Plum and Nectarine Upside Down Cake

Our CSA from Hidden Villa is getting really good. Last week, we got boatloads of lettuce, potatoes, beets, and purslane, among other things. Our weekly CSA basket has added some surprises and variety to our usual medley of veggies from the Milk Pail. Consequently, citrusy purslane salads have become one of my new favorite things.

This week, we received a number of small plums in our basket, along with a recipe for Plum Upside Down Cake. We rarely back down from a baking challenge, especially if it involves cake, so we rolled up our sleeves and got to work.

 

First things first, Matt decided to make some homemade butter to bake with. Astute readers will remember that we (well, mostly Matt) embarked on this journey once before. Basically, you start with some cream in a jar, take turns shaking the jar until your arms give out, and after about 20 minutes the butter separates out from the buttermilk. Ta da!

Next it was time for the cake. I decided to throw in a nectarine as well, making this a Plum and Nectarine Upside Down Cake. The end result was really incredible -- the topping is essentially caramelized plums and nectarines that soak into a light and fluffy cake. There are little bits of crunchy caramel along the sides, too, and with a dollop of fresh, homemade whipped cream, it was heaven. I broke my rule of no dessert before dinner for this one, and it was totally worth it.

Recipe and directions after the photos...

Start with cream...

Shake shake shake!

Voila!

Homemade butter

Slicing the plums and nectarine

Layering the fruit on the carmel topping

Upside down cake served with fresh homemade whipped cream... YUM!

Hidden Villa's Plum and Nectarine Upside Down Cake

Topping:

4 T unsalted butter

3/4 cups brown sugar

4-6 ripe plums

1 ripe nectarine

Batter:

8 T unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 t vanilla

2 eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 t baking power

1/4 t salt

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 t cream of tartar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Over low-medium heat, melt the butter in a sauce pan, stirring in brown sugar until it dissolves (this might take a few minutes of constant stirring before all of a sudden, you have a delicious-smelling caramel blob in the bottom of the pan). Carefully pour the sugar butter mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch baking pan. Working fast (the caramel will cool rapidly), arrange slices of plums and nectarines in the bottom of the pan.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together for the batter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and add them to the batter alternately with the milk. Whisk the egg whites with the cream of tarter until they are stiff enough to hold a form.  Fold the whites into the batter, spread batter evenly onto the pan to cover the fruit. Bake for about 25-35 minutes until the top is browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before turning over onto a plate.

Serve with fresh whipped cream!