April 20, 2022 - It's National Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day!

One of the very first cakes I ever made was a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I helped out in a kitchen at a lodge in King Salmon, Alaska, where I grew up. We would make a huge tray of it for the guests. And I've loved this cake ever since! Caramelized brown sugar, mixed with tart pineapple pieces and sweet Maraschino cherries. What's not too love?

So, in celebration of National Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day, let's make Pineapple Cherry Macarons!

Pineapple Cherry French Macarons

French Macarons

Ingredients

• 130g superfine almond flour

• 130g powdered sugar

• 90-100g egg whites, room temperature

• pinch of cream of tartar - optional

• pinch of salt

• 90g granulated sugar

• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

• gel color, optional (for this recipe I used a little gold)

Instructions

1. Sift almond flour and powdered sugar onto parchment paper and set aside.

2. Pour room temperature egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk and mix on a low/medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles. Add cream of tartar and salt, continue to mix until it reaches the soft peak stage.

3. Slowly add granulated sugar into the eggs and mix on a medium speed for 30 seconds. If desired, add in extract and gel food coloring at this point, then increase the mixing speed to a medium-high speed. Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form.

4. Fold the dry ingredients into the meringue in two additions using a circular motion until a thick ribbon of batter runs off the spatula when it is lifted. Be careful not to over-mix the batter! It will take time and experience to get this just right.

5. Pour the batter into a large piping bag fitted with 1/2-inch piping tip onto the prepared baking sheets. I use silicon mats, placed on upside down baking sheets. Space them about 1-inch apart.

6. Bang the pans firmly on the counter a few times to release air bubbles. Pop any remaining air bubbles that come to the surface with a toothpick.

7. Let the macarons rest for 20-60 minutes to develop a skin. The macarons should look matte once the skin has formed.

8. As the macarons rest, preheat your oven to 300 F. Every oven is different, and you may need to set your temp higher or lower.

9. Bake one tray of macarons at a time on the middle rack of your oven for 16-18 minutes, until the macarons do not wiggle when you test them.

10. Remove from the oven and let the macarons cool on the pan for about 15 minutes. Gently peel them off of the silicon mat and set aside.

Pineapple Cherry Buttercream

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick butter, room temp

• 1-1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

• pinch of salt

• 1/8 tsp cherry extract

• 1/4 finely chopped maraschino cherries

• 1 tbsp milk, if needed

• 1/2 cup pineapple pieces

• caramelized (1/2 stick butter

• 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup pineapple)

Instructions

1. For caramelized pineapple, sauté butter, brown sugar and pineapple together until golden brown and sticky. Set aside to cool.

2. Cream butter until smooth and fluffy.

3. Add powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract, combine completely.

4. Add 1/2 of pineapple mixture and 1/2 cherry mixture

5. Check consistency, if needed add remaining pineapple and cherry mixtures.

6. Add milk if buttercream seems too thick.

Enjoy!