We all need revival every now and again, whether it be physical, mental, or spiritual. I think Big Red Kitchen needs a revival, she’s been a bit back-slidden of late. So I thought a revival would boost the kitchen soul. Kind of like a good old-fashioned Southern Baptist Tent Revival minus the long hell-fire sermons, women fanning themselves, and the occasional blurt of “Amen” and “Preach on Brother.” All eyes were on the Southern lady dessert parade.So to revive BRK, I am offering a week’s worth of delicious dessert dishes I remember enjoying as a young girl attending tons of church potlucks where the ladies set up tables inside the church basement laden with generous offerings of their labors. Pies, cakes, cookies, bars, brownies, and puddings. The men and children not missing what was carted in from car to church, always offered to hold the door, carry a dish, or set up chairs in hopes to spy the visual ambrosia of sweets. All eyes were on the Southern lady dessert parade. Most of the time I couldn’t hardly concentrate on the sermon as I was plotting which dessert I would choose- Miss Doris’ Banana Pudding, Miss Susan’s Pineapple Sheet Cake, Miss Jean’s Peach Cobbler, Miss Mary’s Velvet Almond Fudge Cake, or Miss Valerie’s Drippy Cake- I even prayed the preacher would hurry it up, cuz dessert was awaitn’.
Miss Susan’s Pineapple Sheet Cake
2 cups AP flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
20 ounce can (about 2 cups) crushed pineapple, in juice, don’t drain
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup nuts- I left out due to allergies
Mix all together until smooth. Pour into greased 9×13 inch baking dish and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. PLEASE SEE UPDATE BELOW!
Icing
8 ounces cream cheese
4 T. butter
3 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup nuts- optional
Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add Vanilla. Slowly add sugar and blend after each addition. Fold in nuts if desired. Ice cake while still a bit warm. Serves many as this cake is rich and sweet, so cut the pieces small as you can always have seconds.
UPDATE: 5/28/2012-
Some folks have commented that this cake has given them trouble, so I quickly made another and here are some tips that may help…
1. For high altitude baking help, go to highaltitudebaking.com.
2. I did mix all the ingredients together at once on medium speed for about 45 seconds. I used PAM on the dish.
3. Clear glass 9x 13 inch baking dishes, try lowering the heat to 325 and bake for 25 minutes- some have even reported up to 40 minutes in a clear glass dish- remember oven temps can greatly differ. Metal pans (which I used the first time) handled the 350 for 25 minutes- but I think clear glass is the best choice for this cake. Dark glass takes even longer than clear glass, so try 325 for a few minutes longer.
4. The texture of this cake has a coarse sticky sponge-like crumb. It is very rustic and may remind one of a less dense fruit cake. It is very different than any other cake texture I have tried. Even lovely without the icing and served warm with vanilla ice cream!
5. Please add the nuts if you can, I can’t- allergies. Also some said they added cinnamon or coconut too, give that a try, be creative. Some even made these into cupcakes!
6. If you have any questions, read through the comments first, I may have answered it already!
I feel terrible when folks say a recipe did not work out for them. I do my best to give the best instructions. Thank you all for your honest reviews and being kind with your critiques! This is a really nice cake, so give it a try with my updated tips. I hope this helps.
Ya’ll come back all week as Big Red Kitchen highlights a new dessert every day during Blog Revival Week. It’ll do your sweet-tooth soul some good. Bring your friends. Do I get an AMEN!
Happy Birthday Little Brother Rob!! Schplickitee-Schplaka Lagga Ding! Ding!
Robin Sue
250 Comments
I baked this tonight and it’s amazing. My family is loving it. I did have in the oven for 40 min at 350 and baked perfectly. And we don’t care for nuts so I didn’t put any either. Simply delicious and easy!!
So excited…just took them out of the oven…made two, because my dishes are smaller….one for travel and one for home…lol
They look exactly like your description of them…waiting for cooling ….then
icing is going on….It was so easy to make…Thank You So Much!!!
Really easy and fabulous. I wanted a little more tang, so I melted sugar, water and fresh lemon juice and basted the cake. Perfect!! Will make again and again. Thank you for sharing.
Have you ever tried making cupcakes with this recipe?
I believe another reader did and said they turned out very well. Enjoy!
I used a sugar free yellow cake and the crushed pineapple with juice. It was fantastic. We topped with sugar free cool whip. Sugar is a problem in our house, but this cake has now become our favorite.
I have made this for years, but the recipe was called Swedish Nut Cake. About the only difference is is the frosting. Cream cheese, 1 stick of butter, 1 3/4 c. powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 nuts. The frosting needs to be put on cake about 10 minutes or so after removing cake from oven. It melts a little into the cake. I also put the nuts on top instead of in the frosting. I think it looks prettier.
