Summer is...

Summer is hot days and warm nights. Summer cooking is outdoor cooking.  And while I'm still totally digging our current funky barbecue, I'm now looking for ways to get the barrel barbecue by Konstantin Slawinski. It's best to have a separate barbecue and firepit, right?..

Roasted pineapple pound cake

Summer is here! In May! With a vengeance! And that makes me want to bake, go figure.. 

Nothing heavy or difficult, because God's knows it's too hot in Holland to be standing endlessly in the kitchen. This super moist cake, with a hint of summer, is perfect for the BBQ weather we are having. Long live warm, sunny and tropical!

Ingredients

1 can pineapple chunks

1 tablespoon vanilla powder

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

1 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

100 ml milk

splash of white rum

coconut flakes

powder sugar

Roast the pineapple in the juices with the vanilla powder until reduced. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Butter a bundt pan and dust with powder sugar. Separate the syrup from the pineapple. Puree the pineapple. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla paste. In batches add the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the milk, one tablespoon of rum and gently fold in the pineapple puree. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until firm. 

Add a teaspoon of the syrup at a time, with one additional teaspoon of rum, to the powder sugar until thick but pourable. Prick the cake while still warm and pour over the remaining pineapple syrup. Once absorbed drizzle over the glaze and top with coconut flakes. Be generous as the sticky, gooey glaze is the best part. That and lying in the sun with a drink and said slice of cake..

For mom... Caramel almond bagels

Baking and blogging went the way of the dinosaur this year. The why is a story for another day but I thought the best way to get back to both was to make something I crave. And since the kids have been mentioning mother's day, I thought to heck with it. What I want? Breakfast in bed, hot coffee, homemade strawberry marmalade, tooth-achingly sweet caramel and bagels.. fresh, homemade bagels with caramel drenched almonds. It's good to be a mom!

Life's short...eat the bagels. All of 'em!