This cake is very simple: a fluffy vanilla sponge topped with syrupy rings of pineapple and dotted with jewel-like glace cherries. You can eat it cold, but it's delicious warm from the pan with a blanket of custard.
Prep time:15 minutes
Cook time: 35-40 minutes
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
225g butter
225g soft light brown sugar
425g can pineapple rings in juice, drained
9 glace cherries
3 medium eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
175 self-raising flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C/fan oven 160°C. Beat together 50g butter, 50g soft light brown sugar and thickly smear it over the base and halfway up the sides of an 18cm square cake tin.
2. Lay the pineapple rings over the sugar and butter mix, halving or quartering them if necessary, and place a cherry in the middle of each gap.
3. To make the sponge, beat the remaining butter and sugar together for a couple of minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the vanilla extract. Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir to combine.
4. Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden, risen and firm to the touch. Let the cake stand for five minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a serving plate. Serve warm with custard.