Pound cakes have long been relegated to large, deep pans—and for good reason: The heaviness of the cakes means they don’t rise much and need to “settle” into pans that already have structure in order to bake up well. But for this cake, cookbook author Ben Mims went with a large, deep tart pan to produce a sleek, slim wedge of cake that eats like a tart, complete with fluted edge and chunks of fresh fruit on top. Here, that fruit is pineapple, and the fresh chunks are a perfect complement to every Southerner’s favorite booze, bourbon, in both the tart and the glaze. Find more pound cake recipes from Ben Mims in our May/June 2018 issue, here!
Bourbon-Pineapple Pound Tart
Makes 1 (10-inch) cake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1½ cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (35 grams) bourbon, divided
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 grams) baking powder
- 3 large eggs (150 grams), room temperature
- 1½ cups (187 grams) cake flour
- 8 ounces (225 grams) peeled and cored fresh pineapple, cut into ½-inch chunks
- 2 cups (240 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) fresh pineapple juice
- 1 ring candied pineapple
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (170°C). Butter and flour a 10x2-inch removable-bottom fluted tart pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon (15 grams) bourbon, vanilla, salt, and baking powder at medium speed until fluffy and pale, at least 6 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until there are no streaks of yolk left after each addition, about 15 seconds. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. With mixer on medium-high speed, beat until superlight and airy, at least 3 minutes. Add flour, and stir with a rubber spatula just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared pan, and smooth top.
- Place pineapple chunks on a layer of paper towels to dry thoroughly; scatter pineapple over batter.
- Bake until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Carefully loosen edges of pan from tart. Lift bottom of pan to unmold it from outer ring. Loosen bottom of pan from tart, and slide tart back onto wire rack.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar, pineapple juice, and remaining 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 grams) bourbon.
- Using a fork, drizzle pineapple glaze back and forth over top of tart, letting it fall over sides. Thinly slice candied pineapple ring into matchsticks, and sprinkle over top of tart while glaze is still wet. Let stand for at least 10 minutes to let icing set before serving.
