Brown Sugar Pineapple Cake with Penuche Frosting

By Foodiewife

Ingredients

• Ingredients:
• 1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
• 3/4 cups of tightly packed dark brown sugar (or light)
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt (I used 1 whole teaspoon)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup of milk (I used half & half)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of pineapple chunks, drained well and tossed with about 1 Tablespoon of flour

Details

Adapted from pixie-baker.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter or spray a 9-inch spring form pan or glass baking dish.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking Soda, salt and cinnamon. Make sure any lumps from the brown sugar are broken up. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the egg, oil, cream, and vanilla. Stir with a large spatula or wooden spoon until well just combined (be careful not to over mix.) Add the floured pineapple chunks and stir just long enough to incorporate. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 27-35 minutes. You should not be able to see the cake shake below it's surface. If you used dark brown sugar, it will turn a deep golden brown, especially around the edges.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely before frosting. If you used a spring form pan, allow the cake to rest for 20 minutes before removing it from the pan.

Penuche Frosting ingredients:
1/4 cup of butter
1/2 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar (or light)
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
generous 1/8 of a cup of half & half
1 cup of confectioners sugar

Method:
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar and salt and mix to combine. Turn the heat up and bring the mixture to a boil. Continue to boil over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, add the cream. Return it to a boil while stirring constantly. Cook for 1-2 more minutes. Remove from heat and pour it into a medium-large mixing bowl.

Gradually sift in confectioners sugar. Don't add it all at once or you will end up with sugar on the ceiling. Beat on low speed while slowly adding the sugar. If it's too thin, add more sugar. If it's too thick, add a little bit more cream. Be careful when you add the cream, a little bit goes a long way.
Once you have a nice consistency, spread the frosting over the cooled cake. The frosting hardens quickly so be sure to spread it on immediately after mixing.