When friends visit, cake is eaten and usually in its entirety. Our close friend Luke and Anne came for a visit and Anne and I love to cook together so baking was on the agenda and this… Plum Upside Down Cake was the result.
Some friends walk together, grab coffee together, or shop together but Anne and I we usually cook, and it’s usually something adventurous. This cake creation started with a trip to my friend Maria‘s house to pick fresh plums. We climb a tall ladder and loaded up our tote bags with tart plums, eating a few along the way.
After our foraging, we returned to the kitchen to stir up a easy cake with this caramel-y plum topping. In the oven it went, then out to rest while we headed out for dinner. Later that evening it was devoured all but one last piece (which was lucky for me so I could snag a few photographs for you.
I must admit, sometimes I plan ahead better when I want to photograph a recipe for the blog but other times, recipes are born on an afternoon such as this one, with no forethought or blogging agenda. But I couldn’t resist sharing this with you so the last piece became my subject and I snapped a few photos so this recipe and our special afternoon could be remembered.
Here are a few past creations from Anne and I’s cooking adventures:
Matcha Green Tea Pound Cake Recipe
this recipe for Plum Upside Down Cake is from Epicurious & Bon Appetit
Plum Upside-down Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, (1 1/2 sticks) room temperature, divided
- 1 cup golden brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 6 large plums, halved, pitted, each half cut into 6 wedges
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir 6 tablespoons butter, brown sugar and honey in heavy medium skillet over low heat until butter melts and sugar and honey blend in, forming thick, smooth sauce. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides. Arrange plums on top of the butter-y mixture.
- Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat remaining 6 tablespoons butter in large bowl until light. Add sugar and beat until creamy. Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in extracts. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, mixing just until blended. Spoon batter evenly over plums. Bake cake until golden and tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool in pan 30 minutes.
- Using knife, cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Place platter atop cake pan. Invert cake; place platter on work surface. Let stand 5 minutes. Gently lift off pan. Serve cake warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
I love this time of year because the plums are at their best at the farmer’s market, and I can even sometimes find the little purple Italian kind. I would kill to be able to cook with fresh picked plums, this cake must have been spectacular!
What a gorgeous dessert, Becky! And there really is nothing better than spending an afternoon cooking/baking with someone who loves it as much as you do.
I couldn’t agree more! And the cake tasted even better than it looks 🙂