Best Mexican Wedding Cake Recipe

Best Mexican Wedding Cake

Crushed pineapple and nuts make Mexican Wedding Cake a tasty dessert that belies its simplicity. Iced with cream cheese frosting, it's sure to become a favorite. The recipe for Mexican Wedding Cake is not to be confused with the recipe for cookies bearing the same name, which are also known as Butterballs or Russian Tea Cakes. Mexican Wedding Cake is a cake with a somewhat spongy texture, also known as Hawaiian Wedding Cake or Swedish Pineapple Cake.

Ode to the Luscious Pineapple

The crowning glory of fruits, pineapples originally were grown in Paraguay and then spread through South America and the Caribbean. When Christopher Columbus and the explorers arrived, they immediately took to this new fruit and introduced them to Europe. They thought they looked like pine cones so they named them "pineapples."

Pineapples need a tropical climate, so they could not be grown in Europe. Thus they were difficult to come by, and became highly prized and a treat for only the privileged. There is a portrait of King Charles II of England posing as the recipient of a royal gift -- a pineapple.

They were still rare even in the American colonies, so when a host offered one to a guest, it was quite an honor. Pineapples then became a symbol of hospitality among the wealthy. Exotically attractive, they were also used to decorate food displays and table centerpieces. Their image was carved into furniture, moldings and the gates of mansions as a sign of welcome, warmth and friendship.

Pineapples grow best in volcanic soil, which is why James Dole started growing them in Hawaii in the late 19th century. When commercially grown, they could be widely circulated and so lost their status of rarity. However, their sweetness, healthful properties like bromelain, and enjoyment to those who eat them remain undiminished. Mexican Wedding Cake, filled with pineapple and topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting, is a dessert that takes the cake.

Mexican Wedding Cake With Pineapple

Ingredients:

Mix All Ingredients

• 20 ounce can (600 ml) of crushed pineapple, in its own juice
• 2 cups (240 g) flour
• 2 cups (400 g) sugar
• 2 tsp. (10 ml) baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup (225 g) chopped walnuts or pecans
• 2 tsp. (10 ml) vanilla

Allow Cake to Cool

The directions couldn't be simpler. Grease and flour 13 x 9 x 2" (32.5 x 23 x 5 cm) baking pan and preheat the oven to 350*F (177*C). Mix all the cake ingredients together by hand and then pour the mixture into the pan. Bake for 40 minutes, when the top of the cake springs back when lightly touched.

Mexican Wedding Cake Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 1 stick of butter, softened (113 g)
• 8 ounces (230 g) of cream cheese
• 1 tsp. (5 ml) vanilla

Cream the icing ingredients together, and then ice the cake when it is cooled. This recipe makes one sheet cake with 20 to 24 servings.

Sources:

www.levins.com/pineapple.html

Universal Orlando Foundation Library

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