Italian Plum Upside Down Cake

Do you know what happens this Saturday?

The new season of Doctor Who premieres this Saturday, but you guys already knew that, didn’t you?

I thought so, but you never know. I figured I’d tell you, just in case.

It has absolutely nothing to do with today’s post in any way whatsoever.

But I knew you’d want to know…it’s important information. You’re welcome.

I’m preparing by watching the show from the beginning of Christopher Eccleston’s Nine, right through to last season’s episodes.

I had to force myself to watch David Tennant’s Ten say goodbye. It’s only the second time I’ve watch that particular moment…it hurts my heart to watch it.

Anyway.

The point is, there’s no point. I just love The Doctor, and I think you should, too.

So watch it this Saturday. And if you’ve never seen it before, you can watch every, single episode on Netflix Watch Instantly. You’re welcome. Again.

Want some cake?

We have these two trees in our front yard, alongside our driveway, that have been dropping fruit on us for quite a while now. At first, the fruit was mostly green, with a bluish hue. We inspected them, but they smelled very green and pungent, so we really thought that they were inedible. As time went on, though, they went from green-blue to deep blue to vibrant purple, and we noticed something chewing on them. After a little investigation, we learned that both trees are Italian plum trees. Since then, we’ve been harvesting them like mad, and the trees don’t seem to be letting up. Pretty much, what I’m saying is, don’t be surprised if you see quite a few plum recipes on here while we’re stationed in Oregon.

Now, maybe this is pretty common knowledge, but I’m gonna tell you anyway. I learned recently that the best way to slice fruits that need to be pitted, like peaches, plums, and apricots, is to find the little crease on the outside of it. Slice straight into that crease until you hit the stone of the fruit, then continue to slice all the way around the fruit.

Now, the fruit should pull apart relatively easily, and the stone will come out without much effort. So there you go. You probably knew that already, but whatevs. Once you’ve removed the stone, slice the halves into quarters (or however you’d like them).

The topping, or rather, the bottom, for now, of this cake is a little mixture of butter, caramelized sugar, and jam. I used strawberry jam, since that’s what I had this time, but I usually use apricot with the plums. You can’t taste a difference or anything, so use whatever you have.

Now you get to get all artsy and arrange all of the fruit and make things all pretty.

Throw some cake batter on top and bake.

As with several of my desserts lately, don’t even bother letting this cool all the wa. Definitely enjoy this warm fromt he oven, preferably with some fresh whipped cream and maybe a little dusting of confectioners’ sugar.

Here’s a little secret for you: this was my first ever upside down cake. First. Ever.

I liked it.

Talk about easy. Slice some fruit, mix some sugar and butter, make the fruit look all pretty and stuff, pour on some seriously simple cake batter, bake, and eat. Why have I never bothered with this before?! One thing’s for sure, I’ll be making more of these. Soon.

Enjoy!

Italian Plum Upside Down Cake
Makes one 8-inch round cake

Ingredients

FOR THE TOPPING
3 tablespoons (43 grams) unsalted butter
1/2 cups (128 grams) brown suger, packed
4 teaspoons apricot jam (or any jam or preserves desired)
6 Italian plums (or any fruit that you choose), pitted and sliced into eighths (you can also skin them, if desired)

FOR THE CAKE
1 1/2 cups (191 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (188 ml) milk
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick or 113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (134 grams) sugar
2 large eggs

To make the topping: Grease and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper; set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and sugar together. Stir in the jam until combined. Simmer the mixture for about 3 minutes, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan, and allow to cool completely.

Once the sugar mixture is cooled, arrange the sliced plums across the bottom of the pan; set aside while you prepare the cake batter.

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (180 C).

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mix, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Scrape the sides, as needed. Stir in the vanilla.

Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of milk, mixing until just combined between each addition and scraping the bowl as needed. Do not overmix.

Pour the cake batter over the prepared fruit. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan, on a wire cooling rack, for 30 minutes. Turn onto a serving plate or cake plate and serve warm.

Recipe by Bakingdom

Tagged as: Cakes, Italian Plum Cake, Italian Plum Upside Down Cake, Italian Plums, Plum Cake, Plums, Recipes, Upside Down Cake