Plum-Blueberry Upside-Down Cake

I’m a great big fan of the upside-down cake; like with bundt cakes, I always feel a little like I’m cheating, because the results are so impressive with so little effort! I’m happy to report it worked again!

I made this cake late at night so it would be a first-thing-in-the-morning greeting. When I went downstairs early in the morning, a full quarter of the cake was already gone, and the rest disappeared shortly thereafter.

I envisioned this as a morning treat and didn’t plan on the optional vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, but fortunately we happened to have whipped cream in the fridge. The accent of the whipped cream next to (or atop!) a slice was the most visually pleasing presentation, as this is a darker than usual version of upside-down cake. The blueberries take the center stage position and the plums provide a ring of support encircling them.

Adding to this darker version is the use of dark brown sugar, so not only is the fruit darker, but the cake is as well. As a result, while the cake is lustrous, it’s also more attractive in slices than it was as a whole, a change from how I usually feel about upside-down cakes.

When I got to the store, the pluots were riper and more plentiful than the plums, so I used them. I could easily recommend the pluots again, or any sort of plum — including, for those planning to make this cake later in the season, Italian prune plums.

I’m not really sure why Fairchild feels the cake needs one tablespoon of milk in addition to the half cup. It seemed a little fussy to me, and although I went with it this time, I might not bother again the next time.

I baked this cake in a cast-iron skillet, and made the topping right in the skillet, so it was a one-pan process for me!

My cake tested done at 45 minutes. I removed it and followed the standing, loosening, flipping, standing, and lifting directions precisely and the skillet lifted off the cake perfectly, with not even one small piece of fruit stuck in the pan. Should that happen, however, I’ve found that the fruit can be reattached discreetly while the cake is still warm, and I’ve done this with other upside-down cakes even when multiple areas stuck after I flipped the cake over — another plus for the upside-down cake genre.