Pineapple Mandarin Cake

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups cake & pastry flour*
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups milk
Lemon Butter Icing (below)
1 10 oz./284ml can mandarin oranges, drained
1 10 oz./284ml can crushed pineapple, drained

 

Method

Combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir well to blend. Cream shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla together, beating until light and fluffy.  Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with milk, make 3 dry and 2 liquid additions, combining lightly after each. Spread batter evenly into 2 greased 8" (1.2L) round cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.  Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out on wire rack to cool completely.

*or subsitute 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Lemon Butter Icing

1/2 cup softened butter
4 cups icing sugar, sifted
1/3 cup light cream or evaporated milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Cream butter and half of the icing sugar until light.  Add cream, lemon juice and zest.  Beat in remaining icing sugar gradually.  Blend well.  

Assembly 

Put cake layers together filling with Lemon Butter Icing.  Cover top and sides of cake completely with icing.  Decorate top with ring of well-drained mandarin orange segments around outside.  Fill centre with well-drained crushed pineapple.  Decorate centre with a few additional orange segments if desired.