Enjoy Tropical Bliss with a Slice of Macadamia Nut Coconut Cake

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I feel like too few people make desserts from scratch these days.

Of course, I should probably admit that I am one of those people more often than not…

However, I’ve fallen back in love with making cakes like this one from scratch. There’s something about being in the kitchen, making a sweet treat, that totally makes me channel my grandmother.

She was the queen of desserts in our family. My grandmother would always make these elaborate sweets that we would all indulge in every weekend, when we had dinner at her home on Sundays.

I would always try to go over early so I could help her out, and also learn from her brilliance.

I mean, let’s face it, baking can be a bit tricky. If you aren’t paying attention to the measurements and the instructions for the recipe, it’s pretty easy to go wrong quickly.

When it comes to this recipe, I find it’s actually one of the easier ones to make. The ingredients aren’t complicated, and neither are the instructions.

This dessert is basically like taking a tropical vacation in your own home. The combination of sweet coconut and macadamia nuts makes for a moist crumb with crunchy surprises in each bite.

The tart and sweet passion fruit glaze drizzled on top is the cherry on the top of the tropical sundae, so to speak. It gives an extra burst of flavor, and complements the other tasty ingredients in this dessert.

My top tips to make this recipe are:

Measure Correctly

Make sure that you are using measuring cups for dry ingredients when you should be, instead of wet. You need to spoon the flour into the cups and lightly level it off with the straight edge of a knife.

Use Room Temperature Ingredients

The butter and cream cheese need to be at room temperature, because this will give more volume to the ingredients and they will mix together more thoroughly, resulting in a better finished product.

Alternate the Dry Ingredients

There’s a reason that dry ingredients should be alternated with the liquid that you add to the batter. Start alternating with the dry ingredients, and end with them as well. This way, they will be distributed evenly in the batter. Make sure you don’t overmix.

There’s really something special about a homemade cake, isn’t there? It’s a simple dessert to begin with, but it’s also so easy to customize like what I’ve done with this recipe.

When it’s fresh out of the oven, just take a whiff of the intense scent. Trust me, it’s absolutely fantastic.

It’ll fill you with all the homey feels that you want to have anytime you bake, you know?

When you are enjoying a slice of this dessert, be sure that you have some ocean sounds or even some tropical music going in the background. I swear, if you close your eyes after taking a bite, you can almost feel the warm breeze off the ocean running through your hair.

For a final touch of elegance, pick up some toasted flakes of coconuts at your local store, or order a package online. Sprinkle those on top, and voila! You are ready to dive in.

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Cooking by the Numbers…

Step 1 – Chop Nuts and Measure Remaining Ingredients

If you haven’t already, place your unsalted butter and cream cheese on the counter for a few hours to soften. This can also be done quickly in the microwave, but you need to be careful to heat them on low power in short increments, to avoid melting.

Chop enough roasted and salted macadamia nuts until you have one cup total.

Measure out the remaining ingredients as listed on the ingredients list.

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan.

Step 2 – Make Batter

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until creamy. This should take about 2-3 minutes.

Gradually add the granulated sugar, beating on medium speed until light and fluffy. This should take about 5-7 minutes.

Beat in one egg at a time, beating until combined between each addition.

Add half of the all-purpose flour, and beat until just combined on low speed. Beat in the milk until just combined. Add the remaining flour and beat until just combined.

Fold in the vanilla extract, coconut extract, nuts, and shredded coconut until combined.

Step 3 – Bake

Transfer the batter to the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 70-80 minutes, until set and golden.

A toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean when it is done.

Step 4 – Cool

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.

Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. This will take about 2 hours.

Step 5 – Make Glaze

When the cake is cool, make the glaze.

Add 1/4 cup passion fruit juice and the confectioners’ sugar to a medium bowl. Whisk until combined, smooth, and glossy. If the mixture is too thick, gradually add more passion fruit juice until you reach a consistency that’s to your liking.

Spoon the glaze over the cake. Garnish with toasted coconut flakes.