THB : Fresh Pineapple-Macadamia Nut Upside-down Cake

The Home Bakers (THB) bake #37,  for this week is Fresh Pineapple-Macadamia Nut Upside-down Cake, selected by Alice of I Love.I Cook.I Bake.

I should really call this cake as Canned Pineapple-Macadamia Nut Upside-down Cake, as I've used canned pineapples. I actually bought a whole fresh pineapple, and it wasn't quite ripe yet, so I kept it for a few days, waiting for it to ripen. When the pineapple has gone all yellow and ripe, I was surprised to find it has gone rotten inside, almost half of it. Since I can't use it for my bake, I bought a can of pineapple rings instead.  

Looks can be deceiving! Pretty on the outside, really bad on the inside! (Sounds like I'm describing Snow White's step-mother! LOL!)

The recipe states to use a heavy based ovenproof 9" skillet to heat up the butter, then brown sugar is added in together with corn syrup, stir till the sugar has melted and mixture bubbles. Since I do not have a heavy based skillet, I have used a 9" cake pan instead, and it works out fine. Place the pineapple slices over the mixture and scatter some macadamia nuts in spaces between the pineapple pieces. I have used just a minimum amount of nuts, as the family are not fond of nuts in bakes.

The batter is pretty straight forward. Start with the usual creaming of butter and sugar, then eggs are added in, followed by the vanilla extract, then the flour in two additions with some milk. Spread the batter over the pineapples slices, and bake for 35 minutes. Remove, let cool in pan for 2 minutes, and turn it out onto a plate. May serve either warm or at room temperature.

My notes :
- reduced the brown sugar for the fruit layer to 1/3 cup.
- reduced the granulated sugar for the batter to 1/3 cup.
- omitted the salt, I've used salted butter

I sliced the cake while still warm, smells nice!

I like the pineapples slices.

The cake is very moist with soft crumbs. I'm glad that I've reduced the sugar, as the sweetness is just right. The macadamia nuts are really crunchy! A very nice cake, to enjoy with a cup of tea. 

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For the full recipe and instructions, please visit the host of this bake, Alice of I Love,I Cook.I Bake. To view other members' bake, please visit The Home Bakers (THB).

We are a group of home bakers who are currently baking from "Coffee Cakes" by Lou Seibert Pappas. This is our bake no. 37 and we have 23 recipes more to go. If you are interested to be a member and join in our bakes, you may drop me an email at kitchenflavours@yahoo.com.

And I'm linking this post to Little Thumbs Up : June 2014 - Butter, organized by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Jozelyn Ng of Spice Up My Kitchen