Also, one of the reasons , in addition to oven variations that increase time, is whether you use pineapple in juice or heavy syrup. The pineapple in syrup tends to increase baking time. Must be the extra sugar.
this cake is really good with the same icing you would use of a German Chocolate Cake…..yummy~
I made this last night. My family loved it! I noticed some folks mentioned they had some challenges with the recipe, but I didn’t experience any issues. I did make sure to cook it a little longer than recommended, and didn’t take it out of the oven till the toothpick came out clean. This one is definitely going with me to the next family party or potluck I go to!!
I don’t bake much and your recipe calls for “FB flour”, what does the FB stand for?
It’s AP flour, meaing all-purpose flour found in your baking isle at the grocery store, it is the most common flour for baking. I hope you give the cake a try, be sure to read my tips. Happy baking!! Robin
I made this today and it is delicious! I followed your directions with the modifications and it turned out great. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This recipe sounds just like the one I have for Granny Cake W/cream cheese icing. I’m going to try it. Thanks
Made this delicious cake today…yummy! I did have to bake it almost 10 min. Longer to get the center done…the top gets brown but does not change the taste…really wonderful!
Sorry! Recipe fail…golden brown on top and liquid in center. : ( Smells great, but…I’ll try again another time.
This is the only cake I’m allowed to bring to functions now. My grandma prefers it without frosting but everyone adores it.
Great cake, my husband ate the entire thing, and yet he stays slim. Go figure. I used coconut extract and added a half cup of coconut to the nuts. Thanks for a really good recipe.
I made this cake yesterday and it came out delicious!! I baked for 33 minutes in a clear pan and turned out perfect. Great recipe
I tried to make this cake today and the entire thing stayed in liquid form. Actually it got thinner as it stayed in the oven. It foamed alot and didnt harden at all even after 35 minutes of being in the oven. Any ideas of what I might have done wrong???
I was so excited to make this, I went to walmart at 10:30pm and it didnt even work
I don’t know what happened here, it should have done something in that time frame. Did you read all my extra tips?
no ma’am. Guess I will have to now…
I figured out what i did wrong!! We have three glass canisters for Sugar, Flour and Powdered Sugar….. unfortunately they aren’t labeled and I accidentally used powdered sugar instead of flour haha!
Hopefully it will work this time when i use FLOUR!
Oh my Goodness that is too funny!! That happened to us once, when my friend babysat my kids for me she made pizza for them using the “flour shaker” to roll the dough out with. Later she asked me what I used in my pizza dough because it was soooooo sweet. Then I saw she had used the powdered sugar shaker thinking it was flour!! We had a good laugh. Hope it works out this time for you.
Cheers,
Robin
I made this cake today and it didn’t taste good at all. My kids love pineapple and love cake, but they spit it out and threw it away. I am wondering if the recipe should say baking powder, instead of baking soda?
It is a very different cake and texture. Very rustic. Baking soda may not hurt.
Just made this and it turned out perfect. Although I enjoy nuts, and I enjoy cake, I don’t much care for them together. So they stayed out and a hefty handful of coconut went in. Baked for 35 minutes and it came out a golden brown perfection. Topped the icing with mandarin oranges for color and more flavor. Had a warm piece and it was delicious. Now it sits in the fridge and I can’t stop thinking about it haha.
I made this cake today and it took 55 minutes.
After 30 minutes it looked golden and I thought it was done. I walked away and the center fell in. I put it in the oven again for 25 minutes and it cooked. Since I was gonna cut it up for squares, and I didn’t want to have friends over and serve a NOT DONE cake….. I cut out a piece in the center and it was very moist. Makes you think its not cooked, but it was delicious! Putting it back in the oven, the top got a little darker, but with the frosting, it will be fine. It did not burn…
So you just have to watch it.
I saw the cake and thought it looked so good, I love pineapple. But to my disappointment, this cake had very little taste. If it hadn’t been for the icing, which I thought was too sweet, it would have no taste at all.
Just made this today and turned out perfect! I didn’t change a thing. Not sure why some are having trouble with it. It was moist and springy and had a different texture than a typical sheet cake. Was supposed to take to a pot luck but now they will be shy two pieces–it was delish! Thanks for sharing!
I just made it, it is totally delic. It depends on ea oven..mine always , I have to add minutes..no biggie. Not to worry..the cake is great. Took about 39 minutes , metal pan..good cake. Am keeping it , for more…tyvm. HAGD
I have made this a handful of times! It is soo good and super easy to make! Thank you for sharing this great cake!!!!
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