Nothing says tropical flavor like pineapple, and nothing goes better with Dominican cake like the classic pineapple filling. The flavor and texture will always beat the store-bought jam, so see just how easy it's to make mermelada de piña, our most favorite pineapple cake filling.
By - Reviewed: . Original: Feb 4, 2003
Why we ❤️ it
We Dominicans are crazy about our classic bizcocho Dominicano (Dominican cake). You can't understand it unless you've tried it. It is the fluffiest, airiest, moistest cake you'd ever try. And it is made a whole lot better with the traditional Pineapple Jam Filling for Dominican Cake.
This homemade jam made with fresh pineapples gives the airy texture of this cake a bit of tartness that takes it to a whole new level.
How to use it
You can enjoy this as a regular jam, and use it to fill other cakes or desserts too. This pineapple jam is great as a filling for empanaditas dulce, deditos de novia, and this fried rolls dessert.
Pineapple and pineapple jam.
More cake fillings
While pineapple jam is the most popular cake filling for Dominican cake, guava cake filling, pastry cream filling, and dulce de leche cake filling are also very popular, and you can make them with our recipes with video
Top tips
- If you use brown sugar (which I did in the video, and for some of the pictures), you get a deeper, more reddish color and slightly less sweet jam.
- A reader in the comments reported that she made it with canned pineapples, and although I would always suggest starting with the real thing, it appears that you can also get a decent enough result from tinned pineapple.
About our recipe
Of course, you could buy a pineapple jam. But why would you do that when you can grab all the taste of the real thing? After all, if you take the time and effort it takes to make a proper Dominican cake, you might as well go the whole nine yards.
Trust me; it's worth it.
Bear in mind that, if you are baking a cake, this should be ready before you start baking, and, as you can see from the recipe, it takes a while to make and cool down (pineapple has tough fibers that take a while to break down. Whatever you do with it, enjoy it!
Video
Recipe
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Pineapple Cake Filling [Video+Recipe] Mermelada de Piña
Ingredients
- 1 pineapple
- 4 cup water
- ½ cup sugar (white, granulated), (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Prepping pineapple
Peel and core the pineapple (you can use the peel and core to make Pera Piña or Guarapo). Mince in the food processor or by hand.
2. Cooking
- Pour into a thick-bottomed pot, add water, sugar, and vanilla extract. Heat over medium heat until it reaches a gentle boil. Cover and boil over low heat until all the liquid has evaporated (90 min - 2 hrs approx.).
3. Storing
- Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature before filling cake, or store in a tight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.
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More pineapple recipes
We love pineapples, and consider one of our favorite Dominican fruits. Aside from serving pineapple chunks or slices as a snack or dessert (I love them sprinkled with salt!), we also have some great pineapple recipes you'll love, like our pera piña juice, pineapple cheese flan, our guarapo de piña fermented drink, and dulce de leche con piña. I also love this ensalada de arroz con piña salad.
If you want to try some non-traditional pineapple recipes, check out this Puerto Rican piña colada, this summer pineapple limeade.
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