Berry Upside Down Cake
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| Today's blueberry and blackberry combination. At top right I left the parchment paper peeled back for the picture. You can see how nicely it released from the pan and the fruit leaving the brown sugar fruit crust intact. It is a sweet, warm, and slightly gooey soft layer. The batter melds with the fruit beautifully. |
Berry Upside Down Cake
Since discovering this upside down cake recipe about 4 years ago I have changed it according to the fruit available and added complimentary spices**. As usual I have created shortcuts to make the process easier. And at last, I have been forced to change the way the cake pan is prepped out of necessity.
I have had the same cake pans for 20+ years. They have just worn down and now I have problems with the cakes sticking despite prepping the pans with the usual sprays, crisco, and/or flour. Honestly, I really need to buy some new pans but I find myself balking at the $20 per pan price. I want something decent to replace the WalMart pans I bought in the early 2000s. Unfortunately the WalMart selection has declined in quality and I just need to go for the best I can afford, but yet I don't want to spend the money! For now, my solution has been parchment paper. I will put instructions for cutting square parchment paper for a circular pan below.***
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| This is today's layer of blackberries and blueberries. All blackberries is a bit too mushy but the blueberries hold it all together. The parchment paper really helped it stay in place. |
A Note About the Fruit You Use
I have tried several varieties and found the firmer the fruit, the better the result. Oranges and Lemons are right out as they are too juicy. Bananas are too mushy. The strawberries were nice but a little too soft in my opinion. Sliced thin and combining them with blueberries balanced it out and that is the key: Balance. It is a balance in moisture content and a balance in complimentary flavors.
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| These Pluots worked great and I left the skin on. Sometimes we get fruit that is a little too hard. Consider using these because the sugar will sweeten the flavor and the baking will soften the fruit. |
Plums and stone fruits work great but require them to be sliced and pits removed. Peeling isn't necessary unless the peel is tough. Some pears are an example of fruit where the peel can be a hindrance based on variety. A dry fig would work better than a fresh fig but if layered with a less juicy fruit, the fresh figs could be thinly sliced and not stick or ooze too much. This recipe is a good way to use older fruit like wrinkly blueberries as long as they are not moldy or too mushy. This is also an excellent way to use dried fruit which can be used solo or in combination with complimentary fruits.
*Another thing to note:
The recipe has specific amounts of fruit listed. I have found that enough fruit to cover the bottom of the pan is fine. Adding too much fruit will cause the batter to overflow the pan. If you pour the batter in over the fruit on the bottom and think you can fit a few extra fruit bits in, try it, just cover them with batter.
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| This was a strawberry blueberry mix. In reflection I should have placed a layer of blueberries on first and chopped strawberries instead of sliced. It's just a matter of preference but we thought it was a little too mushy with the strawberries layered and sliced and placed first. I was going for style over practicality. |
OVEN preheated to 350F
INGREDIENTS
STAGE ONE
3 tablespoons margarine
¼ cup brown sugar
STAGE TWO
*4 black plums, pitted and thinly sliced
*¾ cup blueberries
Or any combination of fruits that cover the bottom of the pan. Just read my notes about the fruits you choose.
STAGE THREE
⅓ cup margarine at room temperature
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
STAGE FOUR
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/2 TSP to 2 TSP of complimentary dried ground spices**
STAGE FIVE
¾ cup milk (I used oat milk which is thinner but it added an extra 5 minutes baking time over the regular milk. Just check in the last 5 minutes and adjust the time accordingly.)
INSTRUCTIONS
STAGE 1
Spray a 9 inch round cake pan or use Crisco or line it with Parchment paper either stuck to the pan with Crisco or Cooking Spray. Do not trust your non stick pans to not stick.
Put
3 tablespoons margarine and
¼ cup brown sugar in the pan.
Place in the oven for 3 minutes.
When you remove it, slosh the sugar margarine mix around to coat the bottom of pan or the top of the parchment paper.
STAGE 2
Place the fruit in a single layer in the pan atop the melted sugar. If using sliced fruit you can create a lovely spiral effect or another pattern. Or you can just dump it all in.
