Tropical cake

The original recipe inspiration for the tropical cake came from a wonderful early 1950s cookbook from the McAlpins test kitchen titled ‘A guide to better baking’ (McAlpins were a Melbourne based flour company, who are no longer with us). This version is slightly more decadent than to original but it still tastes brilliant!

  • Prep Time

    30 Minutes
  • Cook Time

    45 Minutes
  • Serves

    8 People

Ingredients

  • 150g butter, softened
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 250g (2 cups) self raising flour, sifted
  • 1 small pinch salt
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 passionfruit or ¼ cup of passionfruit pulp
  • 1 large ripe banana, mashed
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • ½ cup crystallised pineapple, cut in 1cm pieces
  • 1 cup soft icing mix
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 6-8 crystallised pineapple rings
  • 6-8 crystallised paw paw spears (papaya)
  • a few edible flowers to decorate (nasturtiums, geraniums, pansies and borage flowers are all good)

You'll Need

  • Multix Bake

Method

  1. Pre heat oven to 170oC
  2. Line a 20cm round cake tin with Multix Bake.
  3. In a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract and eggs until well combined. On a very slow speed, beat in the flour with just enough milk to make a smooth batter. Fold in 2/3 of the passionfruit pulp, the mashed banana and the crystallised pineapple pieces until thoroughly mixed through. Pour the batter into the lined cake tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until well risen, golden and just cooked through.
    Tip: Once the cake has risen you can cover it with a sheet of Multix Bake to stop the top of the cake from browning too fast.
  4. Allow the cake to cool totally in the cake tin. Turn it out on to the serving plate.
  5. In a medium bowl combine the soft icing mix with the remaining passionfruit pulp and a little lemon juice to a thick, slightly runny, spoonable consistency. Pile the crystallised fruit on top of the cake in a wild tropical pile and drizzle the whole thing with the passionfruit icing. Allow to set slightly before decorating with a few edible flowers. Serve with cream or vanilla yoghurt.