A Bit on the Dry Side

We have been so lucky to have my paternal grandma (GG) come spend the past few Christmases with us here on the farm.  This year she has decided to stay home for the holidays.  While this is disappointing for us, I can completely understand given the veritable cesspool of germs I have been for the past month and a half, not to mention the frequent colds and snuffles the boys will surely continue to come down with and the uncertainty of our pending new arrival.

Every holiday season I do a plethora of Christmas baking which is overshadowed by the delicious goodies that GG brings along.  I love GG's baking as much as the rest of the family so I am not at all put out to devour her squares and tarts and leave mine in the freezer for another day.  This year, however, it seems that with no better options available, my baking will actually make it to the dinner table.

So far we have chocolate chip cookies, ginger molasses cookies, shortbread, turtle brownies, and chocolate brownies ready to go.  Today, Seamus and I whipped up my first ever batch of GG's pineapple cake with cream cheese icing.  This is one item that she always brings and it just would not be the same without it.

Since I have never made this particular cake before, I divided the recipe in two - half to try for dessert tonight (in case it turns out awful) and half for the freezer.  I simply could not add the two cups of sugar that the recipe called for so I cut it down to 1.5 cups (which I still think is a lot).  I also added 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes - because, why not?

CAKE
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar
3 medium eggs (or 2 large)
1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, undrained

CREAM CHEESE ICING
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes.

The final product was certainly good and similar to GG's, though I think I over baked it; it was a bit dry.  Luckily there was lots of icing to help wash it down.  That's the thing with baking the family classics like date squares, butter tarts and pineapple cake - I can make them all well, but they never taste as good as GG's.