Plum Upside Down Cake

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: plum upside down cake

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 40

Resting and cooling time: 40

Total Time: 1 30

Servings: slices

Calories: 311kcal

This plum upside down cake gets beautifully caramelized in a cast iron pan. It's so easy to make - you don't need a mixer of any kind, just mix up the batter in a bowl!

Print Recipe

US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Ingredients

Caramelized plum topping

3-5 plums variable depending on size
4 tablespoon softened unsalted butter
⅓ cup brown sugar

Cake Batter

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoon ground ginger
½ cup melted unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
zest of one lemon
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup plain yogurt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Generously butter the sides of a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Combine the softened butter and brown sugar and spread them evenly on the bottom of the skillet.
Slice the plums into thin wedges and set aside. Do not add to the skillet yet. See notes below.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Use a microplane grater to zest the lemon. In another large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest.
Whisk the eggs into the melted butter mixture one at a time.
Finally, add the yogurt to the liquid ingredients and whisk until completely incorporated.
Arrange the plum slices in the skillet on top of the brown sugar mixture. It's important to do this before finishing the batter. See notes below.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet in two batches, using a silicone spatula to combine the ingredients. Stir gently, smoothing the batter until there are no lumps of flour remaining. The batter will be thick, but full of airy bubbles from the activation of the rising agents.
Pour the batter over the plums in the skillet and gently spread evenly. Bake for about 40-45 minutes until the cake is deeply golden brown and is pulling away from the sides of the skillet, and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and immediately run a knife or offset spatula around the outside edge of the cake.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then cover the skillet with a large serving plate and carefully flip the cake out onto the plate. Let cool for 30 to 60 minutes before serving.

Notes

It's very important that you do not put the sliced plums on top of the sugar until just before baking. Once they touch the sugar they will start macerating and releasing too many juices, which will inhibit the formation of the caramel.
It's also very important that you place the plums before adding the dry ingredients to the wet. As soon as the wet and dry meet, the rising agents will activate so you need to get the cake into the oven as soon as possible. If the batter is just sitting while you are taking the time to arrange the plums in a pretty design you risk winding up with a dense, flat cake.
This cake will be deeply golden brown all the way around and in the center before it's done. Trust the process and don't remove it too soon. You don't want to risk raw batter in the middle.
This cake tastes best the day it is made, but you can store it covered or in an airtight container on the countertop for a couple of days.

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Nutrition