Upside-Down Cake
- For the caramel sauce:
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter
- 3⁄4 tsp kosher salt
- For the sour cream cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Sliced fruit of your choice
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1⁄2 cup almond flour
- 3⁄4 tsp baking powder
- 1⁄2 tsp kosher salt
- 1⁄2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 1⁄4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3⁄4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
1. Make the caramel sauce. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the brown sugar and butter and cook over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is at a full rolling boil, about one minute. Remove from the heat, stir in the salt, and set aside.
2. Make the cake. Preheat the oven to 325F. Liberally butter the sides and bottom of a nine-inch round cake pan with two-inch-high sides. Pour the sauce into the pan and arrange the fruit over the caramel sauce in an even layer.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, stir together the sour cream and buttermilk. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a handheld mixer, cream the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed, until light and fluffy, about four minutes.
4. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula halfway through. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla. Alternately beat in the dry ingredients and the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix just until the ingredients are incorporated. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan, pouring it directly over the fruit.
5. Bake on the centre rack in your oven for about one hour, rotating the pan after 30 minutes, until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre. Set the cake on a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Place a serving plate with a raised edge over the pan, very carefully invert the cake onto the plate, and remove the pan. You can serve the cake immediately or let it cool completely and serve at room temperature. The cake can be stored well wrapped in foil or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days.
Reprinted with permission from The Good Book of Southern Baking by Kelly Fields with Kate Heddings, copyright (c) 2020. Published by Lorena Jones Books, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
