Fruity Upside Down Cake

The thing about me is that I love to buy fruits. They looked so inviting and screaming "buy me buy me" each time I visit the supermarket (which is very often). Being nice and soft hearted, I'll heed to their cries and buy big packs of this and that.


The problem is I don't like to cut fruits and only eat them when they are peeled, cut and served to me in a nice platter with cute forks by the side. Yeah, diva diva.


The good thing is that my dear Hubby loves to eat fruits. However, he is very strict about his selection and would not bother to touch them if they are suspiciously from China or not his usuals.


So I bought a bunch of nectarines and it has been staying in the fridge for weeks as they do not match my Hubby's stringent selection process. They have been sitting there for so long that I have practically ignored their presence whenever I am reaching for this or that from the fridge.


Until one day.... Hubby took them out to be thrown away since no one is touching them.


I felt guilty and searched high and low for a recipe to use them.


Here it is... a David Lebovitz recipe... an Upside Down Cake.

Ok, I admit, I don't do the cake justice with the pics. I just don't really know how to cut and position the fruit pieces nicely. Needs practice. Well, we'll have to wait till the next batch of fruits call for my attention again.




Upside Down Cake
From David Lebovitz Blog
(Makes 1 10-inch cake)


Ingredients

Fruit layer
3 tablespoons butter (45g), salted or unsalted
3/4 cup packed (135g) light brown sugar
fruit: 8 quartered plums or apricots, 3-4 thickly-sliced pears or nectarines, or 2 cups cranberries; add a handful of huckleberries, cherries, raspberries, or another bushberry


Cake layer
8 tablespoons (115g) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (125ml) whole milk, at room temperature

Method

1. Melt the 3 tablespoons (45g) of butter in a cast iron skillet, or cake pan (see Note). Add the brown sugar and cook while stirring, until the sugar is melted and begins to bubble. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. Once cool, arrange the fruit in a pinwheel design, added berries if desired. Set aside.
3. To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350F. (190C)
4. Beat the 8 tablespoons (115g) of butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, until smooth.
5. Whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
6. Stir in half of the flour mixture, then the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients. Do not overmix: stir just until the flour is barely incorporated into the batter.
7. Spread the batter over the fruit, then bake for 45 minutes to one hour (depending on the size of the pan, and the thickness of the batter.) The cake is ready when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and the center feels just set.
8. Remove from oven, let cool about 20 minutes, then place a cake plate on top, and wearing oven mitts, flip the cake out on to the plate, taking care, as there may be some hot caramel that might escape.
9. Serving: Upside Down Cake is best served warm, perhaps with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. It can be made in advance, left in the pan, and rewarmed in the cake pan or skillet right before serving. It’s also very good rewarmed in a microwave, and served immediately.