With Plum Upside Down, the fifth book in my Farm Fresh Romance series, releasing soon, I decided to bake and blog my recipe for Plum Upside-Down Cake. In the novel, the recipe is credited to Pam Riehl, the aunt of sisters Chelsea and Sierra. In reality, what follows here is my own concoction, and I allowed Aunt Pam to borrow it!
Plum Upside-Down Cake Recipe
Fruit Layer:
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
dash nutmeg
Fresh or frozen Italian plums, pitted and halved (enough for one layer)
In a ten-inch oven-proof cast iron skillet, melt the butter and remove from heat. Swirl the butter up the sides so the cake won’t stick. Mix the sugar and spices together, then stir into the melted butter and smooth the sauce. Arrange the halved plums cut-side down in the pan.
Cake Layer:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup organic white sugar
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
2 free-range eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk or 1/4 cup plain yogurt + 1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups organic white flour (may use 1/3 whole-wheat flour)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat sugar and butter then add eggs and beat at medium until smooth. Add all but flour and beat 2-3 minutes. Add flour. Beat until well blended. This will be a fairly thick batter. Spoon it over the fruit in the skillet and level it.
Place in preheated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let sit off heat for 30 minutes before attempting to invert. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, if you have it.
this delish