Victorian Sandwich with Pineapple Jam and Cream Cheese Icing

After much prodding, and a blackberry smartphone for a camera, this would be an official recipe post from yours truly.

Yes, yes, I have bought a new laptop, but the missing link to blogging and food is my camera. So for the time being, my blackberry will serve its purpose!

I have been meaning to bake a traditional Victorian Sandwich for a long time now. Seeing all the baking shows on telly and getting all jazzed up to make it. I've searched long and hard to find a recipe that would suit the tastebuds. But, lo and behold, I decided to innovate. The cake in general is largely a butter cake sandwiched with strawberry or raspberry jam and lightly dusted with icing sugar. I took it to another level and did my own version of it using home made pineapple jam and added frosting. So here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

For the cake:

250gms butter (normally unsalted is better but I use any butter)

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups caster sugar (light brown sugar is also fine)

2 cups flour - sifted

3/4 cups freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tbsp hot water

For the jam:

2 whole pineapples - skinned, and grated. If you don't have fresh pineapples, then canned pineapples will be fine. Just as long you dice them fine.

200gms caster sugar (use the syrup from the canned pineapples if using canned pineapples)

Juice of 1 lemon

For the icing:

2x 250gms soft cheese / cream cheese

284ml double cream

3/4 cup icing sugar - sifted

Juice of 2 lemons

Method:

1. Heat up your oven to 180 Degrees Celcius. Prepare a cake tin by greasing it and adding in a sheet of greaseproof paper. 
2. Next beat the butter and sugar until pale looking and fluffy. The way to know is when you see the sugar actually dissolving into the butter as you beat. Then add in the eggs one by one while continue beating it. When combined, add in half the flour portion and half the juice portion. Beat until well mixed before adding in the remainder of the flour and juice. Finally add in the hot water and beat until well combined before pouring into prepared cake tin. 
3. Bake the cake at a reduced 160 Degrees for about 50 minutes before cranking it up to 180 Degrees for another 10 minutes or so. Take it out and cool thoroughly once baked.
4. While waiting for the cake to bake, make your jam. (I tend to make the jam a few days ahead or have a stash of it somewhere in the freezer). After skinning the pineapple and grating it (leaving the core out), be sure to run the pineapple through a sieve to rid of its juices. This is to avoid a longer cooking process and the juice can be drank or used in curries or other cakes. A quick an easy method is to grate the pineapple over a seive large enough or a colander with a big mixing bowl underneath so that the juice is automatically being drained. That saves you time. 
5. Then add grated pineapple into a big enough pot and add the sugar or syrup that came with the canned pineapples. Crank up the heat to begin cooking the fruit. To know when the fruit is becoming jammy like is when you see the pineapples changing colour from light yellow to a darkish, golden tinge. This comes from the sugar that is turning syrupy. The process should take between 45 minutes to an hour at low heat. Don't rush the process. Add the lemon juice half way through the cooking process and stir to mix it into the jam. Once cooked, take it off the heat and let it sit for a bit. Alternatively, store bought jam is good enough. But be sure to heat it up in a saucepan before spreading on your cake.
6. The icing is the easiest. Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and beat. It will reach its creamy consistency when you notice it thickening and soft peaks start forming. Beat a little more and the cream will stiffen up. 
7. When the cake is thoroughly cooled down, sliced it in half. Place top half on the bottom of the plate and begin spreading the warm pineapple jam. Once it covers the cake, spread a layer of cream cheese icing. Once that is done, cover it with the other half of the cake and ice with the remainder of the cream cheese icing. Place in the fridge to set before serving. 
8. You can naturally serve it immediately without placing it in the fridge but otherwise be sure to keep it refrigerated as the weather does not permit it to be out too long and the cream will go bad when it is in a heated location for too long.
9. If you don't like pineapple or have an allergy towards it, a normal berry jam is also fine. 

The cake is absolutely divine and half has been lapped up already. The other half is sitting in my refrigerator waiting to be devoured. Simple cakes are meant to be enjoyed over tea and trust me, this is one of them.

Truly enjoying the likes of English Tea,

The Innovative Baker