How to Make Upside Down Cakes

Choose a Favorite Fruit For a Classic Dessert

Aug 7, 2009 Karen Perkins

Pineapple upside down cakes are most common, but many other fruits provide a tasty variation.

Upside down cakes are a welcome sight at dinner parties, church socials and other casual gatherings. The dense, moist cakes with sweet toppings bring old-fashioned flair to any occasion. In addition to delicious flavor, upside down cakes are relatively easy to make and usually require only basic ingredients. While pineapple is the fruit most famous for these cakes, other alternatives also make yummy cakes. Follow this basic cake recipe for making an upside down cake using the fruit of your choice.

Ingredients

½ cup butter plus 2 tablespoons
1 cup light brown sugar
Fruit of choice
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large cast-iron skillet.
Add the brown sugar and whisk until smooth. Arrange fruit in an even layer in the skillet. (If you prefer, sauté the fruit with the butter-sugar mixture before setting the pan aside.)
In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
Use an electric mixer to cream the remaining butter. Add the granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla.
Combine the flour and egg mixture. Pour over the top of the fruit and brown sugar in the skillet.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Let cool for five minutes in the pan. Then invert onto a serving dish.

Fruits To Use In Upside Down Cakes

While almost any fruit can be cooked down for use in an upside down cake, these suggestions – shown with individual amounts needed for the recipe – work especially well with the spice and caramel flavor of the cake.

Pineapple (Use one 20 ounce can or three cups fresh pineapple, peeled and cored.)
Figs (Use about one pound of fresh figs.)
Peaches (Use five fresh peaches)
Apricots (Use two 15 ounce cans of apricot halves or six fresh apricots.)
Plums (Use four plums, pitted and sliced.)

Upside Down Cake Baking Tips

A pineapple upside down cake (or apricot upside down cake or plum upside down cake) is a tasty choice when using only basic ingredients and served with only a fork to gobble it up. However, switching up the flavors and garnishes makes this a dessert people can’t get enough of. Here are some ideas to embellish the next upside cake you make.

Substitute almond extract for the vanilla.
Mix chopped nuts in with the fruit mixture.
Sprinkle the inverted cake with powdered sugar.
Serve the cake with ice cream. Butter pecan or old-fashioned vanilla flavors are good picks.
Instead of cooking a single cake, divide the fruit mixture and cake batter into individual ramekin dishes for individual servings.

The copyright of the article How to Make Upside Down Cakes in Recipes is owned by Karen Perkins. Permission to republish How to Make Upside Down Cakes in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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