At the Distell Inter-Hotel Challenge, Hartford House’s Andile Ndlovu created a dessert of Pineapple on a Stick that wowed the judges and won the prize for Lancewood Best Dessert. Lucky for us, Andile gave us the recipe!
Pineapple on a Stick
6 Portions
Pineapple cake:
Dry Mix
2 ½ cup flour
5 ml of baking powder
5ml of bicarbonate of soda
15ml of cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Wet Mix
1 cup sugar
1 ½ extra virgin olive oil
2 eggs
100ml milk
2 cups of roughly grated pineapple
- First sift dry ingredients together
- Whisk Eggs and sugar until light and fluffy
- Slowly incorporate oil then milk into the wet mixture
- Fold in dry ingredients before mixing in the pineapple
- Bake at 160°C for 30 minutes in a silicone paper lined baking tray until a skewer comes out clean
Pineapple sorbet:
100g sugar
300g water
140g glucose
300g freshly blended pineapple juice
- Bring sugar, water and glucose and bring to a boil
- Mix with freshly blended pineapple juice and add into sorbetier
- Churn to manufacturers specifications
Pineapple and chilli salsa
1 cup pineapple, finely diced
1 small green chilli, seeds removed and finely diced
1 lime, juiced
- Combine pineapple, chilli and the lime juice.
Grilled Pineapple
Cut 6 x 2cm by 5 cm long sticks of pineapple and skewer in a dry pan lightly brushed with oil bring up to smoke point on the stove and colour each side till nicely caramelised but still crunchy in the middle.
Amaas and pineapple Smoothie
1 cup pine apple juice
2 cups of Amaas
Fresh mint, finely chopped
- Mix together and pour into fun little jars or glasses with straws served on the side
Chilli Icing Sugar
½ cup icing sugar
Pinch of chilli powder to taste
1 packet popping candy
- Combine the icing sugar, chilli powder and popping candy
To Plate
- Place cut warmed Pineapple cake on your favourite dessert plate, sprinkle with the chilli popping candy icing sugar to coat the top
- Place a nice spoon of the salsa alongside the cake with a smooth scoop of the sorbet on top
- Garnish with the grilled pineapple across the top of the dessert
- Serve the flavoured Amaas on the side at a nice cold temperature
About Andile Ndlovu: Andile began his career as a waiter in the hospitality industry at Fairmont Zimbali, but it was the food side that really attracted him. Eventually he joined the cold kitchen as a commis chef and later moved to the hot station where he learned about Indian cuisine. “Cooking is my great love,” he said. “I think this is because it makes people feel really good. Today, I am very proud of what I have achieved so far.” His big ambition is to one day find himself in charge of his own “brigade”.
