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Pineapple Surprise Cake // Recipe

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Pineapple Suprise Cake // Who's ready for a trip to the tropics? Not that I'm complaining about the cold weather… I'm actually kind of liking it. I'm a winter girl at hear, however… I also, love to escape to the tropics every once in a while. I have a few recipes that can definatley help with that. One of them is one of my husband's favorites… A tropcial Pineapple Surprise Cake. It's actually Pineapple Upside Down Cake that I of course had to create a "in a jar" version.

pineapple surprise cake

 I played around a bit, added a couple of ingredients and left it right-side up. I know… SHOCKER! Adding it to the JAR genre makes for a fun presentation. 

Pineapple Surprise Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 6 slices pineapple
  • 6 maraschino cherries without stems
  • 1 1/3 cup AP flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup sweetened coconut (3/4 cup for the cake and 1/4 cup for garnish)
  • 1/3 cup Crisco
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 egg

Directions:

Turn on oven to 350 degrees and prepare the jars. You will need 6 clean jars. Spray each jar with cooking spray and set aside while you make the cake batter.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add coconut and mix for a few seconds in order for the coconut to be covered with the flour mixture. Add the Crisco and mix for 30 seconds. Add vanilla, cream, and the egg and mix on high for 2 minutes.

Add a pat of butter to the jars and place in the oven. Once the butter is melted add a tablespoon of brown sugar to the jar and mix with the butter.

add butter and brown sugar to the jar

Add a ring of pineapple and a cherry to the bottom of the jar and then fill the jar half way with cake batter.

add pineapple, cherry and cake batter to the jars

Place the jars on a cookie sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees or until the top of the cake is slightly brown. Remove from the oven and let cool. Now you can make the coconut whipped cream to top off the surprise cake!!

Coconut Whipped Cream Recipe

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 2 teaspoons coconut extract
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Pour cream into a chilled mixing bowl and mix on high for 1 minute. Add coconut extract and slowly add powdered sugar while the mixer is on low. Return the mixer to high until the cream becomes stiff. Keep a close eye on it. If it is over beaten it will become butter.

Prepare your Jars for Presentation

One of the things that makes desserts in jars so appealing is how you can decorate the jar for your guests. For this cake, I just tied a yellow jute ribbon around the jar to dress it up a bit. Then pipe the whipped cream on top with a star tip to give it a little pizzazz.

add a ribbon to the jar and top with the coconut whipped cream

Ahead of time, toast up the 1/4 cup of the sweetened coconut in the oven under the broiler. Keep a close eye on it, it only takes a few minutes. Let cool. When you are ready to serve your cake sprinkle the coconut on top and place a cherry on top and voila, you have a lovely tropical treat to drive away the frozen winter (for a little bit at least!)

whipperberry tropical pineapple cake

 

Vanilla Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Vanilla salted chocolate chip cookie recipe // I don't know anyone who doesn't go weak in the knees when served a nice warm chocolate chip cookie… They are truly mom's love right on a plate. Now, there are many different recipes for this beloved cookie but I have stumbled across THE PERFECT chocolate chip cookies recipe…

vanilla salted chocolate chip cookies

I grew up with the classic Toll House cookie recipe that my Mom has made for decades and I'm a fan, but I also felt like there was something missing with this recipe. I stumbled across a chocolate chip recipe on Tidy Mom that challenged my idea of a good chocolate chip cookie. Cheryl's recipe is the New York Times chocolate chip cookie recipe adapted from the original recipe from Jacques Torres. This recipe calls for slightly different ingredients than your traditional cookie, like the addition of baking powder and for the dough to be chilled no-less than 24 hours before baking. The big new ingredient for this recipe is the addition of a sprinkle of course sea salt on top of the cookie before baking. It's kind of like the popular salted caramel concept. I decided to take the addition of sea salt to the next level… Have you ever heard of Vanilla Sea Salt?

I discovered Vanilla Sea Salt or Vanilla Fleur de Sel,  last year when I was doing research for my homemade Vanilla Extract. I ordered a bottle because I thought it would be perfect for caramels, little did I know that it would also be wonderful with these cookies. I do believe we can make our own vanilla sea salt, I'm going to work on that and see what I come up with. 

Vanilla Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here is my adaptation of this famous New York Times recipe…

2  (minus 2 tablespoons) cups cake flour

1 2/3 cups of All-Purpose Flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon salt salt

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (room temp)

1 1/4 cups of brown sugar

1 cup of sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds of bittersweet chocolate 

vanilla sea salt

Directions

In a large bowl mix sift the the dry ingredients together starting with the flours then adding baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter and sugars together. Mix on high for 5 minutes until the mixer is really light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on high for 1 more minute. Slowly combine the butter and sugar mixer with the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Add the chocolate and place in a large storage container. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and then place the lid on the storage container. Place in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours, 72 would be best.

When you are ready to bake the cookies, pre-heat the oven to 350 degree. Prepare your baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick cooking mat. Scoop six 2 1/2 ounce dough balls. I used this one ounce scoop and placed two generous scoops together to create one large ball and then sprinkle a pinch of the vanilla sea salt on top of the dough.

how to prepare your chocolate chip cookies

Place in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, just until it starts to brown. When you take the cookie out of the oven it will look slightly underdone. You want them that way. That's what makes these cookies magical…

chocolate chip cookies

Let the cookies cool. You will find that after they have cooled a bit, these cookies have a crisp texture on the outside and are still soft and chewy on the inside.When you bite into one you will have that sweet taste of the cookie and every once in a while you will have a lovely burst of salt from that vanilla sea salt and you will be in heaven. Quite honestly this is the perfect chocolate chip cookie in my book! 

the world best chocolate chip cookie

What's your favorite cookie recipe? Have you found "the perfect" cookie recipe for your taste? Let us know, we would love to try some more idea!

