I was cleaning the other day, and I came across an old copy of Everyday Food. I flipped through the September 2006 issue, and there were a lot of plum recipes. One recipe caught my eye – Plum Upside Down Cake – but I’m not a huge fan of plums, so I wondered if I could substitute apples instead. I did just that, and the cake looks like it came out perfectly, although I need to wait to try it. I’m going to bring it to Erin’s (Brett’s sister) house tomorrow night, and then I’ll report back. Fingers crossed for a successful cake!
Here are some work-in-progress pictures:
…and the finished product:
Plum (Apple, in this case) Upside-Down Cake
Everyday Food, September 2006
Ingredients:
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 red plums (about 1 lb.), halved and pitted, each cut into 12 wedges
1 large egg
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin-pie spice
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
whipped cream (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place 3 tablespoons butter in an 8-inch round cake pan; melt in preheating oven, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle melted butter with 1/2 cup brown sugar. Arrange overlapping plum wedges in a circle around edge of pan; repeat in center, covering bottom of pan. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat together remaining 6 tablespoons butter, remaining 6 tablespoons butter, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and egg. Beat in sour cream until blended. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin-pie spice, and walnuts. Stir flour mixture into sour cream mixture until just combined (batter will be thick).
4. Spread batter evenly over plums. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Run a knife around edge of pan; invert onto a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature, with whipped cream if desired.
Serves 8.
