Rum Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

This recipe was a hit at our house. Not much left after the first day. I did make a few alterations, one being the pan size and preparation of the pineapple rings. The original recipe calls for 1 12" cast iron skillet. I used a 9X13 size pan. Also, I chose to eliminate the maraschino cherries, filling the center of the rings with the macadamia nuts. The recipe does not specify light or dark brown sugar, but I opted for light.

The one thing I liked is that the moist cake is only one inch to and inch and a half thick. I feel that it makes a better balance than a thicker cake. I was worried that the rum would be too strong, but there is only a hint of rum taste which comes from the rings, which is just enough.

If your looking for something tropical and easy to make, this is the recipe for you. Just plan ahead because the rings soak in rum overnight.

Rum Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Food.com

Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup spiced rum
1-20 oz can of pineapple rings (reserving  2 tbs of juice)
3 eggs, separated, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder


Empty juice from can of pineapple rings and set aside a few tablespoons. Also, place pineapple rings in a medium size bowl. Pour spiced rum over rings. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a skillet over medium heat and melt butter and brown sugar together. Don't overcook the brown sugar butter mixture, it will turn hard. Just as soon as melted, add pineapple rings (reserving rum) and leave on low heat while you finish preparing the cake.

Using a wooden spoon, blend the egg yolks with the granulated sugar. Add 2 tbs of reserved rum and 2 tbs of pineapple juice and stir. Discard the rest of the juice and rum.

In another bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside. Fill the bowl of a stand mixer with egg whites. Beat with wire whisk attachment until stiff peaks form.

Combine the sugar/egg mixture with the sifted ingredients, blending with a wooden spoon. Then fold in egg whites.

Take a 9X13 pan and place warm pineapple rings in the bottom. Then pour sauce that is left in the pan over top, tilting pan making sure all the rings are covered.  Sprinkle macadamia nuts inside the pineapple rings. Spoon the batter over the rings, making sure that rings and nuts are completely covered.

Place in oven and bake until tester comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Remove and let cool for 20 minutes, then invert onto a cookie sheet or large pan. Serve warm or at room temperature

                                 **LAST YEAR:Macadamia Cherry Cookies**

Pecan Wedding Cake

These days I am reviewing so many recipes, sometimes the obvious gets overlooked. When I came across this recipe, I read the title and ingredients and it struck me as unique. As a food blogger, anything of that nature, I simply have to make. I marked this and went and got the ingredients.

Finally, a few days before making, I realized that this recipe was very close to a recipe for Italian Cream Cake. Also, Italian Cream Cake was very close to a recipe for Hawaiian Wedding Cake. Then  there is Hummingbird Cake and so forth. In the end, this is not such a unique recipe. However, since I love Italian Cream Cake, I still decided to make this cake-in spite of it being a common favorite. 

This is not identical to Italian Cream Cake. It has 3 add in components instead of one. In addition to coconut, it has pecans and pineapple baked in. The most prominent add in is the crunchy pecans, while the coconut and crushed pineapple are each a close second. The frosting is the traditional cream cheese/buttercream style that everyone knows is the perfect topping for this type of cake.

Sometimes familiarity is a good thing. There is a reason recipes are called traditional favorites- they are always tasty and get everyone's approval. This three layer 9 inch cake makes a perfect addition to any dinner party or a simple dinner with family. If you love Italian Cream Cake, you will find that the extra add-ins make it even better.

Pecan Wedding Cake
adapted from 1001 Classic Recipes

Ingredients/Cake
5 large eggs (whites separated from yolks)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup fresh pineapple
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter (room temp) plus 3 tbs melted
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Ingredients/Frosting
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups of confectioners' sugar
3/4 or 1 1/2 sticks butter (room temp)
8 oz cream cheese (room temp)

For the cake, prepare three 9 inch cake pans by using a pastry brush to cover the interior of each pan with butter. In addition, place a parchment round on the bottom of each pan and butter the surface. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Take out a small bowl and whisk together the buttermilk, salt and baking soda. Set aside. This mixture should thicken as it sets.

