Pineapple praline gateau

Dont be scared reading the name, its just the good old sponge cake rolled up in jelly-roll fashion, filled with tinted pineapple flavoured whipped cream and chopped pineapple chunks, and frosted over with pineapple and plain whipped cream. Scattered over the top are some chunks of crushed praline. It is supposed to be praline, but I took it out a little early and so it did not get the deep brown color of caramel. I followed the basic jelly-roll cake recipe that I had posted sometime back. Instead of filling it with jelly/jam, I filled it with whipped cream, for a simple and less sweet dessert.

It was heavenly, eventhough a few things went wrong for me (nothing that would affect the taste, ofcourse). I actually rolled the cake in the afternoon and could only fill it in the evening (I had to buy pineapple because it was an impulse baking!). By that time the cake had set. So when I tried to fill it, it actually broke along one side, when I was forcing it open. So the filling is not uniform, since I couldnt get to inside a fold. Then the praline didnt turn out to be like I expected. But still, as I said before, it was delicious!! Just dont forget your ingredients and fill the cake after 40 minutes or so of intial cooling and you will have one of the most tasty creations in your hands ! Have a great weekend and enjoy!!

Recipe (Makes a single roll):

Praline (my way!)

Almonds - 2 tbsp, toasted

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Water - 2 oz

Add the sugar to the water and bring to boil, in a saucepan. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and then it will start to become frothy. Stir until the sugar caramelizes and attains a golden brown color. Stir in the almonds and take it off the heat. Quickly spread the mixture onto a sheet of aluminium foil and allow to cool/harden. When cool, crush the praline using a rolling pin or in a food processor for finer grind.

Pineapple gateau:

Sponge cake - 1 recipe

Whipping cream - scant 1 cup

Sugar - 2 tbsp

Pineapple essence - 1 tsp

Yellow food color - a drop (optional)

Chopped pineapple - 1/2 - 3/4 cup

Cool whip/ whipped cream - as needed

Method:

Mix and bake the sponge cake as per the instructions.

Cool the cake rolled up in a kitchen towel, for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat the whipping cream, sugar, pineapple essence and food color until stiff peaks form.

After the intial cooling, open up the cake roll.

Spread the whipped cream on the inside of the roll, reserving some for the outside.

Sprinkle the chopped pineapple on top of the cream layer.

Roll the cake back up.

Frost the top and sides of the roll with reserved whipped cream and/or cool whip.

Sprinkle the crushed praline on top.

Cut into slices and enjoy!!

Tips:

1. Fill the sponge cake roll after 40 minutes or so of cooling.
2. I used canned pineapple, chopped the rings into bits and sprinkled it over the whipped cream to fill the cake.
3. Tinting the whipping cream is only for eye-candy! No additional flavor is imparted. You can do without it too!
4. As you can see, since the cake broke at a curve, I couldn't fill it uniformly. The filling should be spread uniformly and tightly rolled.
5. Keep the gateau refrigerated since it contains whipped cream.