Plum upside-down cakes are the best upside-down cakes. No question. This one is a gorgeous take on fall baking; the plums melt into a sticky festival of autumnal color, the cake glows with the warmth of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Add a mug of tea and a weekend afternoon, and you are all set.
This particular plum upside down spice cake, in various iterations, has been a favorite in our house for more than 10 years now, and I see no reason to retire her any time soon. She is easy, one pan, and a total beauty. I think (?) she may also have been my first-ever attempt at an upside down cake. It was love at first bake, apparently.
I made this one to celebrate a career milestone and a long-awaited promotion for A. I think its safe to say he was pretty happy with both cake and occasion. Good times were had by all.
As you can see, I make this cake in a cast iron skillet. I have also had good success in a spring form cake pan and a pie dish. Seriously guys, I think this cake is indestructible.
If you want to substitute some other fall fruit (apples? pears? both are good here) (also this looks amazing) for the plums, then I would recommend making the cake in some sort of oven-proof skillet so you can briefly soften and caramelize the more crisp fruit before pouring the batter over the top. But with plums (and blueberries!) and other softer fruit, you don’t need to do any stovetop caramelizing. Everything happens in the oven.
- 3-4 plums, depending on size, pitted and cut into 8ths
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon castor sugar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon (tiny pinch) of allspice
- same of freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ cup of buttermilk or plain yogurt thinned with milk
- 1 cup plain flour
- Heat oven to 350F/175F.
- If making in skillet, heat the skillet over medium high heat and melt the 2 tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon of castor sugar, and the maple syrup until bubbling. (otherwise, melt everything in the microwave for 20-30 seconds and mix, then pour over the base of your pan) Lay the fruit over the sugar mixture, fanning the slices in concentric circles and packing in as much fruit as possible.
- In a medium mixing bowl, blend the olive oil and brown sugar until combined. Add the egg and vanilla and beat with a spoon or electric whisks until emulsified and fluffy. Whisk in the buttermilk.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and flour. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix only until combined. Do not over mix, or cake will be tough.
- Scrape the batter into the skillet (or pan), spreading it to cover the plums. Bake for 30 minutes, then test by inserting a knife or skewer into the center. You should see sticky crumbs, but no batter on tester. If necessary, bake for a further 5 minutes and re-test.
- Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake, then carefully (and with oven mitts) invert the cake onto a plate. If any plums have stuck to the pan, remove them carefully and re-apply them to their spot on the cake.
- Serve warm with a drizzle of cream and a nice cup of tea.