This is a celebration time. Two things to celebrate Diwali and a birthday!

So

Happy Diwali to all!!

Little Ayan, my nephew has become 2 yesterday and since he was busy visiting all the giraffes in the zoo I decided to post this late.

Ayan is a naughty bundle of mischief and hence adorable! Since Ayan and his parents, Kshitij and Pooja do not eat eggs this is a virtual present for him.  They will love it!!

Happy Birthday, Ayan!!! 

I had thought I will have to have the cake as breakfast, lunch and dinner, for this cake has pineapple which the girls do not like! So I cut out a slice first for taste, as it is my custom, I just offered it to my elder daughter.  She ate a small minuscule piece I expected her to tell me she will eat later.

She told me that it tastes amazing! "Who said I do not like pineapples!"

So the advertisement went out and I had the younger one clamouring for her slice. Hubby also loved it.

Having said this Let me confess I was amazed at the speed with which the cake disappeared. Something that is not what I had expected.

But then my reaction  when I saw the cake pictures that were sent as the Eggless Baking project this month my reaction was,” My God I have to do this? I do not want to make this with eggs and eggless?!!! Just how is it possible? “

Then even as I read and reread the recipe I had my doubts.

About the same time, PJ shared the picture of the cake and the rest as they say is history.

I was glad for I would have not tried baking this beautiful cake and stepped out of my comfort zone. I plan to make this cake with eggs too!

This recipe has been suggested by Meena Thenappan of Chettinad Fiesta.

The original recipe is in Polish here.

Ingredients:

Sponge: 

• 14 tblsp egg replacer
• 14 tblsp warm water
• 2 cups sugar 1 cup butter
• 4 tblsp corn flour + ⅓ cup cornflour
• 2 cups less 4 tblsp maida
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

For the pineapple mousse:

• 1 tin of pineapples (big one I think it is 1kilo pack)
• 2 tblsp liqueur (I used Irish Cream)
• 2 flat tablespoons cornflour
• Water to mix the corn flour

Coconut cream:

• 2 cartons of coconut milk (400 ml)
• ¼ cup coconut liqueur (I used Irish Cream)
• 1 cup sugar
• 500g mascarpone cheese ( I used homemade )
• Whipped cream ( sorry I do not know how much )

Impregnation: 

• 6 - 9 tablespoons liqueur

Method:

• Grease 2 round moulds of ___cm and dust them with flour set aside.
• Sieve the 4 tblsp of corn flour and maida and baking powder twice and set aside.
• Soak the egg replacer in warm water. Pre-heat oven to 160°C
• Beat the sugar and butter till the creamy.
• Add the egg replacer and beat for 2 minutes till well mixed.
• Fold the sieved maida and corn flour mixture.
• Divide in the two moulds and bake till the toothpick inserted comes out clean or 35 minutes.
• Once done remove from the mould and cool.

Mousse with pineapple: 

• Drain and cut the pineapple in small cubes.  Put half the cubes in a pan, add the liqueur and bring to a boil.
• Once it starts boiling Reduce the heat and simmer for about half an hour or until the pineapple is tender.   (Check notes)
• Mix the cooked pineapple well, add the remaining chopped pineapple, stir and bring to a boil again, after a minute of cooking, add the corn flour  mixed in a small amount of cold water.
• Bring to a boil and after   the mixture is thick and jam switch off the gas.
• Allow to cool before lining on the cake.

Coconut cream:

• Heat the coconut milk in a pot with the liqueur, add the sugar.  Heat stirring until sugar is dissolved.
• Cook over medium heat until the mixture forms thick syrup. It should be about 1 cup. Allow to cool till warm.
• Mix the Mascarpone   in a large bowl and gradually add the 1 tablespoon of slightly warm coconut syrup, stirring gently all the time.

To Assemble:

• Place one of the cake sponges on a plate.
• Sprinkle the 2-3 liqueurs gently spread the pineapple mousse and some of the coconut cream.
• Place the second sponge on the prepared layer.
• Drizzle the liqueur.
• Spread the whipped cream all over the cake.
• Cover and store in the fridge for 24 hours.
• Next day cut the wedges and serve. Before serving I drizzled some mixed fruit jam mixed with water.

Notes:

• Prepare the cake one day in advance.
• I prepared the pineapple mousse also one day in advance.
• Fresh pineapples taste better but like me if you are using tinned pineapple for convenience then drain the liquid. Use about 1-2 tblsp at a time. But fresh pineapple will have to be cooked longer.
• In case liqueur can be replaced by rum. Next time I am using sugar syrup. As hubby thought the cake was dry.
• Ricotta cheese that the original recipe used can be replaced by paneer. Or cottage cheese thoroughly ground.
• Also the original cake had desiccated coconut sprinkled on top and sides. I did not.

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