Thursday, March 7, 2013

Pineapple Bundt with Kuih Tat Filling #BundtaMonth

A tender crumbed pineapple Bundt cake filled with pineapple jam, just like the Malaysian kuih tats or pineapple tarts made for Chinese New Year and Hari Raya. What are you celebrating?

Food Lust People Love: A tender crumbed pineapple Bundt cake filled with pineapple jam, just like the Malaysian kuih tats or pineapple tarts made for Chinese New Year and Hari Raya.

When we moved to Kuala Lumpur for the first time in late December of 2001, we arrived as preparations for the Chinese New Year’s celebrations for the Year of the Horse got underway.  The whole month of January was filled with special offers and big sales in all the shops and the opening of many road-side stalls selling specialties of the season.

The one that caught my eye the most were small pineapple tarts, or kuih tat in Malay, because they seemed so exotic.  (The full name is kuih tat nanas, or  pineapple cake tart, with nanas meaning pineapple but it is often left off since everyone knows that kuih tat is pineapple.)  Sure, I had eaten pineapple a thousand times but not in baked goods or jam.  I discovered that pineapple jam is as common in the supermarkets of Asia as the ubiquitous strawberry spread you find in the rest of the world.  But it was new to me!

Traditional lion dance during a Chinese New Year celebration
When the tropical theme for March’s BundtaMonth was announced, the kuih tat popped into my head, because I wanted to share how easy pineapple jam is to make and how delicious it is as a filling in a Bundt cake.  It’s a great celebration cake, for Chinese New Year or for whatever you happen to be celebrating.

Make sure you scroll down to the bottom of this post to see all of the fabulous (and I am not even joking a little bit) tropical Bundt cakes that the group has created this month.

Ingredients
For the pineapple filling or jam:
1 fresh pineapple, about 1 lb 3 oz or 550g, after peeling and coring
3/4 cup or 175g sugar
Pinch salt
(Some Malaysian recipes call for spices or yellow food coloring but I prefer the natural flavor of the pineapple and the coloring is unnecessary.  This filling or jam turns the most amazing golden yellow color without it.)

For the cake batter:
2 1/2 cups or 310g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 rounded 1/2 cup or 125g soft unsalted butter
3/4 cup or 175g sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup or 120ml sour cream or crème fraîche or whole fat yogurt
1/4 cup or 60ml pineapple filling or jam

For the glaze:
1/4 cup pineapple filling
Pineapple juice to loosen the filling (maybe one or two tablespoons)
1 tablespoon butter

Method
To make the pineapple jam filling, pulse the pineapple in your food processor until it is cut into small pieces.  You don’t want it completely smooth so there should be small chunks.


Pour the chopped pineapple into a strainer over a small bowl or measuring cup to catch the juice.  Once the pineapple has stopped dripping, cover the juice and refrigerate until needed.


Cook the drained pineapple in a small covered pot for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.


Add in the sugar and cook over a low heat until the jam is sticky and pretty dry, stirring frequently.




It will turn slightly darker.  Transfer the jam to a bowl and allow to cool.  (You can put this in the refrigerator.)

Look!  Pineapple jam!  Also great on toast. 


When your pineapple filling is cool, preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your Bundt pan by greasing or spraying liberally with non stick spray and adding a tablespoon or two of flour and shaking it around till the pan is coated.

To make the cake batter, measure your dry cake ingredients into a small bowl: the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix well.


Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with beaters or in your standing mixer.


Now mix in 1/4 cup or 60ml of the pineapple filling, avoiding any liquid that has settled around the bottom in the jam bowl.



Then beat in a couple of tablespoons of the flour mixture, with one egg.


Then beat in another couple of tablespoons of flour mixture with the second egg.


Add the rest of the flour mixture and the sour cream and beat again.  (I actually used yogurt this time.)  The batter will be very thick.


Spoon just more than half of the cake batter around the Bundt pan.  Make a channel of sorts in the middle of the batter for the filling.  This should prevent the filling from leaking out while baking.


Use a small spoon to fill the channel in the batter with your pineapple filling, once again, using the driest bits.   Make sure to leave behind about 1/4 cup of the filling with the runny bits to use for the glaze.



Cover with the remaining batter and smooth the top.



Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until the cake starts to pull away from the sides a little bit.


Let the cake cool for 10-15 minutes and then loosen the sides with a small spatula or knife.  Turn the cake out on to a rack to finish cooling.


Meanwhile, warm the remaining filling to loosen it and add in a couple of tablespoons of reserved pineapple juice, if necessary.  When it’s all warm and shiny, add in one tablespoon of butter and stir well.



Once the cake is cool, use a pastry brush to add the glaze.



Food Lust People Love: A tender crumbed pineapple Bundt cake filled with pineapple jam, just like the Malaysian kuih tats or pineapple tarts made for Chinese New Year and Hari Raya.
The national flower of Malaysia is a beautiful red hibiscus referred to there as Bunga Raya.   

Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: A tender crumbed pineapple Bundt cake filled with pineapple jam, just like the Malaysian kuih tats or pineapple tarts made for Chinese New Year and Hari Raya.