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Today's Creative Blog

Sharing Holiday Joy with Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars // My all time favorite Christmas goodies are my Mom's Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars…

Some of my earliest Christmas memories are hanging out in the kitchen with my Mom and sometimes my Dad while they made their famous holiday concoctions. They had a few staples on the list… Fudge, peanut brittle (not my favorite,) your classic Christmas Sugar cookie and then my favorite the chocolate peanut butter bar. I remember dreaming about this little treat all though out the year. Not to mention the anticipation I would feel when Mom would start the task of holiday baking. She always kept the pans of goodies out in our cool garage which acted as our overflow kitchen storage. They were supposedly hidden from sticky little fingers, but no… I always found them. Nibbling little morsels here and there until the sad day when the pan of chocolate peanut butter goodness was gone for another year.

I remember that sense of pride I felt as we would travel out as a family to deliver our plate of goodies to friends and neighbors. I always felt like my Mom's holiday plate was just a little extra special because of the chocolate peanut butter bars. My Mom would always make them in a 9×13 pan and then cut them into bars. This year I made some for my family and friends in these super cute mini paper loaf pans that I found at Walmart and then wrapped them with decorative parchment paper tied with bakers twine. A nice little updated touch to an old family classic.

I just love these little treats full of messages of love from giver to the lucky person receiving the special gift. Whether it's a personalized card or cookies right out of the oven, I love sharing the warmth of the holiday season with my family, friends and, of course, my readers! 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups powdered sugar

2 sticks butter (melted)

2 cups chocolate chips

Directions

Mix graham crakers crumbs, peanut butter, sugar and butter together well and press into a 8×8 pan. Melt chocolate and spread on top of peanut butter mixture and chill for 30 minutes. Cut into small squares and serve at room temperature.

Red White and Blue Popcorn with new Author Christene Houston

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I’m so exicted to have one of my favorite people over to share with you today, she’s no stranger to WhipperBerry, She’s my sweet friend Christene! She is about ready to publish her first novel and I’m so excited to have her here today to share a snippet from the book and then to share a fun last minute treat that you can share with your friends this 4th of July week!

“Wow, this is a great picture,” I said, a sudden wash of loneliness coming over me.

“Took it the day before,” the man said. I could see he was tapping his arm, the one that took the place of flesh and blood. A sudden rushing filled my ears at his words.

“The day before what?”

“The day before the blast.”

My mouth fell open and I felt the candy bars slip from my fingers to the floor. My heart thumped madly in my chest. “You….you were there?”

He looked up at me with tears in his eyes, “I was the only one who came home.”

-A Heart So Broken by Christene Houston

That’s an excerpt from my debut novel A Heart So Broken coming out in September! My name is Christene Houston and I’ve had the pleasure of visiting WhipperBerry before with some yummy recipes and fun crafts. I always love rubbing shoulders with my ultra talented friend Heather!

Today I wanted to share a take home treat from the Book Release Party I’m planning for September. The theme is patriotic, paying homage to Jenna Tucker’s Marine roots and fitting right in with this festive time of year. These darling little jars of popcorn come all dressed up for the party in classic red, white and blue. And because they’re quick and easy, I thought you might like to make some for your 4th of July parties this week.

All you need is some pint-sized mason jars, a little spray paint, some raffia, a white paint pen and Jello popcorn (see recipe below). First punch holes in your bottle caps with a cropodile tool, then spray paint the jar lids red and the bottle caps blue. When they’re dry, write your favorite patriotic words with the white paint pen on the bottle caps. I used words like FREEDOM, BRAVE & LIBERTY. Tie your tags on with raffia ribbon and your set to go. I am seriously in love with bottle caps lately and they turn out SO cute in this project!

Of course a beautiful bottle is nothing without something yummy to fill it. My friend Jamie told me about Jello Popcorn with the bright colors and tasty glaze. I went searching and found this great recipe for it on KraftRecipes.com  and modified it to my needs.

Jello Popcorn

12 c. popped popcorn

¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter

3 Tbsp. light corn syrup

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar or granulated sugar

1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Gelatin

PLACE popcorn in a large bowl; set aside.

PLACE butter and syrup in small saucepan; cook on low heat until butter is melted. Add sugar and gelatin; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Bring to boil on medium heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes. Pour immediately over popcorn mixture; toss to coat well. Spread into prepared pan, using 2 forks to spread evenly.

ALLOW to cool and break into small pieces.

Make a batch of red Jello popcorn and one of blue. When your popcorn has cooled, fill each jar with a bit of blue popcorn, a handful of plain, and top it off with red. I know you’re feeling patriotic already!

NOW you’ve got a jar worth passing out to all your friends to wish them a happy and safe 4th of July.

Thanks again, Heather, for letting me come share! Come on over to Christenehouston.com to check out my blog Everything She Writes. You can read more excerpts from my upcoming novel, keep tabs on my Release Party plans (you’re all invited!) and take advantage of some yummy recipes. See you there!

I’m so excited!!  I’m participating in Fun in the Sun with Kiki from Kiki & Company today.  You have to follow along with her fun event through the whole month on July!