UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
The Americans are credited with inventing cakes whose decorative, caramelised fruit topping is baked underneath the cake layer. The important point about all upside-down cakes is that the bottom of the cake tin should be completely covered with, butter and sugar mixture which forms a caramel, and this base is then completely covered with fruit.
See also Pineapple: Pineapple Upside-down Cake.
FRUIT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
Use well-drained canned, poached or soft fresh fruit such as stoned plums or apricots, or berries. The cake layer in this recipe is light and short.
Fruit layer
1 cup well-drained canned or poached fruit (apples, pears, peaches, cherries) or prepared, soft fresh fruit
30 g (1 oz) butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
Cake
60 g (2 oz) butter
¼ cup caster sugar
1 egg
½ cup self-raising flour, sifted
For the fruit layer, leave berries whole; halve or slice other fruit. Melt butter in an 18 cm (7 in) round sandwich tin. Sprinkle evenly with sugar, and arrange fruit on caramel in a decorative pattern.
To make cake, cream butter with sugar, then add egg and beat well. Fold in flour. Spoon cake mixture over fruit, being careful not to disturb arrangement. Bake in a preheated oven (180ºC/350ºF) for 30 minutes or until cake is cooked. Turn out, leaving fruit side up. Serve warm with cream, ice cream or custard, or cold with coffee.
QUICK UPSIDE-DOWN CUPCAKES
30 g (1 oz) butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
12 canned apricot halves, well drained
1 × 310 g packet buttercake mix
Melt butter and spoon evenly into 12 deep patty-pans. Sprinkle bottom of each patty-pan with brown sugar. Place an apricot half, cut side up, in each. Make up cake mixture according to directions on packet and spoon on top of fruit, filling patty-pans two-thirds full. Bake in a preheated moderately hot oven (190°C/ 375°F) for 12–15 minutes or until cake is cooked. Turn out, leaving apricots on top. Makes 12.
PRUNE AND APRICOT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
Fruit layer
30 g (1 oz) butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
12 dessert prunes, stoned
12 dried apricots
4 glacé cherries
8 blanched almonds
Cake
60 g (2 oz) butter
¼ cup sugar
few drops vanilla essence
1 egg, beaten
1 cup self-raising flour
pinch salt
2½ tablespoons milk
For the fruit layer, melt butter in an 18 cm (7 in) square cake tin. Sprinkle evenly with sugar, and arrange prunes, apricots, cherries and almonds on glaze in an attractive pattern.
To make cake, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg and mix well. Sift flour with salt and fold in alternately with milk. Spoon cake mixture carefully over fruit, taking care not to disturb arrangement. Bake in a preheated moderate oven (180°C/350°F) for 25 minutes or until the cake is cooked. Turn out, leaving fruit side up. For a dessert, serve warm with cream; cool if serving as a cake.