Canning of pineapple began in Baltimore in the mid-1860s, but this fruit was imported from the Caribbean, not Hawaii. Pineapple canning in Hawaii first began with the quickly defunct Kona Fruit Preserving Co. in 1882, and it was not until 1901 that James D. Dole founded Dole's Hawaiian Pineapple Company. Dole's company flourished, and as a result Dole's can credited as a major contribution to the rapid growth of the canned pineapple industry.

By the 1920s, canned pineapple was readily available and by 1930 Hawaii was leading the world in the production of canned pineapple. By 1933 there was also a rapid growth in sales of canned pineapple juice, an important by-product which increased industry profits after the Great Depression. However, by the end of World War II, the industry had changed. New competitors emerged and cheap foreign canneries eventually replaced all the canneries on Hawaii. Today, only fresh pineapples are grown in Hawaii, and mostly for local consumption. Nevertheless, Hawaii's pineapple legacy is so strong that even today dishes made with pineapple are often called "Hawaiian style".


HFF Challenge:

6. Juicy Fruits (March 11 - March 24) It’s fruits! Do something with fruits. It doesn’t get more simple than that. Bonus points for use of heritage crops and ingredients!

Original Recipe:

NO. 18. LEMON CAKE. (Finest ever.) Mrs.

Clara Moulton, Loura, Cal,--Take one good

cup sugar, one-half cup butter, three eggs,

(save the yolk of one,) one-half cup milk, two

cups of flour, one tablespoon baking powder,

jelly between layers, one cup cold water, one

cup sugar; the rind and juice of one large

lemon, one tablespoon corn starch, heaping

with the yolk of one egg and a little butter,

and a little water. Put in the corn starch and

yolk when it commences to boil and cool it

before spreading the layers.

The Verdict:

Delicious!
The cake was a bit dense, but very soft and a wonderful texture. There was a bit of a crunchy crust on top of the cake, but I actually kind of like the extra crunch thrown in there. The cake itself was a bit bland, but it wasn't bad. I think it could have benefitted from a bit of vanilla is all.
The curd was lovely and bright. I ended up adding waaaaay more cornstarch, partially due to it not thickening up and partially due to a huge mistake! But it turned out really great and the perfect consistency.
Overall, my whole family loved this cake! We ate it with fresh whipped cream, but its just fine on its own too.

Baking notes: I used cake margarine instead of butter because it was what I had on hand. Also, my measuring cup may be different from North American measurements and I used my weird little convection oven to bake.

Modernized Version:

(Adapted from the Los Angeles Times Cook Book No. 2)

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs (save one yolk)
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
juice and rind of one lemon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a cake pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and milk and mix until smooth. Add the flour and baking powder, mix well, and pour into the prepared pan.
3. Bake the cake. It took around an hour for me, but I have a weird oven.
4. Let the cake cool and prepare the filling.
5. In a saucepan, mix the water, sugar, and lemon juice and rind. Bring to a boil.
6. Add the butter, egg yolk, and cornstarch to the filling. Whisk well to combine.
7. When the filling has thickened, remove from heat and let it cool before filling the cake.

The Verdict:
I was kind of worried about this cake but it actually turned out really good! Mr. Man practically devoured all of it on his own!
I have only tried to make a roll cake once before, and it didn't turn out well. So I looked for modern instructions online and found this guide. I mixed and baked my cake, dividing the batter among 4 9x9 pans. When the cakes started pulling away from the sides of the pan and it was spongy and springy to the touch, I removed them from the oven. I wanted to try two techniques - the modern guide and just rolling up the cake immediately as the original instructions indicated. I had some trouble with the second technique, but that was probably because I overcooked that cake. I think both work okay, since this kind of filling isn't really impacted by heat. I could see the benefit from rolling and cooling the cake for whipped cream, for example.
Anyway, I used lemon filling, which I bought in a jar at the store. While it was okay, I think that using homemade lemon curd would have made this seriously amazing. The cake was alright on its own, although a little bland. But it's okay because the filling really provides enough flavour on its own (or should, anyway). I think one strong flavour is enough.
Also, while making 4 small rolls is definitely good if you wanted to make 4 different flavours, for example, its possible that this could be made in 2 9x13 pans instead.
Overall, this dessert is definitely worth five stars!




Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Favorite Dishes)

4 LARGE EGGS
2 cups SUGAR
2 cups FLOUR
1/2 cup MILK
2 teaspoons CREAM OF TARTAR
1 teaspoon BAKING SODA
FILLING (jam, curd, etc.)
POWDERED SUGAR

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease and flour 4 9x9 pans.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the eggs and sugar. Add the flour, milk, cream of tartar, and baking soda. Mix well and divide equally among the prepared pans.
3. Bake the cakes for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned and pull away from the sides and the top is springy and spongy to the touch.
4. Immediately remove the cakes from the pans to a work surface which is lightly coated with powdered sugar. Spread the filling on the cakes and roll them up. Let them cool before serving.

RHUBARB OR PIE-PLANT PUDDING.

Chop rhubarb pretty fine, put in a pudding dish and sprinkle sugar over it; make a batter of one cupful of sour milk, two eggs, a piece of butter the size of an egg, half a teaspoonful of soda and enough flour to make batter about as thick as for cake. Spread it over the rhubarb and bake till done. Turn out on a platter upside down, so that the rhubarb will be on top. Serve with sugar and cream.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar; add egg well beaten, milk, and shortening; beat well, and spread in a greased pan, having mixture about an inch deep; core, pare, and quarter apples, cut in thick slices, and arrange in rows on top of cake; sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, and bake in hot oven half an hour. Serve with liquid sauce.

The Verdict:
At first I found this cake kind of bland, but after finishing my first piece I was surprised to find myself wanting more. The cake is very fluffy from all the baking powder, but it doesn't crumble super easily. It was a little dry (probably overcooking on my part) and not sweet at all, so I can see the need for a sauce. That said, once you get used to the fact that this is not a sweet cake, it's delicious just on its own! I used honeycrisp apples, and they provided a lot of flavour, which helped the fact that the cake was bland and not sweet. If I made this again, I might add vanilla and/or cinnamon to the cake batter, just to bump up the flavour a bit. Otherwise, I don't think I'd change a thing. Mr. Man and Little Y loved it too. Five stars!

Australia Day is today, January 26th, so I thought I would branch out a little bit and make something to commemorate Australia's history - The Original Lamington Cake Recipe!

I've never actually had Lamingtons before, which is kind of odd, because apparently they're really popular in Cleveland, Ohio. I lived about an hour outside Cleveland for 4 years, but I don't recall having Lamingtons.

As of now, the first mention of Lamingtons appears to be in a 1902 edition of the Queenslander, an Australian newspaper. The recipe appears early in January, so I wonder if it was meant to be a holiday treat, or perhaps, as some have speculated, a way to use up stale cake - cake left over from the holidays, maybe?

The base of the traditional story goes something like this: Lord Lamington, the Governor of Queensland from 1896 - 1901, needed to feed some guests. In an effort to please these guests, Lamington's chef dipped some sponge cake in chocolate icing and then coated it in shredded coconut. Naturally, there are many variations to the story. One says that this occurred during a hot summer day, another says the cake was an accident, with the coconut sprinkled on top in an attempt to make it more appetizing. It's also possible that the cake was named after a place, not a person. This was common among baked goods (Shrewsbury cake and Yorkshire pudding, for example). A third theory claims that the cake was created by an influential cooking teacher from Brisbane, Amy Schauer.

Like most dishes, it's impossible to know exact specifics, but it is likely that the recipe was circulating before the 1902 publication. These things are often around for a while before they get written down and/or published.

Original Recipe:

Lamington Cake (from a Subscriber).

The weight of two eggs in butter, sugar, and flour, two eggs, half-teaspoonful baking powder.

Beat the butter to a cream, add the sugar and yolks of eggs, one by one, then the whites beaten stiff, lastly add gradually flour and baking powder. Bake in a moderate oven. When cold cut the cake like a sandwich and put the white mixture between, then cut into small pieces and cover on all sides with the chocolate mixture. Dip the cakes into grated cocoanut and put in a cool place.

The Mixture. - 2oz. butter, 6oz. icing sugar, beat to a cream, and divide equally in two basins, and to one half add one and a half teaspoonful cocoa (to be had in small tins) dissolved in three teaspoons boiling water. Beat well.

The Verdict:

Yum, yum, YUM! I can't believe I've never tried this before, these are delicious! This recipe is very rich though - the buttery taste is very strong. Which isn't really a surprise, considering the amount in the recipe. The cake was good on its own, which was a good sign for the final product. The only issue was that the icing recipe didn't make enough. Half of that was the perfect amount for filling the cakes (even though it didn't look like enough), but the other half wasn't near enough to coat all of the cakes. I also had to add extra water to loosen up both the filling and the icing. Overall, these were pretty easy to make, despite the dipping and coating taking some time. Because they were super tasty I give them five stars! I think Little Y loved them as well - she kept sneaking into the kitchen and grabbing them while I was dipping!