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| The first time I tried this recipe I stuck to the recommended fruit combination of plums and blueberries. Pretty and tasty. I found in time I could get away with using less fruit than the original recipe recommended. |
STAGE 3
In a mixing bowl combine
⅓ cup margarine at room temperature with
1 cup white sugar
THEN add
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix well. I find using a hand mixer is easiest.
STAGE 4
And this is where I defy all the chefs by dumping the dry ingredients straight on top of the combined wet ones. I figure if I sprinkle the small stuff atop the flour it'll get mixed in just fine when I use the hand mixer. It hasn't failed me yet.
So first add the flour on top of the wet mixture
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
Then sprinkle these dry ingredients on top of the flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/2 TSP to 2 TSP of complimentary dried ground spices**
The spices I used in today's blueberry and blackberry cake were 1 TSP ground Cinnamon, 1/4 TSP ground Allspice, and 1/8 TSP ground Ginger.
Mix it together with a hand mixer until it's nearly combined then
STAGE 5
Add in 3/4 cup of milk.
Mix it all together until it becomes a nice smooth batter.
Whole milk is thickest and will cook up more easily. Thinner milks will take a little longer. This includes milk substitutes. Just check about 5 minutes before the end bake time and thereafter until firm.
ASSEMBLE AND BAKE
Pour the batter across the fruit layer at the bottom of the cake pan.
Bake about 40 minutes at 350F.
It's ready when a knife comes out clean from the batter. The fruit will be a bit soft and gooey.
Let set up and cool a bit, about 15 minutes. Invert onto a plate. If the fruit sticks a bit, just lift it out and place it where it goes.
Before I started using the parchment paper on my pitiful old worn-out cake pans, I experienced a complete case of over-attachment. My berries stuck to the pan so I just lifted them out and put them on top. Ugly? Yes. Tasty. Definitely. No one complained. If you're hung up on the look, add ice cream or whipped cream if you must. Maybe dust it with some confectioner's sugar.
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| The original recipe was such a thing of beauty. But tasty can also be kinda' wonky looking too. The goal is to experiment and find those great flavor combinations. |
**COMPLIMENTARY SPICES AND STIR INS
Certain flavors accent others. Some spices add warmth or brightness to a dish. When choosing the spices, think about what goes with the fruit to create a yummy dessert. Lemon rind and orange rind are also options but I prefer the dry ground spices as the flavor seems to disperse more evenly. Rinds could also be used in the fruit layer. Imagine a hint of lemon rind and blueberries. This spice stage is optional but one I think really adds a nice touch.
My default spices include cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and cardamon separately or in combination. Maybe you would like some nutmeg or mace. Think about the fruit you use, consider what spices are added to recipes with that fruit and stir in some extra flavor.
One of these days, I might try adding some chopped nuts between the fruit and batter layers. Maybe even a few praline pecans if I'm really adventurous...
***PARCHMENT PAPER TO FIT A CIRCULAR PAN
Using parchment paper on round pans is only a little tricky. I buy parchment paper in double pack restaurant style rolls from a warehouse store. It comes in giant rolls of hundreds of feet length and traditional width. It works great but requires a simple finesse of the scissors to get it into every pan shape. Remember clip clothespins can hold parchment to the sides of pans as you fill them with batter. Just remember to remove the clothespins before you bake.
The round cake pans are actually easy to measure for a circular piece if you flip them bottom side up. Place a section of parchment paper over the bottom and mark the edge on four sides: the noon, three, six, and nine clock positions. Roughly cut a square that would encompass this circle. Fold it into half, then half again. The sheet will be in 4 squarish shapes. Keeping folding in half twice again from the center point of the paper. You'll end up with a center point which extends outward into a flair. It'll look like a pie wedge.
Place on the point of the wedge on the circular bottom of the cake pan. Eye where it hits the edge and cut it along there. Unfold it and you'll have a rough circle. To adhere the paper to the pan, spray with cooking spray or use Crisco. Use the excess paper to line the sides of the pan in rectangular strips, adhering it in the same fashion.
