Bertrand Russell was one of the most familiar faces of 20th century philosophy: he was that tweed-suited Oxford professor sat among a crowd quarter his age at nuclear disarmament and anti-Vietnam war protests. He's best known in academic circles for his conributuions to logic and analytic philosophy, but he actually wrote on a wealth of subjects. One of my favourite books of his is On the Conquest of Happiness. In this work he identifies four primary reasons that people live unhappily. One such reason, which struck a chord with me, was the enduring self-requirement to live up to parental expectations. This is something I always try to do, and I'm happy if I feel that I make them proud.
So when my parents came to visit me in my own house for the first time, I was eager to impress. I had to bake (it's what Mum would do for any guest) and make it something impressive, with a degree of originality...
Chilled Pineapple Cake
Ingredients:
a tin of sliced pineapple
70g margerine
70g sugar
2 eggs
100g self-raising flour
100g margerine
100g sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cream the initial amounts of margerine & sugar, then spread over the base of a cake tin. This, once refridgerated, will make a creamy mousse-like layer to surround the fruit. Place as many pineapple rings as needed to cover the base over this mixture; you can always cut them up to fit more in.
Beat the rest of the ingredients together, adding some pineapple juice from the tin, and pour this sponge mixture over the top of the pineapple topping.
Bake for about half an hour until the sponge begins to brown on top. It should be thinner, but denser than your average pineapple upside-down pudding. Once cooled, turn out pineapple-side-up into a tin, and place in the fridge till you wish to serve it. You can freeze it for another time, or keep it in the fridge a few days.
Enough to please anyone.
