrap each piece in plastic wrap and foil and store it in the freezer. I love a crescent of Bundt cake on a platter of treats. 

TIP: To prepare a fresh pumpkin, just half it, remove seeds, cut in wedges and peel the skin off the outside while scooping the stringy inner lining away. Next, boil the pumpkin as you would turnips or carrots. Mash the cooked pumpkin and strain any strings out. Use the pumpkin in any recipe calling for pumpkin purée. Purée freezes well. I usually use canned pumpkin for this recipe.

Turkey or Chicken Pot Pie

Pot pie is the name used for deep dish savoury pies, having only one crust. Although I enjoy pot pies all year round, I find them comforting in the coldest, darkest part of winter. 

This recipe for turkey or chicken pot pie requires a few minutes of preparation and feeds six. Make two pies if you have a larger family. I have, on occasion, made individual servings in ramekins. My daughter and I enjoy making pot pies together because chopping allows time for visiting.

You can freeze the filling and the pastry separately for assembly at a later date. If you have house guests and plan to be out all day, place the filling and the pastry in the refrigerator to thaw. Upon arriving home, preheat the oven to 400°F, assemble the pie and bake for 45 to 60 minutes. This gives everyone time to freshen up and relax before dinner. 

This recipe contains a medley of six vegetables, so it provides a nutritious meal on its own. Serve it with a pickle tray or coleslaw. My Simply Delicious Coleslaw must be made a couple of days ahead. If you double or triple the recipe, you can serve it with more than one meal. 

Planning Ahead 

You need 3 cups of turkey or chicken for each batch, so I chop and freeze meat every time I roast a bird. Cubed meat from a supermarket barbequed chicken is delicious in this recipe.

There are many options for the pastry topping. Since I always make this pie in the same baking dish, I like to trace the pan onto the pastry, cut it, and freeze it on a cookie sheet wrapped in plastic wrap and foil, to be used at a later date. If the pie is to be assembled the same day, refrigerate the pastry until the pie is ready to bake. Of course, you can purchase delicious premade puff pastry from the freezer section at your local grocery store.

Turkey or Chicken Pot Pie

Preheat oven to 400°F

Ingredients: 

¼ cup butter

¼ cup flour

Salt and pepper to taste (I use ½ teaspoon of each)

2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion

3 cups of turkey or chicken broth

Approximately 1 ¼ cups of carrot, chopped into small pieces

Approximately ¾ of a cup of celery, chopped into small pieces

1 good-sized baking potato, cubed

3 cups sliced mushrooms, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup peas

3 cups cooked and diced turkey 

Enough pastry, home-made or purchased, to cover a 3-quart casserole 

Method: 

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Blend in flour, salt, pepper, and onion. Gradually, stir in the turkey broth. Cook the mixture, constantly stirring until smooth and slightly thickened. 

Add carrots, celery, and potatoes. Cook until fork-tender. This could take about 25 minutes. I cover the pan but stir occasionally. 

While the first mixture is cooking, heat a small frying pan, add the olive oil, and fry the chopped mushrooms. 

Add the chopped mushrooms to the vegetable mixture. Add peas and chopped turkey as well. Pour the complete mixture into a large baking dish. Cover with rolled pastry and slash top to allow steam to escape. 

Bake the pie in a preheated 400°F oven for about 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. If the pastry is over-browning, cover with foil. 

Tips: 

A perfect baking dish is at least 2” deep and measures about 8½״ by 11״. I use my rectangular deep baking dish by Emile Henry.  

To reheat a frozen pie, or pieces of a pie, place in the oven at 350°F for 50 minutes or until the center is thoroughly heated. 

Maple Bread Pudding

I have been making this delicious bread pudding since the early 90s, but recently I made it with some leftover brioche. The results were company-worthy. Combining maple syrup, light spices, and rich bread into a mixture of eggs and milk is always appetizing but steaming it this way guarantees a light, silky texture.

Maple Bread Pudding

Preheat the oven to 325°F 

3 slices of day-old bread

2 tablespoons soft butter

3 eggs

½ cup maple syrup

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of ginger

Pinch of salt

2 ½ cups milk

1/3 cup raisins

Butter both sides of the bread. Leave the crusts on bread but cut each piece into 4. Place in a 1 ½ quart casserole. Sprinkle raisins on top. 

Beat the eggs, add spices, then syrup, and finally the milk. 

Pour liquid over bread and raisins. Let stand for 20 minutes. With a fork, gently submerge any bread that has risen to the surface. 

Set the dish into a pan of warm water. Cover the entire pan in foil. Bake one hour at 325°F 

This recipe makes 4 to 6 servings and is delicious hot or cold.