Plum Upside-Down Cake

Ok, this was fantastic! And completely easy to make. I made it during nap time, and managed not to mess it up despite a pretty serious interruption from Baby K. I posted a photo of it in my post yesterday. The recipe comes from the August issue of Real Simple. I've just started trying their recipes, and I'm really impressed with the balance of speed, nutrition and taste!

Plum Upside-Down Cake

1/2 cup plus 1 TBS unsalted butter
4 firm, ripe plums, each cut into about 7-8 wedges. I think you could substitute nectarines or peaches, but you might want to add a little lemon juice since they aren't as tart as plums?
1/4 cup plus 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
2/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment. (Normally I skip lining pans, but I think you have to here, otherwise the fruit would stick!)

2. Melt 1 TBS butter in large skillet over medium high heat. Add the plums and 1/4 cup sugar, tossing until sugar dissolves and plums get all nice and syrupy - about 3-4 minutes. Arrange the plums in a pretty pattern in the bottom of the pan (or, if your baby starts screaming, simply dump the plums and juice into the bottom where they make a pretty, abstract pattern of their own).

3. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. In a large bowl or mixer, beat together the remaining 1/2 cup butter and 2/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Mix in the egg and sour cream, then add the vanilla. Gradually add the flour until it is just incorporated. (I think this could get tough if you over mix the flour).

5. Pour the batter over the plums and bake until toothpick/tester inserted in the middle comes out clean - about 50-55 minutes. Cool in the pan for 1 hour, then invert onto serving plate and peel off parchment from the bottom. A couple of plums may stick to the parchment, but I was able to place them on top of the cake.

This is a really pretty jewel colored cake, and really easy to make. I served it with vanilla ice cream when the cake was slightly warm. It's also very good the next day. I bet this would work really well with whipped cream or slightly sweetened mascarpone cheese?

P.S. Amy, thanks for your comment. If you are still allowing new blog readers, I'd love an invitation. My email is proseccoandpeaches at gmail dot com Thanks!