Bon Appetit Desserts: Plum-Blueberry Upside-Down Cake

There is something about plums. I have been patiently waiting a year, for plum season to come, so that I could make this recipe. When I arrived at this recipe last year, I had just missed the plums. It was a darn shame, I tell you!

Perhaps the wait has made this cake even more desired. It is a little bit tart, a little bit spicy, and completely delicious.

This is quite a quick cake to whip together, which is great, now that you'll be making it again and again for all of your friends and family members who will undoubtedly love it!

Side note: If you live in Southern California, serving the cake warm or at room temperature is the same exact thing... it's that hot out right now/ in my apartment!

Plum-Blueberry Upside-Down Cake 8 servings

Topping

1/2          cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2          cup (packed) dark brown sugar

4             plums, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch wedges

1             1/2-pint container blueberries

Cake

1-1/2       cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2             teaspoons baking powder

3/4          teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4          teaspoon salt

1/4          cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1             cup sugar

2             large eggs, room temperature

1             teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2          cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

               Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (optional)

TOPPING: Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Add sugar; whisk until well blended. Pour syrup into 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides, spreading to cover bottom evenly. Lightly press plums into syrup in circle around edge of pan. Spread berries in center.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

CAKE: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350ºF. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt into medium bowl. Beat butter in another medium bowl until smooth. Gradually add sugar to butter and beat until well combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Stir dry ingredients and milk alternately into butter mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Spoon batter over topping in pan.

Bake cake until top is golden and firm and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Run sharp knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Place platter over pan. Using oven mitts or pot holders as aid, firmly grasp pan and platter together, then turn over. Let stand 3 minutes, then gently lift pan off cake. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

My Bon Appetit Journey: Year Two

If you can believe it, I've been making Bon Appetit Dessert recipes for two years now! Year two was not very productive, but I did enjoy the cakes that I was able to make. This Bon Appetit journey, is just another reminder that things do not always go as we plan.

Links to all eleven (11) recipes are below! (My favorite are marked with an *)

1. Carrot Cake with Buttermilk Glaze and Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Frosting*

2. Parsnip Spice Cake with Ginger-Cream Cheese Frosting*

3. Glazed Lime Cake

4. Double-Ginger Gingerbread with Orange-Ginger Sauce

5. Cranberry-Maple Pudding Cake*

6. Apple-Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake

7. Caramel-Walnut Upside-Down Banana Cake*

8. Pineapple Upside-Down Pumpkin Gingerbread

9. Brown Sugar-Almond Cake with Caramel Frosting*

10. Upside-Down Spiced Peach Cake with Honey-Sweetened Whipped Cream*

11.  Raspberry Cake with Marsala, Creme Fraiche, and Raspberries*

Bon Appetit Desserts: Raspberry Cake with Marsala, Creme Fraiche, and Raspberries

Well,  I could not think of a better way to kick on my summer break, than with this cake.  It is tart and just sweet enough to have me dreaming of sunny days reading books and going on little adventures and late morning wake up calls.

This cake is pretty simple to pull together and the sprinkling of sugar on the top, half way through the baking process gives it a pretty sparkle.

If you are looking for a quick way to impress at your next dinner or tea party, this cake will fit the bill.

Raspberry Cake with Marsala, Creme Fraiche, and Raspberries
10 servings


1-1/2          cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1                teaspoon baking powder

1                teaspoon salt

1/4             teaspoon baking soda

1/4             teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2             cup Marsala

1/4             cup fresh orange juice

14              tablespoons (1-3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided

1                cup plus 4 tablespoons sugar, divided

2                large eggs

1                teaspoon vanilla extract

1                teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

4                cups fresh raspberries, divided

2                cups creme fraiche or sour cream



Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400ºF. Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan with 2-3/4-inch-high sides. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg in medium bowl to blend. Combine Marsala and orange juice in small bowl. Beat 12 tablespoons butter and 1 cup sugar in large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and lemon peel. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with Marsala mixture in 2 additions. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1-1/2 cups raspberries; reserve remaining for serving.

Bake cake until top is gently set, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375º (I forgot to do this and my cake still turned out well). Dot top of cake with remaining 2 tablespoons butter and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Continue baking until tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack. Release pan sides; transfer cake to platter. Cool to room temperature.

Mix creme fraiche and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in small bowl.

DO AHEAD: Cake and creme fraiche mixture can be made 8 hours ahead. Let cake stand at room temperature. Cover and chill creme fraiche mixture.

Cut cake into wedges. Top each with dollop of creme fraiche and fresh respberries and serve.

Bon Appetit Desserts: Upside-Down Spiced Peach Cake With Honey-Sweetened Whipped Cream

The name of this cake is quite a mouthful and that's exactly what you'll be wanting... mouthful after mouthful of this scrumptious cake!

Oh, You are definitely going to want honey-sweetened whipped cream on everything, including a plain old spoon! 

Upside-Down Spiced Peach cake with Honey-Sweetened Whipped Cream 6 servings

6            tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided

1/4         cup honey

1/4         cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1-1/4      cups bleached all purpose flour

1-1/2      teaspoons ground cardamom

1/2          teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4          teaspoon baking soda

1/4          teaspoon salt

3/4          cup sugar

1             large egg

1/2          cup plain whole-milk yogurt

3             small or 2 medium ripe peaches (about 1 pound total), pitted, thinly                sliced

Honey-Sweetened Whipped Cream (See recipe below)


Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350ºF. Generously butter 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in honey and brown sugar. Boil until mixture darkens slightly, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Immediately, pout honey mixture into prepared pan to coat bottom completely. Let stand while preparing batter.

Whisk flour, cardamom, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and remaining 4 tablespoons butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg. Mix in half of flour mixture, then all of yogurt. Add remaining flour mixture and mix until just blended.

Arrange sliced peaches decoratively over honey mixture (it will be firm), covering completely. Drop batter by spoonfuls evenly over peaches and gently spread batter over peaches to cover completely. Bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 5 minutes. Run small knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Place platter over pan. Using oven mitts or pot holders as aid, firmly grasp pan and platter together, then turn over. Gently lift off pan. Sere warm or at room temperature with Honey-Sweetened Whipped Cream.


Honey-Sweetened Whipped Cream

3/4          cup chilled heavy whipping cream

3             tablespoons honey

1/4          cup plain whole-milk yogurt


Using electric mixer, beat cream and honey in large bowl until soft peaks form. Fold in yogurt.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Hello!

Wow! It has been a while.  About a year ago, I started grad school. I knew that it was going to be time consuming, but I suppose I didn't realize that that would mean that I had no life altogether. Well, I have one more class this summer and then I write my thesis. So, this journey is coming to an end and I am really excited about that.

Suddenly, my time it going to belong to me and not to just work and papers. I will be able to read what I want, when I want to read it. I am going to be able to get back into running and of course... I am going be able to BAKE, BAKE, BAKE!

So, look forward to some more Bon Appetit recipes coming your way! It has been way too long since I have baked anything.

Here's to a slower pace and having the time to breathe!

See you soon.

Best,  Tiffiny