Wolfgang PuckEnjoy pineapple raw on its own, in fruit salads, or as an ingredient in tropical-style main-course salads. It’s also delicious cooked, a form in which you’ll now often find it on the menu of my restaurant Spago in Maui, including the following version of a classic pineapple upside-down cake. Add scoops of coconut ice cream, if you like, for a true, decadent taste of the tropics.

How To Make Pineapple Macadamia Nut Upside-Down Cake
An incredible recipe for pineapple macadamia nut upside-down cake in just little over an hour! A wonderful moist cake with a sweet kick from tender pineapples then rounded off with the nutty macadamia nuts spread across the cake.
Ingredients
topping:
- ¾ cup macadamia nuts, shelled roasted
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 cup pineapple chunks, 5 or 6 slices, or 1 cup drained canned pineapple chunks, fresh cored
cake:
- ¼ cup macadamia nuts, shelled roasted
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup milk
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
-
Spray a 9 ½- or 10-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.
- First, prepare the topping.
-
Put the ¾ cup of macadamia nuts in a food processor with the stainless-steel blade.
- Pulse just a few times, until the nuts break up into coarse chunks.
-
Set aside. Put the butter in the cake pan and place over low heat just until the butter melts.
- Holding the pan with a potholder, swirl until the butter is evenly spread over the bottom.
- Sprinkle in the brown sugar and press it down in an even layer.
- Arrange the pineapple and chopped macadamia nuts in an even layer on top, breaking up the pineapple chunks if necessary.
-
For the cake, put the rest of macadamia nuts in the food processor.
- Pulse just until the nuts are finely ground.
-
In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt 3 times.
- Add the ground nuts. Set aside.
- Put the room-temperature butter in another mixing bowl.
- With a handheld electric mixer on high speed, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
- With a rubber spatula, scrape down the side of the bowl.
- Still beating at high speed, gradually sprinkle in the granulated sugar.
- Then beat in one egg at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
- Beat in the vanilla.
- Reduce the speed to low.
- In three batches, slowly sprinkle in the dry ingredients, beating in a third of the milk after each addition. Continue beating until the batter is smooth.
- Pour and spread the batter evenly over the pineapple and nuts.
- Bake the cake in the preheated oven until a wooden toothpick inserted into its center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and leave it to cool on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Invert a serving plate over the top of the cake pan.
- Put oven mitts on both hands.
- Holding the plate and pan firmly together with your hands, turn the cake upside down.
- Lift off the pan.
- Dislodge and replace any bits of the topping stuck to the pan.
- Let the cake cool at least briefly before cutting it into wedges.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
- Sugar: 31g
- :
- Calcium: 101mg
- Calories: 406kcal
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Cholesterol: 68mg
- Fat: 24g
- Fiber: 2g
- Iron: 2mg
- Potassium: 154mg
- Protein: 5g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Sodium: 159mg
- Vitamin A: 479IU
- Vitamin C: 2mg
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