This cake is SO simple, and SO quick. Cake mix, crushed pineapple, and a 9 x 13 baking dish. And my Oster toaster oven can accommodate 9 x 13 pans! Win, win!
This is the image and directions I came across, our 'usual suspects' look like twins all around don't they? I failed to make note of who to credit this to, so if you're out there, I'll gladly do so.
Preheat that oven to 350 degrees F. Do you know how hard it is to take a flash photo of a digital read-out? I had to figure out how to do a non-flash photo and that's why it's a bit fuzzy!
If the cake mix you choose, should you choose to make this cake, has a Box Tops for Education coupon, don't forget to cut it off and give it to your school if they take them, or find a school that does if yours doesn't.
Dump the cake mix into a bowl. I chose this one, from a set of those wonderful Pyrex bowls from the 1950s. I have the complete set from my mom except that this bowl is actually a replacement as she broke the original. It is slightly different from the others so maybe a different year.
Grease the pan, I used coconut oil, which was solidified because my house is always too cold for it to liquefy.
Add the can of crushed pineapple, juice and all, and mix together. I used a whisk, but a spoon would be fine, and next time I'll probably use a spoon myself. As you can see, it turns frothy, and as you can also see, it fit pretty tightly in the bowl, so next time I'll use the bigger bowl.
Generally, baking in a regular oven instructs to place the pan on the middle rack. In this toaster oven, there is no middle rack. There is a rack that looks to be equi-distance between the upper and lower elements, but if you place the item on that rack, it places the food item quite close to the upper element. I was concerned about this, and I was also concerned about placing it on the bottom because the bottom of the pan would be very close to the bottom element. The instructed baking time was 30 minutes, so I thought why not bake half the time on the upper rack, and half the time on the lower rack. After just over 5 minutes, I was already smelling that burnt sugar smell, but when I looked in, it was browning but not burnt. I let it go another 5 minutes, and decided it would be best to switch it to the lower rack at that point. At the switching point, I was worried that the cake would fall flat or do some other weird thing as, though it was browned on top, it was very jiggly.
Even so, the top stilled darkened even more. The photos make it look black-burned, but it is only deep brown. I pulled it out of the oven at the end of 30 minutes and the cake was fully cooked. You can see the sides are that nice light color of an Angel Food cake. I would like to say it smelled great while baking, but all I could smell was the burnt-sugar odor. However,...
I couldn't wait for it to cool off and cut myself a piece after it was out of the oven for only 5 or 10 minutes.
The inside was perfect! And oh so absolutely delicious. Again, the photo really darkened the top. The edges were a little lighter than the center of the cake and had no burnt-sugar taste. Later in the evening after dinner, I had another piece with some ice cream on top - oh yum, yum - and that was more from the center and it did have just a hint of the burnt-sugar flavor.
The next time I bake this cake, oh yes, there will be a next time, I will consider placing it on the lower rack first and watch it. If I find it still tends to 'burn' on the top, I will try a loose sheet of foil tented over the top. I was also thinking of altering the recipe by maybe adding some coconut, maybe even some rum extract, I love those tropical flavor combinations.
Much of the purpose of this blog-theme is to determine what can and can't be made in a large toaster oven, and to see how well they turn out with or without adjustments. I do not recommend this for small toaster ovens; always consult your own toaster oven's manual first and abide by those recommendations.
Now, go make a cake!
If I weren't off sugar I'd try this! I, too, have my mother's set of Pyrex mixing bowls. Have you seen the prices for these in antique malls?? My toaster oven won't take a 9x13 ;( but it does have an offset rack that I can flip over to get things at the right height.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I can use my silicone bakeware in the toaster oven? I'll have to check that out. I use it in the gas oven with no trouble. Hmmm. Originally I was thinking our toaster oven will probably be a smaller one, but I may have to rethink that!! :)
ReplyDeleteHello Lee, so nice visiting with you! I have enjoyed perusing many of your posts and especially like this pineapple angel food cake. My toaster oven isn't big enough but I would love to make it in my oven.
ReplyDeleteKindly, Lorraine