Any Hour Delight:
Pineapple Coffee Cake

With the sweet taste of a Pineapple Coffee Cake, you and your family can experience a delicious treat, no matter what the occasion. This versatile food can be used at the breakfast table, as a pleasant substitute for the usual cereal, or as an after dinner desert. No matter what the time of day, you will love a slice of this mouth-watering cake.

If you want something to shake up the doldrums that have become your food routine, then we definitely recommend this treat. The combined forces of pineapple, sugar and vanilla make this sweet and filling, perfect for any meal of the day. You and your family will love the explosion of fruit juices.

Despite this treat's popularity and versatility, though, the actual origins of the pineapple coffee cake are unknown. People have been using this as an anytime delight for years, but no one can pinpoint where the taste began. It is as if this sometimes desert, sometimes breakfast meal just suddenly appeared in the twentieth century, already well-known and often-used.

So where did it come from? Who created this any hour treat? No one knows, even if the guesses are numerous.

As early as 1930, the pineapple coffee cake was being featured in magazines as the treat to serve. But pictures of similar looking cakes have been found in books dating before the mid-1920's. No date can be given that would explain just where, or who, this cake came from.

Still, lack of origin aside, the pineapple coffee cake has become a staple of homes everywhere. Noted for its delicious taste and easy to bake process, this is something that can be served at any time for any person. If you want a sweet, fruity taste, then this is the recommended cake.

If you want to serve it for breakfast, then we suggest making it the only food. Though this has a light taste, it is extremely filling and should not be combined with other heavy breakfast foods. Cut the sweet taste with strong coffee for a satisfying start to your morning.

If you are looking for a simple snack to serve at an afternoon brunch with your friends, the pineapple coffee cake also works. Enjoy a slice of fruity goodness as you catch up with familiar faces. And, since this is so easy to make, you can have one already cooling before guests even arrive.

For a special treat after a successful (or even not-so successful) dinner party, consider serving this as a way to retreat into conversation. And, if things were slow at dinner, this will be the perfect way to perk them back up. Guests will leave remembering your delicious desert.

The pineapple coffee cake is one of the most versatile ways to eat. Few other cakes can be served so often during the day and still seem perfect. It is light enough for the morning but sweet enough for the evening, making it the perfect combination to converse over.

Want a sample? Try this recipe!

2 (20 ounce) cans crushed pineapple
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (3 1/2 ounce) can sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans, toasted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup additional sweetened flaked coconut

Drain pineapple, reserving 2 tablespoons of juice, set pineapple and reserved juice aside. Beat butter at a medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar and brown sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in 1 1/2 cups drained pineapple, 3 1/2 oz can coconut, 1 cup pecans, and vanilla. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8 inch cakepans. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Stir together powdered sugar, remaining pineapple, reserved juice, remaining chopped pecans, and 1/4 cup coconut. Spread evenly over cakes Broil 5 1/2 inches from heat for 3-4 minutes, or until lightly browned and bubbly. Cool completly in pans on wire racks.

Enjoy any time of the day with this always appropriate cake.