Caramelized Pineapple Tropical Loaf ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

This Caramelized Pineapple Tropical Loaf cake packs quite the punch of flavor. Caramelizing

the pineapple enhances its sweetness and concentrates the flavor, the rums takes it up a notch, 

and the toasted coconut adds a wonderful nuttiness and a hint of  crunch.

Macadamia and Tropical Fruit Bundt Cake ~ #BundtBakers

If you are a fan of a lighter fruitcake then this is the cake for you.

Passion-Orange-Guava Bundt Cake ~ #BundtBakers

I was so excited when I found out that the theme for BundtBakers this month was Tropical - this theme is made for where I live! There is such an abundance of fantastic fruit here, and although I quickly made my choice I think that I may have to make a few more bundts based on this idea.

The Cake Slice Bakers - It's our 5th Anniversary!

Today we are celebrating an anniversary.  The Cake Slice Bakers are celebrating five years baking as a group.  The group has baked from five different books throughout this time - Sky High Cakes, Southern Cakes, Cake Keeper Cakes, The Cake Book, and Vintage Cakes.  People have come and gone over this period of time, but the group has stayed together for the most part, and it has been an amazing experience.  One of our members, Monica from Lick The Bowl Good,  has been with the group from the very beginning - wow!  It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of our baking experience with our latest book, and are ready to select a new one.

For anyone who is new to hearing about the Cake Slice Bakers we are a dedicated group of bakers from all around the world. Every year we bake from a different cake book and in 2012 - 2013 we have been baking from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson. Each month a selection of cakes are presented and we vote on which cake to bake next from our current book. We then have a month to bake it in secret before we all blog about it on the same day each month – the 20th – never before. At the end of our cake reveal posts each month we link to our fellow bakers via the Cake Slice Blogroll so that you can see how creative everyone has been. We also have a Facebook page where you can see not only each months cakes, but also other delicious treats baked by our members and helpful baking tips. Please come and visit us!  There are a few rules that we follow but the most important one is to have fun and enjoy eating cake.

Good intentions to bake this cake earlier went out the window when we were notified that we had Tropical Storm Flossie nearby.  Most of the time it is paradise here, but when there is bad weather heading our way we always need to be prepared.  Having lived in Guam (and been through many typhoons - and earthquakes - during that time) I knew what needed to be done and what I needed to have on hand.  We were fortunate that Flossie fizzled out and we just had some heavy rain.

I had decided that I wanted to make some sort of tropical cake to reflect the islands.  Mango was out since I can't eat it, so I thought that a take on a Hummingbird Cake would be good.  A quick search revealed a cake on the Bakerella site.  After looking through the recipe I knew that I wanted to swap out the pecans for macadamia nuts, and add some coconut to the cake.

In hindsight I think I would prefer to bake this cake as two layers rather than three because the cake has a large ratio of soft fruit and nuts to cake so it was a little delicate.  I also think I may have been a little shy of the amount of powdered sugar that should have been added to the frosting, so it was a little soft, so learn from me and don't try to use a cup measurement.  It did look a little like the Leaning Tower of Pisa once I cut it, but the flavor of the cake was wonderful.

Congratulations to all of my fellow Cake Slice Bakers on this special occasion, and here's to many more years baking and friendship. I want to give special thanks to our fearless leader, Paloma from The Coffee Shop, who has been just fantastic in not only coordinating everything to do with the group, but also growing it in a new direction.  Since we will be starting a new book soon there is going to be an opportunity to join the group and bake along with us, so drop Paloma an email if you are interested.

Please click here to see all of the other cakes created to celebrate this special occasion, and click on the photos to visit the members blogs.

Aloha Sunshine Cake 
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients ~ Cake

• 3 cups all purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• 2 cups sugar 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten 
• 1 cup vegetable oil 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla 
• 8 oz. can of crushed pineapple, liquid included 
• 2 cups chopped ripe bananas
• ½ cup coconut
• 2 cups macadamia nuts, chopped and toasted 

Ingredients ~ Frosting 

• 16 oz cream cheese 
• 1 cup butter 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla 
• 32 oz. confectioner's sugar 
• toasted coconut to decorate, optional

Preparation ~ Cake 

1. Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease and line with parchment 3 9-inch cake pans.
2. Chop macadamia nuts into small pieces and place on a parchment covered baking sheet, bake for 5 minutes - watch them carefully as they burn quickly. Set aside and let cool.
3. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
4. Add lightly beaten eggs, oil and vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
5. Add crushed pineapple, coconut, and cut up bananas and stir until combined. 
6. Stir in 1 cup of chopped toasted macadamia nuts, reserving the remainder to sprinkle on top of the cake. 
7. Divide the batter evenly amongst the cake pans and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove and let cool. 
8. To assemble the cake, gently level cakes using a large serrated knife to remove any mounded tops. Place first layer cut side down and spread frosting on top with an offset spatula. Continue with the remaining two layers and then frost the sides. 
9. Add toasted macadamia nuts to the sides, and toasted coconut to the top. Store in fridge.

Preparation ~ Frosting

1. In a mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. 
2. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated. 
3. With the mixer on low, slowly add confectioner's sugar a little at a time until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl often.

Recipe inspired Bakerella.

Tropical White Sangria

Sangria is a fruit-based wine punch predominately from Spain and Portugal, and it is just the thing on a hot summer's day.  Not only is it very refreshing but there are so many different ways to make it.  Both white and red versions are very popular.

We decided to go with a white version, or sangria blanca, for our July 4th celebration.  We love sangria because it is not too heavy and you can adapt it to any fruit you may have on hand. You can also add as much, or as little alcohol as you want, and you can vary the soda to make a completely different taste.  We used seltzer water but you could also try club soda, lemon-lime soda, ginger ale, a flavored mineral water, or even an orange-based soda.  Like I said, the possibilities are endless.

After mixing up the basics we placed it in the refrigerator overnight.  You can serve it straight away over ice, but I prefer to let the flavors muddle a little.  Once we were ready to serve we added the additional fruit and the soda.

Tropical White Sangria

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 x 1.5 liter bottle of white wine - I used a moscato 
• ½ cup white sugar, dissolved in a little hot water
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup pineapple
• 3 oranges, sliced  
• 2 lemons, sliced into wedges
• 2 limes, sliced into wedges
• 10 strawberries, cut in half
• 6 lychee, peeled, seeded, and cut in half
• 3 x 355 ml cans club soda or spritzer water

Preparation

1. Pour wine in the pitcher.
2. Lightly squeeze the juice from the lemon and lime wedges by hand into the pitcher.
3. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and orange slices and add sugar.
4. Add the orange juice and pineapple juice - stir.
5. Chill overnight.
6. Add strawberries and lychee.
7. Add club soda or seltzer just before serving. 
8. If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled white wine and serve over lots of ice.  
9. Addition ideas - peaches, handful of fresh blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, a shot of cointreau, brandy or rum, a cup of citrus-flavored soda.

Recipe adapted from a sangria recipe on About.com