Can Pineapple juice be used in cake batter?

[greenbean]

My sister wants to make Pina Colada flavored cupcakes. I have a great coconut cake recipe which calls for 1/4 cup of water and she wants to try substituting pineapple juice. I told her I wasn't sure because of the bromelain enzyme which destroys proteins and might cause some issue with the eggs. The recipe calls for 1 whole egg and 5 whites, so there is a significant amount of protein on the line. The enzyme does break down when cooked, so would heating the juice up be the answer? Or, is the amount small enough not to interfere with the protein structure of the eggs? Or, is canned juice already heated/pasteurized, making the enzyme issue irrelevant?

[RWood]

From my experience making pineapple upside down cake (my cake batter has pineapple juice) there haven't been any problems.

Edited October 5, 2010 by RWood (log)

[Chocolot]

If the juice is cooked, as it is when canned, it won't be a problem.

[Rick Mogstad]

I think fresh juice would be a problem, but as Chocolot said, using canned juice should not be a problem.

[pastrygirl]

Yes the enzyme breaks down when heated. Plenty of carrot cake recipes use canned pineapple in chunks or crushed, juice should be no problem.

[chiantiglace]

ha, think about the problem though, even if the breaking down of proteins in specifically eggs (wheat protein as well right?) was possible, you are still baking it, not setting a gel. All the bromelain does is make it difficult for protein to retain water in a gel, without a doubt that will not be a problem baking a cake. Remember, the starch in the flour absorbs most of the water while mixing and baking, the enzyme will get broken down during baking just like the proteins will be denatured and "set" themselves. During that process the starch will slightly gelatinize to help hold the shape of the cake as well, really not a problem.

To add, I would use pineapple puree, you can add more puree than juice.

[baroness]

I think fresh juice would be a problem, but as Chocolot said, using canned juice should not be a problem.

I have baked with *fresh* pineapple without a problem.

However, the pineapple flavor is far less pronounced than when one uses canned pineapple!

[Rick Mogstad]

I have to wonder what kind of fresh pineapple requires quotes

Whether it would be a problem or not was definitely a guess, rather than experienced info, but chianti cleared it up with much more solid info

-Rick