Here are the links to the great round-up of tropical Bundts we have for you this month:

Bananas Foster Bundt by Anita from Hungry Couple
Blue Hawaiian Bundt Cake by Tara from Noshing With The Nolands
Chocolate Bundt With Coconut Cream Cheese Filling by Karen from In The Kitchen With KP
Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake by Kim from Cravings Of A Lunatic Coconut and Rum Tea Cake by Anuradha from Baker Street
Coconut Banana Bundt Cake with Rum Glaze by Lora from Cake Duchess
Coconut Bundt Cake by Holly from A Baker’s House
Coconut Lime Bundt Cake by Kate from Food Babbles
Hummingbird Bundt Cake by Heather from Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks
Hummingbird Bundt Cake by Jennie from The Messy Baker Blog
Lime Glazed Bundt Cake by Carrie from Poet In The Pantry
Mini Pineapple Bundt Cakes with White Chocolate Ganache by Alice from Hip Foodie Mom Pina Colada Bundt Cake by Renee from Magnolia Days
Vanilla Orange Bundt Cake with a Hint of Coconut by Laura from The Spiced Life
Very Vanilla Bundt Bake by Dorothy from Shockingly Delicious
White Chocolate Guava Cake by Kim from Ninja Baking







31 comments :

  1. Now I know that kuih is pineapple. I like how some ingredients are the most common thing in one place and a new thing in others. I really love this cake!

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  2. I couldn't wait to find out what Kuih Tat was when I saw your recipe title in the #BundtAMonth group. It was well worth the wait. What a great cake with an incredible filling. Who knew pineapple jam could be so easy.

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  3. What an absolutely beautiful bundt! again, I love the step by step photos! If I had someone here with me, I would do this too b/c I think it's so helpful! or do you take all of these yourself, even the ones where you are doing something?

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  4. What a stunning cake!! Thanks for sharing!! I am pea green with envy looking at that hibiscus flower and that green grass too!! Getting tired of this snow, let me tell you. If I made your cake and closed my eyes maybe I could imagine tropical places.

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  5. Pineapple jam- yum! Pineapple jam in cake- double yum! This is one delicious looking cake. You are too sweet making this for Jess.

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  6. Well - I don't know where to pin this on my canning board or on my Bundt-O-Rama board! I love pineapple jam - I make a drunken pineapple jam that is great on chicken! Your bundt cake looks so wonderful!! When I scrolled down, I nearly fainted with all the bundt cakes......now I must go look at all of them! :)

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  7. Thank you for sharing about your time in KL and Kuih Tats. Appreciate your recipes and gorgeous piccies, too =)

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  8. Bundt cake with pineapple in the middle sounds incredible!

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  9. Oh that pineapple jam is something I'd love to make, and to find it inside your cake would be a wonderful surprise. I am going to learn more about the Food Bloggers Network, thanks!

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  10. How in the world did I never think of making my own pineapple jam...now it's all I want to do. And then fill it in a bundt! Gorgeous bundt. Love the step-by-step. Super for our Tropical Theme:)

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  11. Sorry to mislead you, Paula! Kuih actually means cake and the word for pineapple is nanas. So sometimes you see it written kuih tat (tart) nanas but most people know that kuih tat is pineapple so the nanas is left off.

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  12. Thank you, Alice! I take all the photos myself. It was easier when I was using a small Canon point-and-shoot but I have figured out how to hold my new SLR with my left hand and still push the button, so that I can take the occasional pouring shot.

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  13. I know, right? It firms up beautifully and the color is extraordinary. Thanks for your kind words, Renee.

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  14. Ah, Tara, you should have seen that yard mere months ago. When we looked at the house on our house-hunting trip, the backyard was a sand pit, a wasteland. The landlord put in all new plants and the lawn is finally looking like a lawn instead of separate little bits of planted grass. It's so much nicer to be able to look out to see green so I know what you mean! I imagine snow loses its charm pretty quickly when you are freezing!

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  15. It's always a fantastic round up of Bundts but I think the group has outdone itself this month with the tropical theme. I am intrigued by your drunken pineapple jam! I must search your site to find it or you need to send me the recipe if you haven't posted yet. Sounds delicious!

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  16. Thanks, Jennie! I love FBN and just wanted to acknowledge that today!

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  17. I love the idea of a pineapple jam. Brilliant!

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  18. Stacy, this is lovely! You're always so creative. That jam is lovely and I loved hearing the story behind it.

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  19. Hi Stacy, you're so creative! I love how you made the pineapple jam from scratch and this cake looks so pretty and delicious :)

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  20. Thank you, Kim! Some days I am really, really homesick for KL. Such a great city with warm, wonderful people. And it's a haven for foodies.

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  21. First: I desperately want your pan. Whom is it made by? Second: OMG forget about the cake, I just want to bathe in that pineapple jam! Third: what a great job you did, filling the cake with that jam. That I still kinda want to eat by the spoonful. :)

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  22. I don't believe I posted it - If not, I will send!

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  23. It's so easy, Holly. Next time you find a fresh one on sale, do it! And do check the group out. It's a great resource and a wonderful support.

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  24. Thank you, Lora! So great to have you back baking again!

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  25. All I could think was, why don't we have pineapple jam in the States!? If we do, it's certainly not common.

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  26. Thank you, Kate. It made me a little homesick for KL but that's the only downside to reminiscing. And baking helps. :)

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  27. Thank you, Ann! I've tried the store-bought pineapple jams and they are too sweet for me. This was perfect.

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  28. My pan is vintage-who-knows-the-maker! I tell the story of its provenance here. http://www.foodlustpeoplelove.com/2011/10/cranberry-cake.html I have a confession to make. This is the second pineapple Bundt I made for this post. The first one failed miserably because the batter was too thin and the filling sank to the top of the cake (bottom of the pan) and stuck. For that first time, I made two fresh pineapples worth of jam. And ate it with a spoon. :) I say, go for it!

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  29. Talk about gaining technical knowledge - making a channel for the jam so it doesn't leak seems so obvious but I've never thought of it before. Will be trying this next time I make jam filled muffins as they always leak and burn. Thank you!

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  30. No guarantees, Nancy, but it usually works! When I fill muffins with stiff filling, like this jam, I put the blob on and then kind of push it down into the batter a little. Like this: http://www.foodlustpeoplelove.com/2012/12/Brown-Sugar-Cinnamon-Muffins-with-Pecan-Filling.html

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