Modernized Recipe:

(Adapted from The Queenslander, Saturday January 4, 1902)

The weight of 2 eggs in BUTTER
The weight of 2 eggs in SUGAR
2 EGGS
The weight of 2 eggs in FLOUR
1/2 teaspoon BAKING POWDER

2 ounces UNSALTED BUTTER
6 ounces POWDERED SUGAR
1 1/2 teaspoons COCOA POWDER
3 teaspoons BOILING WATER

About 2 cups SHREDDED COCONUT

1. Weigh the two eggs to determine the amounts for sugar, butter, and flour. Mine were 4.20 ounces. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease an 8x8 square pan.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one by one. Gently fold in the egg whites, whipped to stiff peaks.
3. Slowly stir in the flour and baking powder. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean and the edges are golden brown.
4. Make the filling and coating by beating together the butter and powdered sugar. add water if needed. Divide the mixture in half. In one half add the cocoa powder, dissolved in the boiling water. Add more water to the chocolate coating if needed, to make it dippable.
5. Let the cake cool completely, then turn out and slice in half horizontally like a sandwich. Add the plain filling to the cake and put both pieces together. Cut into small pieces, dip in the chocolate coating, then roll in shredded coconut. Let the cakes set somewhere cool.


-----

Sources

"Lamington." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Jan. 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamington>.

Olver, Lynne. "Lamingtons." The Food Timeline. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. <http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcakes.html>.

Stradley, Linda. "Lamington Cake - Lemmington Cake Lamington Cake Recipe - Lamington History." What's Cooking America. 2004. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. <http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Lamington.htm>.

"This is a cake I remember fondly from my childhood. I have no idea where it came from, it’s a handwritten recipe in my mum’s recipe folder. Searching online brings no answers either!
It’s a simple sponge with a lemon & coconut icing. Resist eating it for a day or so if you can as it improves with age – it gets heavier and denser. I loved it when I was a child – my mum used to cut it into squares about 2″ x 2″." 

It seems that this blogger is from the United Kingdom. That shows an interesting link between what was eaten in New Zealand and what was eaten in the British Isles. 

On a completely different note, I also found a North American "Buffalo Cake" which has sour cream, nuts, and melted chocolate chips in it. Interesting!
I'm quite surprised by this cake, really. Considering the amount of eggs, butter, and sugar - not to mention fresh lemons! - it must have been very expensive to make, especially in wartime. That said, The Sure to Rise Cookery Book was originally published in 1908, so this is very likely a pre-war recipe. I wonder how much use it got in the coming years.


Original Recipe:


The Verdict:
I wasn't sure if "sponge sandwich tins" meant to just cook two layers, or if these are supposed to be mini cakes. I went with 2 large layers, just because the recipe is called "Buffalo Cake", singular. I used all purpose flour. The recipe was easy enough to follow, but I wish it had included milk in the ingredients list. The cake is okay - not spectacular, and quite plain on its own. With the filling and icing it was good, though.
The lemon honey (which is ironic, because there is no honey in it) didn't really thicken as much as I had hoped. I cooked it for a while, but it didn't get any thicker than runny honey (ha ha). It stayed inbetween the layers well enough, but it was still a little runnier than I would have preferred. Taste-wise it was good. There was also a ton of it left over, so the recipe should be halved, at least.
There was no recipe in the book for icing, so I just went with powdered sugar and lemon juice. Simple enough.
Mr. Man thought it was tasty, but too sugary. I feel like this was probably because of the icing. Overall, I don't think I'd make this again, just because of the effort in making the curd for just an average taste. I would eat it voluntarily, though, so it's not all bad. I just feel like I've made better historical and modern lemon cakes.


Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from The Sure to Rise Cookery Book)

Buffalo Cake
1/4 pound UNSALTED BUTTER
3/4 cup SUGAR
2 EGGS
1 1/4 cups FLOUR
2 teaspoons BAKING POWDER
MILK, to thin

Lemon Honey
1/2 pound SUGAR
2 LEMONS, juiced and zested
2 ounces UNSALTED BUTTER
2 EGGS

Lemon Icing
POWDERED SUGAR
LEMON JUICE

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour two sponge tins or cake pans.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs. Add the flour and baking powder. Little by little, add enough milk to make a thin batter.
3. Evenly divide the batter among the two prepared pans. Bake for about 20 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
4. Meanwhile, make the lemon honey by mixing all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and cooking over low to medium heat until thickened.
5. When the cake and the lemon honey are cool, but together. Mix together enough powdered sugar and lemon juice to make an icing and spread over the top of the cake. Serve.