PINEAPPLE OOEY GOOEY CAKE

 A few weeks ago I had the misfortune to be on an electric bike when I shouldn't have. I had only ridden it one other time several years ago and I had a similar problem. My problem is I can't seem to stop the darn thing. The other time, I stopped when I rode into our friends' motorhome. The bike hit the side of their motorhome and I just went sailing off the end of it and landed right on my bottom on the ground. Surprisingly nothing was hurt except maybe my pride. This time it was a short wall surrounding a neighbor's mailbox.

We were checking them out because we were considering buying them from our friends. I was so nervous about just getting on the bike. It took me a while but I finally managed to get on the seat with my feet on the pedals and took off. Our house is almost at the lowest spot on our street and the hill going north is just steep enough that I can't quite make it to the top on a bike, any bike. Because of that I started off on the bike with the speed on the lowest setting (1). I made it up the hill without any problems and turned left down the street to make the block. About half way down the street I got to thinking that if I made the block that meant the last turn to get to our house was a long steep hill that I wasn't ready to try yet. I could just picture myself crashing and burning coming down the grade. What could I do? I wondered. My first quick thought was to make a U-turn in the street and go back home. I really wasn't thinking about the grade I would have to go down when I made the turn. 

Anyway trying to make a U-turn was not a good idea. When I realized I wasn't going to be successful, I turned the wheel to go down the sidewalk. At the same time, I tried to press the button to lower the motor to 0 thus turning it off. The wheel wobbled and the next thing I knew there was what looked like a 3-foot wall around a mailbox in front of me and my wheel wobbled into it. The bike started falling to the right toward the mailbox, my body went with it and my right foot landed inside the wall, the pedal landed on top of my foot just below my toes, and my right arm was scraped the full length of my forearm on the 4 x 4 that the mailbox was resting on. About that time Wayne rode up on his e-bike and wanted to know why I was on the sidewalk. (I'm glad I can laugh about it now as I write this.)

Long story short, I walked the bike back to our house and our friend wanted to know why I wasn't riding it. I told him I couldn't stop it and crashed into a mailbox. He insisted I get back on it and I told him I wasn't. He repeated very seriously that I had to get back on it. (You know like when you fall off a horse...) I repeated to him - NO WAY. I was going into the house and put ice on my foot because it hurt.  

By now I am sure you are wondering why I am telling you this story. I will get there if you will just hang in there with me. I soaked my foot in cold water for 48 hours. The toes and the part of the foot where they are attached to my foot swelled up and I only had one pair of shoes I could wear. The swelling finally went down - mostly, but the toes stayed black and blue for quite a while. In fact two and a half weeks later, I was still having some slight pain and the skin over my ankle bone had turned blue so my primary care doctor said for me to go to a walk-in orthopedic specialty clinic and have them x-ray it. The result of that visit was there were no broken bones and I was told it just took bruises and injuries longer to heel when you were older. My reward (after being told I was old, I needed one) was to go across the street to the donut shop and get a donut. Wayne was talked into getting a piece of Pineapple Ooey Gooey Cake.

He loved it so much that he suggested (strongly) that I make it for the Tasty Bunch that were coming to our house for dessert five days later. (I tried to tell him that I had made Ooey Gooey Cake before and I could make it for him so he could choose something else, but he wouldn't listen to me.)

And that's why when the Tasty Bunch came over to our house last Saturday night for dessert and more conversation after eating out, we all enjoyed this delicious Pineapple Ooey Gooey Cake. I reduced the calories by using a sugar-free yellow cake mix and 1/3 less fat Neufchatel cheese for the cream cheese. Later as Friends Carol and Janice and I were discussing the dessert, I got out one of Paula Deen's cookbooks (Paula Deen Cuts the Fat) to see how she had "lightened" it up and was so intrigued by her recipe that I promised them I would make it again soon and compare the taste.

PINEAPPLE OOEY GOOEY CAKE

Cake:

1     package yellow cake mix (I used a sugar-free yellow cake mix)

1     egg

1     stick of butter (8 tablespoons), melted

Filling:

1     8 - ounce package cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat Neufchatel cheese)

1     20 - ounce can crushed pineapple, drained (I use crushed pineapple in its own juice)

3     eggs

1     teaspoon vanilla

1     stick of butter (8 tablespoons) melted

1     16 - ounce box (3-1/2 cups) powdered sugar

1     teaspoon cinnamon

1     teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease or spray a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan. Set aside.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer.

Make sure you beat until every particle is mixed in.

Pat the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside.

Make the filling, by beating the cream cheese and pineapple until

smooth in a large mixing bowl.

Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together.

Combine the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together and then add to the mixture.

Mix well.

Spread the pineapple mixture over the cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey. I cooked mine the full 50 minutes, but might have been able to remove after 45 minutes. Either way, the cake was delicious! Store leftovers in the refrigerator.