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1
Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
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2
Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and set aside.
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3
Cream sugar and butter together until well blended.
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4
Add egg yolks and extracts and beat for 2 minutes.
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5
Add the baking soda into the sour cream; mix well and let sit for 3 minutes.
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6
Once 3 minutes are up, add the sour cream to the cake mixture.
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7
Add 1 1/2 cups flour and beat well. Once this mixture is well beaten, fold in your egg whites.
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8
(I used my Kitchen Aid with the wire beater to mix everything to this point. Once I get to this stage, I use the hook or the other flat beater attachment---this makes the whole mixing bowl FULL). Anyway, once the egg whites are folded in, fold in your coconut and pecans.
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9
In a medium bowl with a lid (so you can shake), put the remaining 1 1/2 cup flour, the cherries, and pineapple chunks; cover and shake well to cover the fruit.
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10
Once the fruit is covered, add this (flour and fruit) to the cake mixture and blend until it is all mixed well. The flour keeps the fruit from all dropping to the bottom.
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11
In a GOOD QUALITY tube pan which has been well sprayed with non-stick spray and lightly floured, pour the cake mixture into the pan, lightly spreading it evenly.
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12
On top of the cake batter, place your pineapple slices, lightly pushing them into the batter. If you have extra room, you might like to put a few cherries too for color.
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13
Bake this at 275 degrees for 2 1/2 hours. After an hour or so, the top will begin to get a darker brown. When it gets to the point of brown that I like, I lightly place a piece of foil over the top to keep it from getting too brown.
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14
Use a wooden kabob skewer or something similar to test for doneness.
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15
Once it is done, remove it from the oven and let it sit for about 20-30 minutes before removing from the pan. I dump mine out on a plate, then get another plate to transfer it so the pineapple/top part is actually on top instead of the bottom.
