A little interjection if you will: if you were interested in seeing some photos from my Hallowe’en party on Friday evening, I’ve uploaded a selection in the story here. Hope you all had a fantastic Hallowe’en! Back to the subject at hand…
I didn’t eat fresh pineapple for years. Literally about 20 years. I was put off the acidity and resultant lip puckering and would only eat tinned pineapple. Until I went to Thailand and ate some Thai pineapple which was gorgeously juicy and sweet and not a bit acidic and now whenever I see baby Bethonga pineapples here I always buy them as they are the closest breed we have to a Thai pineapple. But when my parents gave me a pineapple (yes giving fruit as a gift is normal in our family), I knew that it would be too acidic but I had something up my sleeve, a recipe from Jared Ingersoll from Danks Street Depot fame that caramelises the pineapple after baking it for 2 hours.
My friend Lou gave me the other half of this dessert, the Hastings Valley Honey and Wattleseed yogurt. Speckled like Vanilla, the honey and wattleseed (the edible seeds of the Australian Acacia tree) yogurt is true to flavour and gives the sweetened pineapple a slight tartness as well as a voluptuous creaminess. She and her husband first tried these when they went to the Hunter Valley and were happy to see these in her local IGA supermarket.
Caramelising the pineapple with a blowtorch
I even got to use the blowtorch, not one of those things I usually like using as I am scared and too clumsy really to use an open flame. I waited until my husband came home to supervise me (I am seriously clumsy and require supervision) and caramelised every single piece to order. The baking kept all of the juices inside and they spilled out into our waiting mouths sweetened by the caramelising. It was bliss and one worth every single blistering juicy minute.
Caramelised Pineapple with Gingernut biscuits
- 1 pineapple
- 200g demerara sugar (may be less depending on the size of the pineapple)
- Thick yogurt with honey added
- 3 gingernut biscuits, crumbled.
1. Preheat the oven to 170c. Place a pineapple whole (do nothing to it) on a tray and bake for 2 hours
2. Allow to cool a bit so that it is easier to handle. With a very sharp knife, cut away skin and cut pineapple into 3 across ways so that you have 3 fat cylinders. Trim eyes and excess skin off. There will be a lot of juice coming out of the pineapple.
3. Remove the core and cut into pieces, a cylinder should yield about 6 wedges. Dredge in demerara sugar and caramelise the pineapple using a really hot grill or a blowtorch.
4. Serve with yogurt and drizzle over biscuit crumbs and eat using a fork and knife.
Adapted from a recipe by Jared Ingersoll
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18 Comments | Add your own
Oh, I adore pineapple. I am always looking for new and exciting ways to prepare it. I have never heard of wattleseed. It always amazes me how little I know when I start reading blogs. It is a true education. I am definitely going to try this pineapple recipe, with a few modifications, because I don’t think I am going to find this type of yogurt where I live.
yummo! That looks great. Was just reading some recipes featuring grilled pineapple. Will have to give it a go.
That looks delicious!
Where do I submit my order?
Mmm, sounds like something I’d love! I bought myself a cooks torch (and extra can of fuel) with a kitchenware gift voucher I received at Christmas last year. But I’m yet to use the torch!
This looks like a great, quick dessert for guests. How many serves did you make (an estimate)?
Oooo that’s a great idea, I’m used to just grilling pineapple as a quick dessert, but baking it sounds so much better! Means I’ll have to be more prepared though lol
Oh yummmm the idea of caramelized pineapples is already good enough but to see photos as well ^^! It would be very good to incorporate this with ham or something yeh?
How gorgeous! And a great way to have pineapple too. I am now lemming a giant baked pineapple stat!
Hi Lynn-Don’t feel bad, wattleseed is a uniquely Australian ingredient so I don’t think it’s well known overseas at all
You could even try it with thick cream and it would be great!
Hi Reemski-It’s a great recipe for the hot weather coming up! Especially if the pineapple is chilled.
Hi Cappucino-Just get a whole pinepple and bake away!
Hi Maria-Oh cool, well that’s most of the drama sorted then! Because other than that it’s just straight in the oven which is really easy
It’s hard to say as it depends on the size of the pineapple. But I think one piece of pineapple per person so a large one would serve a dozen people or even more! I got about 12 or more pieces out of my pineapple 
Hi Miss Honey-I’ve never tried grilling it, I might try it to see how it compares
But yeah 2 hours baking is much longer than a flash on the grill.
Hi FFichiban-Haha interesting, I don’t know if I’d caramelise it if I added ham, it might be a bit too much!
Hi Maria-It’s so juicy, I was amazed at how juicy the pineapple ended up being, very nice on a hot night
that yoghurt sounds amazing – I have never seen such thing but have some ground wattleseed I would love to try this with – I wonder if that would work! And the pineapple looks heavenly!
i love fresh pineapple, and this looks like an easy way to make it even better. i’m glad you discovered the magical fruit.
I LOVE fresh pineapple! Why is it I never thought to caramelize it before, and why is it always the simplest of ideas that escape me?
This looks so gloriously healthy! I can feel my body yearning for it after an utterly indulgent—but appreciated at the time—October.
I love the picture of all the juices spilling forth from the pineapple. So perfect. And so simple.
BTW, great Halloween photos! It looks like everyone had a spooky and fun time
What a great combination of flavours!
Hi Johanna-I think it might if you add some honey to it too, I think that’s all that’s in the yogurt (it’s a thick yogurt like Jalna or a Greek one). Let me know what you think if you make it!
Hi grace-Yes I’m so glad I found a way to make it less acidic, it’s so good in summer!
Hi Sandie-It took me so long to do it myself
It’s so good though, I think I’ll have to do this if I get a regular pineapple again.
Hi Angela-Hehe yes, it’s almost like detox! Welll except for the sugar but it’s um…raw sugar so that’s good isn’t it?
Thanks, we did! I didn’t want the night to end
Hi Cakelaw-Thankyou so much!
Wow, we are kindred spirits! I was just thinking of making a caramelised pineapple dish last week. You’ve spooked me
Hi Christie-Haha well you know what they say, great minds think alike!
I ate this once in a restaurant and always wondered what the name was,,,never found the recipe..And now I did,,jee,,,Thanks so much.
I know your a fan of tropical fruit and I cant wait to try this recipe out. If your interested in another recipe with pineapple as the main ingredient I have a great one with fried pineapple…I know fried foods are always a pain to make and the calories are almost not worth it but this recipe totally is. You take equal parts of graham cracker crumbs and panko, and mix them together. Flour, egg wash, and dip fresh pinapple rings into the graham cracker mixture. After you have fried them you can serve them with a pureed coolis of mango and papaya fruit. Tropical all the way and oh so good.
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