Fill a bowl of a stand mixer with the butter and shortening. Beat on medium high speed for about 3 minutes, stopping at intervals to scrape down the sides of the bowl. The mixture should be smooth and silky when done. Add the sugar and both extracts and beat until thoroughly combined and fluffy.

Add one egg yolk and beat for 30 seconds to blend. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Repeat this process until all egg yolks are incorporated into the batter. Remove bowl from stand mixer and fold in 1/3 of the flour, then 1/2 the amount of the buttermilk mixture. Continue at intervals adding flour and adding buttermilk, blending after each addition. End with mixing in the last of the flour.

Drop the pineapple by tablespoons into the batter and mix until distributed. Do the same with the coconut. Lastly, add the pecans to the batter and stir until all add-ins are evenly dispersed. Set aside.

Add the egg whites to a clean bowl. Then beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Add this to the existing batter by folding in, until whites are completely blended.

Divide batter into 3 equal parts. Add 1 part to each prepared pan and smooth the surface. Place each pan in oven-2 on one rack and 1 on the other. Bake for about 13 minutes, then rotate pans and bake for an additional 12 minutes. Use a tester to see if fully baked, if not let cook a few minutes more and check again. Bake time may take up to 10 minutes more.

Once fully baked, remove pans and set on rack to rest for about 5 minutes. Then invert each one onto the rack. Remove the parchment paper. Let cool completely before stacking and frosting.

To make the frosting, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth and silky. Add the extract and beat again, stopping occasionally to beat down the sides of the bowl. Then sift in 1 cup of confectioners' sugar. Beat, starting with low speed and then increasing so all sugar is blended. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Repeat process until all sugar is incorporated into frosting.

Place one layer on a cake board or serving platter. Using a spatula, smooth about 1/4 of the frosting onto the top surface. Stack another layer on top and repeat frosting process. Once all layers are stacked, frost the sides and sprinkle the top with pecans.

Tips and Notes:
1. You can toast the nuts if you prefer more crunch in and on the cake.
2. When frosting the sides, put a thin crumb coat on first, let set and then frost sides as normal.
3.  The frosting between layers was not very thick. If doing this again, I would increase the frosting recipe amount by 1 cup of confectioners sugar and 3 tbs of butter.
                                   **LAST YEAR:Snickerdoodle Pie**

Palm Harvest Cake

The inspiration for this recipe came about when listening to Cake by the Ocean by DNCE. My take on this song is that we should not take things too seriously. Also, being spontaneous and unpredictable may turn out to be the best time ever.

Now, if I was to choose a cake to eat while watching the ocean waves rolling in from the sand, it would have to be something with tropical flavors. My pick for this cake was coconut, banana and pineapple. The recipe does make use of a few forms of coconut  (cream and oil). Also, the sweet coconut layers are slathered with fruity as well as creamy fillings. The banana pastry cream and pineapple filling have different textures but create a nice balance. I topped it with the standard cream cheese frosting, which is a basic recipe you can find on the net.

However, please note that this cake does take some time and the layers are baked in 10 inch springform pans. If you do not have 3 pans, plan on dividing the recipe for each. The springform pans were chosen due to the nature of the batter and the need for toasty edges. Since cake pans were not used, so I am unable to advise if they yield the same results.

So if you find yourself by the ocean, be sure to have fun and be spontaneous, but don't forget the cake!

