We just love a good upside down cake with all of the gooey and delicous cinnamon brown sugar coating baked in with seasonal fruit. Last fall we made an Apple Upside Down Cake, but since our summer stone fruits are in full harvest right now, we’ve been making this one with a combination of peaches and plums. The colors are so beautiful together the flavors are so complementary – pink goes great with purple! 🍑💜🍑 We like to use the same combination in our Peach-Plum Crumb Pie.
We use both the black and red plums and we always keep the skins on both the plums and peaches for an extra shock of color when the cake is baked. Plus, the skins have vitamins, minerals and other ‘good for you’ nutrients! And, it’s easier to not peel the fruit first!
The cake itself is a vanilla cake made with separated egg yolks and whites and is delicious all by itself. The spices are usually used just in the fruit bottom/top, but this time, I was on the phone while I was cooking (always multi-tasking), and accidentally added cardamom and cinnamon to the cake batter, and it turned out to be a fun option! The same cake recipe can be used for any upside down cake that you decide to make, whether it’s pineapple, apple, stone fruit or berries.
Peach & Plum Upside Down Cake
Equipment
- 1 8×8-inch square baking pan
Ingredients
Apples
- 3 medium peaches
- 4 large plums black or red, or a combination
- 2 oz. butter, melted 1/4 cup or 1/2 stick or 4 tbsp.
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. cardamom can use nutmeg if you don’t have cardamom
Cake Batter
- 1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour can use all-purpose, but cake flour makes the cake a bit fluffier
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2/3 cup milk
Instructions
Peaches & Plums
- Grease or spray an 8×8 inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Remove pits and from peaches and plums and slice into 1/4-1/2-inch wedges. Keep skins on for good color and nutrients.
- Mix 1 cup brown sugar with cinnamon, cardamom and melted butter and spread evenly on the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
- Arrange peach and plum slices in whatever pattern you like on top of the brown sugar. Set aside while you make the cake.
Cake Batter
- Separate eggs into whites and yolks. Place whites in a mixing bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Keep yolks handy for adding to the batter. Set aside.
- Mix flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Mix milk and vanilla together and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and beat well. Add flour and liquids alternately beating well after each. Begin and end with dries. Gently fold beaten egg whites into the batter just until incorporated.
- Pour batter over the peaches and plums in the prepared baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Then, place a cake platter or a large plate upside down on top of the cake and invert. Leave the baking pan on top of the inverted cake just until most of the good stuff drips down over the cake. Remove the cake pan.
- Serve peach & plum upside cake with a dollop of yogurt whipped cream or your favorite vanilla, cinnamon, caramel or praline ice cream or frozen dessert.