Palm Harvest Cake
by flourtrader

Ingredients/Cake
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tbs whole milk yogurt
1 1/2 cups of cream of coconut
3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks of butter
3/4 cup of coconut oil
3 egg yolks
5 eggs
4 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups sugar
1 tsp salt

Ingredients/Banana Filling
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 vanilla bean
1 tbs butter
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar

1 banana
2 tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup whipped cream

Ingredients/Pineapple Filling
10 oz crushed pineapple
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbs cornstarch


For the cake, start by greasing the interior of 3 springform pans generously with coconut oil. Use 2 tablespoons for each pan. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Place the sugar, remaining coconut oil and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Stop occasionally to scrape down the side of the bowl. Then add each egg and each yolk, one at a time and beat for 30 seconds to blend. Once all is blended, beat at medium speed for another 3 minutes. Pour in the yogurt, cream of coconut and vanilla. Beat again for about 2 minutes. Set aside.

Take out a small bowl and sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold 1/3 of the sifted ingredients into the egg batter. Then fold in half of the remaining dry ingredients and fold in the last of it.

Measure the batter and divide it evenly into 3 batches. Pour each batch into a springform pan and smooth out evenly. Place in oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Once baked, remove and let set in pan for about 10 minutes. Run a knife around the interior edge and remove springform ring. Let sit another 20 minutes and use a thin knife or spatula to unstick from springform bottom plate and transfer to rack to finish cooling.

The next step is to make the banana pastry cream. Start by cutting up the banana. Then place the pieces in a small pan and add the brown sugar. Stir together and let set for about 10 minutes. The sugar on the banana slices will dissolve and turn glossy. Then place the pan over medium heat and let the bananas cook while stirring constantly. The cook time should take about 15 minutes. As it cooks, the gloss will disappear and the mixture will start to lump together and become pasty. Once it reaches that point, remove pan from heat and transfer filling to a small, heatproof bowl. Cover and place in refrigerator.

For the cream, fill a saucepan with milk and the scrapings from 1/2 of the vanilla bean and the outside half of the split bean. Take out another bowl and whisk together the egg and yolk with the cornstarch and sugar, set aside.

Place the filled saucepan over medium heat and let the milk heat up until you see small bubbles form on the edge of the surface. This is the point right before boil. Remove pan from heat and then stream in a little of the hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk together. Do this in small increments until a total of 2 tablespoons have been incorporated into the eggs.

Pour the egg mixture into the milk and whisk together. Place the pan over the heat again, this time on medium high heat, and stir constantly using a heat proof spatula. Once the mixture starts to boil, it is time to remove from the heat. Filling should be the consistency of pudding at this point. Cut the tablespoon of butter into 4 pieces and mix into filling. Take a sieve and place it over a bowl and pour the mixture into the sieve. Stir with a spoon, pressing the sides to make the mixture go through. Once the mixture has been pressed through, scrape off the bottom of the sieve into the bowl. Discard the vanilla bean.

Take the banana mixture out of the fridge and put in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until smooth. Then beat in the pastry cream. Empty contents onto a plate and smooth out. Place plastic wrap over the cream and put in refrigerator to cool.

For the pineapple filling, place all ingredients in a saucepan and let cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Let cook until it becomes the consistency of applesauce. Transfer to a heat proof bowl and place in fridge to cool.

Once both fillings have cooled, place one layer of the cake on a round cake board. Mix 1 tbs of cream of coconut with 1/4 cup of water and brush over top of layer. Let sit for 5 minutes. As this sits, you will finish the banana cream filling. Beat the whipped cream until soft peaks form. Then take out the cooled banana mixture and fold it into the whipped cream. Smooth this on top of the layer on the cake board. Place another layer of cake on top and brush on the cream of coconut/water mixture. Smooth the chilled pineapple filling over the layer. Then top with the third cake layer and frost as desired with cream cheese frosting.

Tips and Notes:
1. Feel free to add some lime zest or rum to the frosting.
2. The cake is more dense than most.
3. I found that Coco Lopez brand cream of coconut is the best to use, it is easier to blend than others and less watery.
4. Be careful not to overcook the cake, because it will lose moisture.
5. The best part of this cake was the banana pastry cream, I will use this component again.
6. Do not use pineapple in heavy syrup for the filling.
                                    **LAST YEAR:Bajan Sweet Bread**